HMFH Architects Awarded Project of Distinction

Concord, N.H. — With it’s colorful array of innovative and forward-thinking designs, Cambridge-based HMFH Architects was recently awarded a Project of Distinction Award from the Council of Education Facility Planners International (CEFPI) for their work on three elementary schools in Concord, N.H.
Considered exceptional and inspiring design by CEFPI, Abbot-Downing Elementary School, Christa McAuliffe Elementary School and Mill Brook Primary School were awarded Project of Distinction at the annual Northeast Region CEPI Exhibition of School Planning and Architecture. This year’s conference theme was educational renaissance.
“The layout is very different from most elementary schools and I think the jury saw that and wanted to bring that to other people’s recognition,” said Laura Wernick, AIA, LEED, senior principal at HMFH Architects and project director for the Concord elementary school projects. “This is a different way for schools to be organized that supports new thinking about how learning should take place in schools.”
The layout of each school is very much the same with the heart of each school being the multifunctioning learning commons. The learning commons of each school are situated in the center and surrounded by classrooms, which also have windows looking out into the corridor. The flexible facility includes spaces for group discussion, wet or messy projects, multimedia, amphitheater, story-telling, a book room, small project room and a reading nook for quiet, individual learning.
The deconstruction of the traditional library was the initial inspiration for the design, Wernick said.
“The idea is that instead of everyone going to a single library to do all these activities, let’s bring the libraries to the classrooms,” Wernick said. “This evolved over time into what became known as a learning commons.”
The firm relied upon the collaboration with the schools’ teachers and administrators in providing the most modern and inspiring educational designs to Concord area children. The design centered around three visionary ideas, which included that spaces should support collaborative learning; collaborative spaces should be easily accessible by faculty and students to integrate them into the day-to-day learning experience; and the spaces needed to provide a variety of flexible environments to support a range of learning activities.
“They saw that learning was happening in different ways,” Wernick said of the teachers and administrators of the schools. “They saw that technology was impacting how learning took place and they saw the library, and all the activities that took place there, as being too remote from the classrooms.”
The learning commons allows for a multitude of functions, from individual learning to whole grade levels coming together to collaborate on a project. This flexibility speaks to the educational theory that every child is different and requires different experiences in order to engage with their learning, Wernick said.
In designing the learning commons, HMFH paid special attention to the usage of natural light, provided quality acoustics and utilized different colors and patterns in the design to encourage creativity.
“At my firm we also believe very strongly that color and pattern and texture engage students because it helps make the space special,” Wernick said. “A place that’s colorful, has unusual patterns and images, and unusual special forms can help to inspire creativity in both the teachers and students while giving them a different way of thinking about problem solving.”
Acoustics are also essential to the design, Wernick said, because it is crucial that young children hear every word in instruction because it is more difficult for young students to gain context if they miss words.
The creative design of the learning commons at the three Concord, N.H. schools speaks to the mission of the areas educators and their emphasis on collaborative, inclusive and creative learning.
“If students are in a creative place they understand creativity is OK,” Wernick said. “When you’re sitting in rows in a very plain box space then you’re not being taught that creativity is fun, it’s part of life and it’s part of learning.”

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HMFH Architects Unveils New School

NEWBURYPORT, Mass. — Functional design meets community spirit in the new Bresnahan Elementary School. HMFH Architects, Inc., in conjunction with CTA Construction, meshed effective planning with elements of Newburyport’s heritage to design a school that will meet many of the community’s needs. HMFH has demonstrated great architectural success for academic buildings, and the company’s designs feature user-friendly plans and dynamic colors.

A groundbreaking ceremony for the Bresnahan School was held on June 7, 2013. The space will span 112,000 square feet and is located next to the current elementary school. The project is more than just a new school, however—it will combine the preexisting schools for PK-K and grades 1-3 with Newburyport’s senior center as well. Not only does this help suit the town’s needs for updated facilities, but it will also help promote greater community integration with the space’s multifunctional design.

When asked about the design, Laura Wernick, AIA, REFP, LEED AP and senior principal at HMFH Architects said that the school “is based upon a model school that has been built twice previously. The model provides a very straightforward and cost-effective classroom wing with its own entrance attached to a core of shared spaces with a separate public entrance.” The natural landscape of the project site was taken into consideration as well. “The model was modified to use the naturally sloping site to great advantage,” Wernick said.

The new school is more than just an effectively designed multipurpose space, however. It will also feature key elements of Newburyport’s history and heritage. “Exterior materials were specifically selected to echo the appearance of Newburyport’s red brick and white trim historic downtown buildings,” Wernick said.

Aspects of the town’s maritime traditions were incorporated into the design as well: “The interior colors and patterns, including a full corridor-length terrazzo floor of sea creatures, schooners and constellations, were specially designed to connect students to the community’s maritime heritage.”

Wernick does anticipate facing some challenges as the project progresses. The construction team has already encountered difficulties attempting to design and construct a building right next to an occupied school. Wernick explained that the biggest challenge is yet to come, however: “The biggest test will occur as the project nears completion in 2014. The new school will open before all the demolition and site work will have been completed. The logistics of assuring safe movement of parents, students and busses onto and through the site where construction is still underway has been minutely thought through and will be particularly challenging.”

The school has been designed in compliance with the guidelines set by the Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) for status as a Verified Leader in Mass. This entails incorporating structural and design elements that foster environmental sustainability and high student performance. The project is expected to be complete by the start of the new school year in September 2014, and is estimated to cost $37,341,570.

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HMFH Architects Awarded Project of Distinction

HMFH Architects Unveils New School

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