Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Modern HS with Skylights Upgrades Historic Mass. Town

  • By Yvonne Marquez
  • 09/10/19

The new Billerica Memorial High School, in the historic town of Billerica (just north of Boston), recently opened its doors to more than 1,600 students in grades 8 through 12, plus 200 students in their Pre-K program. After a 2012 district-wide master plan identified the need for a new high school, a collaboration between the Massachusetts School Building Authority and the town of Billerica, resulted in a 324,000 square-foot new building that emphasizes a flexible learning environment and serves as a community resource.

The new Billerica Memorial High School, in the historic town of Billerica (just north of Boston), emphasizes a flexible learning environment and serves as a community resource. Inside, skylights and large windows create an open and bright environment.

The $176 million project was designed by Perkins and Will, constructed by Shawmut Design and Construction and project managed by Leftfield.

The new building is built on the old school site and will include a stadium, turf field, courtyard with an outdoor stage and movie screen, which will be completed by the end of the school year. Inside, skylights and large windows create an open and bright environment.  

Billerica Memorial, designed with community in mind, can accommodate town-wide events in the gym, auditorium and dining commons. Additional site improvements like bike and walking paths and a quad-style civic green will offer lots of spaces for the community to gather.

Perkins and Will incorporated the high school’s past and the town’s history as a New England mill town into their design. They integrated archival photos of the high school, including some of former U.S. President John F. Kennedy visiting the school as a senator, into the interior design. They opted for traditional building materials while also adding a modern touch.

“At every scale, we used simple, honest materials — wood, brick, steel — in thoughtful, inventive compositions. In that way, we marry the architectural grammar with the community’s story,” Patrick Cunningham, designer at Perkins and Will, said in a press release.

About the Author

Yvonne Marquez is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • R.I. District Holds Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony for New Elementary School

    Cranston Public Schools in Cranston, R.I., recently announced the completion of Gladstone Elementary School, according to a news release. The 100,000-square-foot facility serves as a replacement for the 1950s-era former building, and it consolidates the student, faculty, and staff populations of Gladstone and Arlington Elementary Schools.

  • Missouri K–12 District Cuts Ribbons on Two New Middle Schools

    Springfield Public Schools in Springfield, Mo., recently celebrated the completion of two new middle school facilities with ribbon-cutting ceremonies, according to a district news release. The district officially opened the new Pipkin Middle School and Reed Academy on Sept. 3, both of which were funded through the $220-million Proposition S bond program approved by voters in 2023.

  • URI Cuts Underwater Ribbon on New Ocean Robotics Laboratory

    The University of Rhode Island recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new Ocean Robotics Laboratory at its Narragansett Bay Campus, according to a news release. Two students used a remotely operated vehicle to cut an underwater ribbon in a 30-by-20-foot test tank.

  • Embry-Riddle Completes Construction on Research, Lab Facility

    Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) in Daytona Beach, Fla., recently announced the end of construction on a new research and lab facility on campus. The Center for Aerospace Engineering II (CAT II) will support aerospace research and technology development and broke ground last summer.