Quinebaug Valley Community College: Quinebaug Middle College (Addition)

  • 09/01/15
Quinebaug Middle College

PHOTOS © PAUL BURK PHOTOGRAPHY

Conceived in 2006, Quinebaug Middle College (QMC) was established with the same guiding principles the first middle college in the U.S. at LaGuardia Community College in Queens, NY, was founded on: to provide an alternate public high school where students who otherwise may be at risk could be immersed in a college setting, and through support, collaboration, rigorous academics and exposure to the world of higher education become effective learners. While rural eastern Connecticut may appear to be in stark contrast to LaGuardia’s urban context, similar issues and challenges exist, and the middle college model has yielded significant results for the at-risk student and nontraditional learner.

QMC’s first students enrolled in 2008 in limited available space shared with Quinebaug Valley Community College. Amenta Emma Architects’ 40,000-squarefoot addition project which opened in early 2014 added new classrooms; science and computer labs; music, art and fitness spaces; and administrative and faculty areas — along with common collaboration and lounge spaces — to accommodate an enrollment of 200 students. While they are dedicated spaces for the middle college during standard high school hours, all spaces are used by the college community at other times, reinforcing the client’s goal that the new area is a fully integrated extension of the existing college environment.

The design of the addition highlights the building’s relationship to its site, creating visual transparency and reinforcing connections to formal and informal exterior space and the campus’s wooded edges. Clad in a terra cotta rain-screen, the LEED Silver building makes reference to the scale and brick masonry material palette of the original campus buildings but with an innovative interpretation. As described by QMC Principal Gino LoRicco, the design of the building has created not only state-of-the-art instructional and collaborative space, but also an environment that allows students to feel calm, comfortable, focused and, most importantly, academically successful.

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

Featured

  • Case Systems makerspace

    Case Systems Launches Line of K–12 Learning Spaces Installations

    Case Systems recently announced the launch of SALTO, a line of classroom fixtures and installations for K–12 learning spaces like STEM labs, art rooms, and makerspaces, according to a news release. The product line is designed to provide teachers with flexibility and adaptability, enabling them to shift between collaborative and individual learning environments.

  • California District Completes Second Phase of Construction on Innovation Campus

    The Milpitas Unified School District (MUSD) in Milpitas, Calif., recently announced that Phase Two of construction is complete on the MUSD Innovation Campus, according to a news release. The district is partnering with Blach Construction and Quattrocchi Kwok Architects (QKA) on the education and workforce development center, which will support Calaveras Hills High School.

  • Illinois District Breaks Ground on Two New Junior High Schools

    Joliet Public Schools District 86 in Joliet, Ill., recently began construction on two new junior high schools—the district’s first new schools since 2011, according to a news release. New facilities for Hufford Junior High School and Gompers Junior High School will serve the east and west sides of the city and be built next to their current facilities, which will be demolished after the project is complete.

  • St. John’s University Dedicates New Health Sciences Center

    St. John’s University in New York, N.Y., recently held a dedication ceremony for the new St. Vincent Health Sciences Center, according to a news release. The fully-energy efficient, sustainable, and all-electric facility will serve as an academic building for the university’s healthcare students.

Digital Edition