Somerville High School was named among the three best educational planning projects in the world for 2024 by the Association for Learning Environments (A4LE), a global interdisciplinary association of professionals working at the intersection of learning and place to drive the evolution of learning environments.
The SMMA-designed school in Somerville, MA was among three finalists in the James D. MacConnell awards, the most prestigious award offered by A4LE.
The jury, comprised of A4LE members from the United States and Australia, praised the Somerville High School project for its response to technically complex site conditions while applauding its celebration of student diversity, educational visioning, and CTE connections.
“[A] very impressive response to a very complex functional brief and difficult site”, said an A4LE jury member. “The team has developed an exemplary comprehensive school development that combines vocational and academic education seamlessly and provides a wonderful community resource.”
Somerville High School
The awards were announced at the A4LE LearningSCAPES conference in Portland, OR on October 19th. Accepting on behalf of SMMA was Lorraine Finnegan, who served as project manager, and Matt Rice, who was senior project architect.
A major addition-renovation project, Somerville High School provides educational and life-skill-building experiences for an ethnically and socioeconomically diverse population of 1,600 students.
The school’s comprehensive model offers academic and career and technical education (CTE) programs strategically interwoven beneath one roof.
The MacConnell award recognizes projects that “address a detailed and specific planning process resulting in a facility that supports the educational goals of the district, the needs of a community and is student-centered for active and dynamic learning.”
This is the first time that an SMMA-designed school has been named a MacConnell finalist.
The winning entry for 2024 was James Baldwin Elementary School in Seattle, WA, designed by NAC Architecture. The third finalist was Lakeridge Middle School in Lake Oswego, OR, designed by Mahlum Architects.
