While the cafeteria serves as the building’s primary social hub, the media center stands as its main civic area. The interior design and graphics draw inspiration from Pawtucket’s industrial past and echo the neighborhood’s distinctive rooflines. The interior architecture and experiential graphics mirror the community, providing spaces for both group learning and individual instruction. The goal was to establish a unique identity that not only celebrates Pawtucket but also mirrors the characteristics of the surrounding neighborhood.

This design offers spaces that empower users to select environments that match their unique learning requirements. The ground floor houses Pre-K and kindergarten classrooms with direct access to a first floor STEAM Room where they are exposed to art, music, media/library and technology. On the upper levels 1-5 grade classrooms have access to linear “Learning Commons” equipped with writable walls, printing stations, and mobile technology allowing teachers to expand learning zones. The Media Center, Art, STEAM and Music rooms along with teacher/staff professional development spaces are distributed on the upper levels.

The three goals of the project were: Renovation of the school while respecting the urban site and context, as well as the style, material, and color palette of the original building; Preservation of enough site area for an athletic field in support of a comprehensive athletic program and the downtown north community; Completion of the project on an aggressive schedule of 4 months design and 12 months construction.

The exteriors of the existing building were completely restored to the original 1927 design, while incorporating new high performance double-hung windows and wood doors. The new gymnasium addition was designed to coordinate seamlessly with the style and character of the existing school building, in tune with the client’s vision. Special attention was paid to harmonizing the new addition’s façade with the color palette and subtle ornamentation of the original. All existing brick veneer was carefully cleaned and restored. The interior design preserved the elaborate ceiling of the existing auditorium, which was re-purposed as the school’s spacious new double-height library, while the original gymnasium was also re-purposed to serve as the new cafeteria.

The renovation of the school greatly simplified the circulation within the building. Dead-end corridors were eliminated and small, strategic additions reconnected parts of the facility that completed the circulation organization.

The interior design team was faced with the task of reinventing the dreary, mish-mash of materials, clashing colors, and low ceilings in the existing corridors – and provided a sophisticated and unifying solution (covering the visual confusion, creating a uniform wainscot throughout, alluding to exterior materials with thin brick accents), totally transforming the experience of the space.

The Library was relocated from a pass-through remote corner of the building to the location of the old gym, in what is now the heart of shared activity spaces. This study and collaboration space allows for some natural acoustic separation as students work and research along the gradual curve of the bookshelves.

The facility’s design met CT High Performance Building Standards, LEED Silver equivalent. The high school building previously performed at 91 kbtu per square foot and SLAM brought it down to 65 kbtu – almost a 30% savings. The school facility, which previously had no air-conditioning, is now enveloped in energy-saving insulation from roof to floor and is completely air-conditioned, using a rare “cooling beam” technology. SLAM (teamed with Consulting Engineering Services, a MEP firm in Middletown, CT) and designed a chilled-beam cooling system. This system differs from traditional chilled-air systems, mainly in that chilled water runs through ceiling pipes to deliver ambient cooling of the warm, overhead air. Because cold air is dense, it falls to the floor in a convection loop that drives lighter, warm air upward to keep the cooling cycle going. Advantages of the system are that its pipes take up less space overhead and costs less than bulkier, fabricated sheet metal ducting used in blown-air systems. Another is that chilled-beam systems run quieter, helping meet state guidelines for ambient noise levels in classrooms.

SLAM worked closely with Groton Public Schools to ensure their academic and facility goals were met. The new school provides hands-on and simulated learning spaces to support engaged learning, exterior learning space that ties to the architecture and organization of the building, and improved access to technological tools for faculty and students throughout the building.

Sustainability Design Features:

• Protection of wetlands and natural habitat for endangered bird species on existing site
• Storm water management (retention ponds and underground storage)
• Thermally efficient building envelope: Walls R-25 and Roof R-50
• Ventilation with 100% outside air, CO2 monitoring and heat recovery
• Chilled beams with conventional boiler/chiller plant
• Ice storage production during off-peak hours for reducing peak demand electrical charges for chiller operation
• Automated lighting controls with low lighting power density for maximum efficiency
• Windows to maximize daylighting and views to exterior
• Low-flow plumbing fixtures consuming 20% less water

The project exceeds Connecticut’s High Performance Building Standards, achieving LEED Gold equivalent.

The school is designed into three distinct wings, connected by a transparent central lobby, which serves as the hub for the entire facility. The T shaped building organization clearly defines and separates energetic spaces for public assembly and quiet spaces for private study (the branches of the T). The public spaces – gym, cafeteria, stage, main lobby – (the stem of the T) are oriented towards the neighborhood and can be easily accessed by visitors without disturbing students throughout the school. The exterior of the building reflects the diversity of the cultural and social backgrounds of the students. With contrasting materials of different colors, textures and origins, the façade embodies the story of an “American Quilt”.

SLAM was able to solve three major challenges for the New Caanan school; we were able to accommodate existing and future programmatic needs, manage a design and construction budget and schedule, and created innovative methods to save money

The rectangular donut-shaped design of the academic wing embraces the change in elevation within that area of the site, placing the single-story Early Learning Program on the higher elevation, with the connecting two-story K-5 classroom wing opposite. The central two-level courtyard navigates the grade change between the two halves of the donut and serves as the main organizing element for the building. The courtyard features an amphitheater and a variety of outdoor learning spaces, including the “birds-nest” for small group reading or quiet reflection. Inside the K-5 wing, grade levels are organized into neighborhoods, each containing four classrooms and their own individual Learning Commons. The Learning Commons activates the corridor into an engaging “learning beyond the classroom” environment for students to interact with their peers and teachers.

This vibrant and inviting new building provides over 500 students, along with their families and the Darien community, a place that embraces the Ox Ridge mission to develop joyful, healthy and persistently curious learners. Dynamic and active learning environments, both outside and within the building, cater to all learner types, creating memorable and transformative experiences for the students. Building flexibility into the design allowed for the Early Learning Program spaces to be temporarily used for the gymnasium, cafeteria and library while the assembly wing gets constructed.