Malden Catholic High School has traditionally always been an all-boys school. A decision to renovate the building to accommodate an all-girls program going forward was made. This not only required the addition of classroom space but a re-thinking of the spaces that might be used for the two populations to meet socially, even as the academic programs remained separate. An existing, but somewhat under-used interior courtyard was seen as a both a practical and symbolic setting for a flexible, social space accessible to both the girls and the boys programs.

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LEMON BROOKE began with an approach to the courtyard as one of a meditative practice, a prayerful exercise, that would guide students and staff from the main entrance and down a sweeping stone walkway that ends at a slightly sunken and enclosed space, suitable for intimate groups as well as small classes. A grove of slow-growing gingko trees, grace the center of the space providing shade and a sense of enclosure and privacy despite the walls of windows surrounding the courtyard. Opportunities to sit in the grass are offered at the edges of the space with springtime bulb plantings that provide a strong pop of color just in time for graduation each year.

 

 

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CREDITS

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CLIENT:                                       MALDEN HIGH SCHOOL

ARCHITECT:                               MILLER DYER SPEARS ARCHITECTURE 

YEAR COMPLETED:                  ONGOING