The realities of a campus built over the span of 90 years has produced a challenge of accessibility between the multiple buildings at Beaver Country Day School.  Across five structures (the main building and auditorium built in 1925, and the Science Wing and Library built in 1967) there was an 8 foot grade difference from adjacent floor levels which will require an extensive ramp at the maximum allowable slope to adjoin the main levels.  Additionally two new elevators are being added: the first is a 4 stop, embedded in the mass of the existing building and the other, a six stop, will be in the new addition connecting multiple offset floors.

A three-story connecting “bridge” volume contains part of the ramp, animating the prime circulation route with study carrels, presentation spaces, a lounge, and comfortable bench seating.

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Our Rice intern Sea Hoon made this to study material transitions on the three facades of our addition at Beaver Country Day.

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Beaver Country Day School is Private Secondary School, located in a suburb of Boston that boasts a highly progressive pedagogy, championing collaborative learning, digital and physical making, and sharing with a greater community. The school has commissioned NADAAA to design a new facility that will reflect the ambition of the faculty and students and at the same time allow the space to transform as pedagogies are developed. The project addresses a variety of programmatic requirements as well as re-defining the focus of the campus toward a central courtyard.

The primary programmatic consideration of the design is the transformation of their library, currently located in a two-story 1967 era wing of the campus. The traditional stack areas and reading rooms have been re-branded the Research + Design Center, and the former library is expanding its reach into the rest of the school, providing accessible routes, meeting areas, digital and physical fabrication labs, and a variety of group work areas.

The project consists of 24,000 square feet of addition and 16,500 square feet of renovation. Construction is expected to begin this June.

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