Student agency and wellness takes center stage.
Choosing from a broad array of academic and vocational programs can be a daunting task for any student. The design empowers students to take ownership of their learning experiences by optimizing for maximum spatial connectivity and transparency, encouraging them to explore, discover, and seek happiness in what may become their life’s work.
The school’s layout reflects its diverse curriculum.
Four “learning clusters” extend from the school’s core: Humanities, STE(A)M, Fine and Performing Arts, and Health, Wellness, and Athletics.
The four clusters are connected by social gathering spaces: the dining commons and the media center.
With multiple food service options beyond the dining commons—including a cafe in the media center—students enjoy more opportunities for collaboration and chance encounters.
Students First
|The new design takes a student-centered approach, embracing modern learning styles such as project-based learning. These principles drove the design of cross-curricular academic and CTE spaces.
Math and arts classrooms, science labs, and teacher support spaces are organized around centrally located “hands-on” learning spaces including vocational labs. The Humanities and STE(A)M clusters form a curved bar, providing full integration of interdisciplinary learning environments. In the corridors, students can make use of light-filled collaboration spaces.
The new Waltham High School prioritizes density and conservation over sprawl.
By adding an extra floor to the typical three levels found in most high schools, the design team was able to preserve a great deal of green space for future use.
The Waltham community sought to leave much of the site untouched and available for future use.
After spirited discussions among local stakeholders, the team reached a solution: a tightly planned four-level building with playing fields stacked on top of parking.
The site plan preserves a section of forest, sparing it from the clearing and blasting required by an earlier plan that located the playing fields near the school entrance.
The site features a sharp change in grade.
The school is bound to the north and west by a 150-foot-high rock outcrop. This dramatic landscape is mirrored by the design of the dining commons and learning stair—an interior landscape that settles the school in its natural surroundings.
Conserving a natural asset
|The Waltham community sought to leave much of the site untouched and available for future use. After spirited discussions among local stakeholders, the team reached a solution: a tightly planned four-level school building with playing fields stacked on top of parking.
The site plan preserves a section of forest, sparing it from the clearing and blasting required by an earlier plan that located the playing fields further to the north.
Another challenge was posed by the bank and wetland stream that cuts directly through the site. Working with a consultant, SMMA created a strategy to develop the site while preserving the existing wetlands. The team proposed native plantings to stabilize the bank and quickly establish new resource areas.
The design embraces Waltham’s proud heritage in industry and craft.
Historic factories and canals have defined the city’s landscape for 200 years. The new school infuses this architectural legacy with modern design principles.
Watch City
|Globally renowned for its watchmaking and textile manufacturing, Waltham’s location on the Middlesex Canal placed its entrepreneurs at the forefront of the American Industrial Revolution.
The design of Waltham High School celebrates this tradition. The school’s brick façade with regular openings pays homage to the historic mill buildings that once defined the city’s industrial landscape.
The design also includes elements of the Arts and Crafts movement, seen in buildings like the nearby Stonehurst house, designed by H.H. Richardson. Like Stonehurst, the simple use of natural materials connects the school to a sense of nature.
The fish-scale patterns in the auditorium’s zinc cladding and tilework reference the slate roofs of Victorian homes that surround the site.
Large CTE programs define the rear half of the building.
These include auto technology and collision repair, carpentry, electrical work, and HVAC. The auto shop’s “working courtyard” allows easy access for the public to drop off their cars for repair.
In the front half, smaller CTE spaces co-exist with academic programs.
Experiential graphics capture the unique history, values, and aspirations of the Waltham community.
The graphics foster students’ growth and learning by stirring emotions and finding unexpected ways to inform, educate, and inspire.
Tapping into Waltham’s proud history of textile manufacturing, the designs use textile motifs to represent global cultures with a connection to the many origin countries that form the student body.
The design process was informed by almost 1,000 survey results from staff, students, and community members, as well as graphic-specific focus groups and in-depth research of Waltham-inspired content. SMMA worked closely with the Waltham Historical Society to capture the City’s identity and uncover inspiring stories about its residents.
From these surveys, four key themes emerged:
The design prominently features motifs and patterns inspired by the diverse cultures represented in the school community, using textiles and icons from student and family backgrounds to reflect inclusivity.
Graphics highlight stories of local pioneers, reformers, and activists, connecting students to Waltham’s history of change and social progress. Portraits and posters showcase individuals who embody traits like empathy and courage.
The power of public speaking and expression is celebrated through installations featuring notable speeches and figures, emphasizing the importance of communication skills.
Visuals and materials like tile mosaics emphasize craft, making, and real-world skills, aligning with the school’s focus on experiential, non-traditional learning and STEM programs.
School signage and wayfinding help students navigate the four-level building.
