K-12 Public Schools

Stoughton High School

Stoughton, MA

The new Stoughton High School is a 21st Century High School that embodies the values of Stoughton in an educationally-appropriate and cost-effective structure. Specifically, the new school is flexible, sustainable, and relevant to its setting.

To achieve these goals, the new school is a compact, three-story building configured around a small courtyard. This fits well into the limited buildable area adjacent to the existing school and reflects the desired adjacencies expressed in the Educational Program. The massing of the building reflects the general internal organization, as each major programmatic component is expressed- the classroom clusters, the central core including administration and the major public spaces of auditorium and gymnasium.

The interior layout has a sense of openness to promote the values of collaboration and the notion that “learning happens everywhere.” An open-style cafeteria acts as a student commons strategically located at the heart of the school, adjacent to the main entry. Similarly, the academic classrooms are organized around open, multi-purpose collaboration areas. There are smaller scale versions of open break-out spaces at the intersections of the main academic corridors on each floor. Supervision of these spaces is easily achieved in both active and passive ways and faculty work spaces are de-centralized to insure adult presence throughout the school

The interior focal points are the main lobby incorporating the student commons on the first floor and the learning commons on the second floor. These spaces are located at the core of the school’s main circulation paths and together they form the symbolic heart of the new Stoughton High School. Each is a high space with a substantial amount of natural light.

The collaborative areas in each classroom cluster are focal points with special flooring, ceiling, and wall treatments, and supported by technology.

Completion September 2019.

View the progress video of the Stoughton High School project:

Courtesy of Beth Ellis/ Smooth Air Photography