parker damon building

OMR’s work for the Acton Public Schools and Acton-Boxborough Regional School District began with a feasibility study and comprehensive campus master plan. This new K-6 twin elementary school building is one of two subsequent projects that have since been built.

The new building sits in the southeast corner of Acton’s main public school campus to accommodate playing fields, parking, and clear vehicular circulation paths. The natural slope of the site reduces the school’s apparent size when viewed from the street. At the rear of the building, kindergarten classrooms open onto playing fields and a paved playground. A series of bays mark each classroom to provide a separate and familiar entrance at a residential scale appropriate for their younger users.

The Twin School accommodates two individual schools, each with its own administration and student body, in a single facility. Balancing the extent to which each school is separate yet integrated into a cohesive whole is key to the success of the building. Each wing is self-contained in terms of classrooms and administrative offices. However, the two schools share a common main entrance and a centrally located media center, gymnasium, and cafetorium. Natural light and well-planned circulation spaces give the building an open, airy feeling. Corridors circle the two core facilities to provide views across the gym and cafetorium. An open three-story staircase connects all levels to form an atrium that doubles for social and community use. Above the staircase, a large skylight illuminates the lobby and down into the lowest level to create a warm learning environment.