Concordia Architecture & Planning

Providence, Rhode Island

“The Met puts into action everything that we know works for kids. It will be a catalyst for a statewide effort to strengthen secondary education.” – Peter McWalters, Rhode Island Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education

During its first year of operations, the Big Picture Company commissioned Concordia to facilitate a community-based master plan for the future expansion of their downtown campus. The master planning process took place over a six month period, engaging the Met’s administrators, teachers, parents and students as well as local business, resident and other non-profit stakeholders from the South Providence community. Among the master plan’s principles was the notion that each of the four proposed new small schools be an individual, stand-alone building. Housing approximately 115 9th-12th grade students, each small school showcases spatial flexibility which is another principle emphasized through the planning and design phases. Equally notable was the design requirement that the Met serve as a neighborhood center. To accomplish these goals, four small schools were centrally located within their community, placed at opposite corners of an 8-acre site, and given access to newly constructed common functions which are shared with the community. Common functions include a large fitness center with a gymnasium, aerobics and weight rooms, and a rock climbing wall and a separate, independent structure containing a “black box” theater, radio studio, and video production area.

In keeping with the community-based theme of the master plan, the Met’s campus integrates local street patterns and the neighborhood’s scale by preserving the size and scale of existing city blocks. At the center of the campus, a newly created “town square” provides an outdoor recreational field, performing arts space, and a festival area for both the school and community. The town square is serviced by controlled vehicular and pedestrian access from all four sides. Entrances to each stand-alone facility open onto the town square providing access to the gymnasium, auditorium, and each of the four small schools.

Operational issues related to the joint use of the Met’s facilities are reviewed and negotiated through meetings with local community stakeholders, many of whom were involved in the development of the original master plan. Specialized design “charettes” with teachers and students determine how to maximize the benefits of the schools’ flexible wall system and furnishing system. Dozens of educational “manifestations” are incorporated into the project through collaborations between students, teachers, administrators, and design professionals, and the Met serves as a national laboratory for research in the design of environments that meet the demands of contemporary learning strategies.