Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Massachusetts Charter School Selects Architect for Renovation Project

  • By Matt Jones
  • 01/24/22

The Advanced Math and Science Academy Charter School (AMSA) in Marlborough, Mass., recently selected Boston-based Finegold Alexander Architects to provide the design for an upcoming series of renovation and addition projects. According to a press release, work to be done includes system upgrades, a new multipurpose building, interior fit-outs of a previous office building and redesigning the facility’s traffic patterns.

ASMA is a public charter school that opened in 2005 and serves students in grades 6–12. The academy owns and occupies a three-building campus in a former office park space; Finegold Alexander plans to repurpose the third and fourth floors of one of the office buildings to house additional facilities like science labs, classrooms and administrative space. It will also design a new, 14,000-square-foot multipurpose building.

“While the academic program at AMSA is thriving, our team was able to recognize the need to align the school’s various facilities to create a cohesive environment to support teaching and learning,” said Regan Shields Ives, Principal and K-12 studio leader at Finegold Alexander. “We are excited to embark on this significant partnership with AMSA to creatively address the design challenges that the school is currently facing. Our goal is to support its mission of integrity, excellence and community through innovative and welcoming design.”

Finegold Alexander has completed a number of K–12 projects in the New England area, including the Central Catholic Innovation and Wellness addition; Gibbs School in Arlington, Mass.; Eliot Innovation School in Boston, Mass.; and Methuen High School in Methuen, Mass.

“We are thrilled to partner with Finegold Alexander on transforming our campus into a 21st-century educational institution,” said ASMA Executive Director Ellen Linzey. “Their experience working with other K-12 schools will be invaluable in helping us improve our facilities for our students.”

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Indiana University Launches Capital Campus in D.C.

    Indiana University recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new IU Capital Campus in Washington, D.C., according to university news. The eight-story facility will provide a central hub for the university’s existing programs and business operations based in D.C., uniting them under one roof and providing the opportunity to expand.

  • Classical building columns display digital data streams

    The Campus Nervous System: Why Facilities Risk Is Now a Leadership Issue in Higher Education

    Facility performance now intersects with safety, compliance, on-campus experience, institutional reputation, and financial resilience. That places it firmly on the leadership agenda.

  • California High School Opens New Classroom Building for 7th-, 8th-Graders

    Santa Rosa City Schools in Santa Rosa, Calif., recently announced the completion of a new classroom building for Piner High School. As the campus transitions to a Junior/Senior High School, the facility will play home to the school’s new population of seventh- and eighth-grade students.

  • Designing for Every Mind

    Learning environments have the power to shape not just what students know, but who they become. When a school is designed with genuine empathy—for the full range of ways students think, sense, and engage with the world—it becomes more than a building. It becomes a catalyst for growth, confidence, and belonging. That is the animating idea behind neurodiverse design, and it is one that is transforming how more architects and designers are thinking about school design.