Organized by academic neighborhoods, classrooms offer flexible spaces to promote a sense of community and support academic success.
Extensive use of mass timber contributes to the school's sustainability goal of lowering embodied carbon. A three-story mass timber classroom wing consists of CLT decking, glulam beams, and columns, while a two-story mass timber spine with sloping glulam columns ties three distinct zones together. Light-frame wood in the southern building saved the owner cost during the early value engineering change, and steel framing occurs in the commons and gymnasium. The lateral system comprises of shear walls, steel-braced frames, and moment frames.
Reorienting the school and recreating Beacon Hill's natural topography better situates the school on the site. Ground improvement methods such as aggregate piers minimize the impact of the sloping site.
Photography © Dave Fennema / HMC Architects, Chris Grant / HMC Architects,
Lawrence Anderson
