Silver Lake Regional High School

1. 2008 Exhibition of School Planning and Architecture Silver Lake Regional High School Kingston, MA Project of Distinction Drummey Rosane Anderson, Inc.

2. Silver Lake Regional HS

3. Culinary Arts Community Environment:This mostly new comprehensive high school serves 1,125 students from three towns. The design team’s challenge was to build on the site of the existing outdated facility and adjacent to a recently completed new middle school to create an educational campus to effectively serve the community. A public entrance at the lobby shared by the gym and auditorium addresses security/access issues and allows the renovated adjacent Culinary Arts program to provide food during large school functions as well as serve lunch to the community. The design team updated the existing restaurant with a more appealing contemporary café like atmosphere.

4. Auditorium Community Environment:Continued… The auditorium is a much sought after space for use in the entire community. The numerous conference areas in the library, special education suites, and main office are welcoming and functional environments for meetings and conferences with parents, students, and staff. The large group room on the second floor above the library host a variety of classroom activities throughout the day and serves the community well during evening hours.

5. Science Lab Learning Environment: The district required that the design be flexible enough to operate with either a Departmental or House educational model while providing security and controlled access. Two, two-story classroom wings (houses) accommodate the educational models. Specialized spaces like science labs and special needs suites are evenly distributed between the two wings. Science labs are also strategically located next to the large group room for efficient departmental communication.

6. Access & Security Physical Environment - Large expanses of glass allow for natural light, security, and views to the courtyard. Security and access to after hours functions were achieved by providing an inviting public entrance to the lobby shared by the gymnasium and auditorium. The main entrance lobby has direct access to administration and guidance offices and houses an information desk for increased security.

7. Courtyard IMAGE Physical Environment – Originally triggered by necessity to work around a portion of existing building, the courtyard was an opportunity to create an informal gathering space and a “shortcut” between portions of the building. With an exterior stage students can explore their creativity with small-scale performances. The visual art department has direct access to the courtyard from their classrooms as well. Filled with all these activities the courtyard has become an “art lab” for the school.

8. Overall IMAGE Planning Process:One of the primary goals of our initial Master Plan was to modernize and expand the outdated, undersized high school while at the same time creating a well-organized school campus for the regional school district. Because the reallocation of space to meet high school square footage requirements would be difficult and costly, new construction options were explored. The plan for a mostly new school includes renovation of the specialized (expensive) vocational spaces .

9. Planning Process:The design was driven by the need to keep the school in operation during construction. For this 36-month phased project, we effectively used school vacations for the most disruptive construction activities. Hazardous materials removal and major demolition of portions of the existing school were completed during summer break.

10. Exhibition of School Planning and Architecture 2008 Project Data

11. Exhibition of School Planning and Architecture 2008 Project Details