by Sameer Bhoite
Nestled in the picturesque town of Sharon, Massachusetts, the newly completed Sharon High School stands as a testament to innovative landscape architecture and design excellence. This project, a collaboration between Tappé Architects and Warner Larson Landscape Architects (now IMEG), has been recognized with the prestigious Citation of Excellence Award by Learning By Design magazine, underscoring its outstanding contribution to educational environments.
The outdoor classrooms create opportunities for immersive learning.
The site takes inspiration from the school’s strategic location near Lake Massapoag. The school’s central social hub and the cafeteria feature expansive glass windows with views of the lake. The indoor blends seamlessly to the outdoor terrace, offering a variety of seating configurations. This terrace steps down to the great lawn terrace which offers a great space for social gatherings and outdoor community events. A significant feature of the lawn terrace is hands-on learning of stormwater management of the adjacent terraced vegetated weirs that capture all the stormwater run-off from the roofs. Working with Nitsch Engineering, there are additional green strategies such as green roofs, permeable pavers, an educational rain garden, and easy to maintain bio-swales weaved into the site design for sustainability and climate resiliency.
Sameer Bhoite
The school features multiple outdoor learning opportunities, including an immersive boardwalk next to the wetlands, an outdoor classroom with a slate chalkboard, and an outdoor media space for small group projects. The pedestrian-friendly campus includes a grand promenade along the front facade offering resting and social nodes amidst a grove of large shade trees. The geometric paving pattern celebrates the indoor vibrant graphics and diversity of the school. All of these outdoor spaces are designed to contribute to occupants’ mental and emotional well-being.
Besides opportunities for learning, the campus offers its students and community a host of spaces for physical well-being such as a grand football stadium with concession facility, varsity baseball and softball fields, and tennis courts, all with LED sports lighting.
In essence, Sharon High School exemplifies how thoughtful landscape architecture and innovative site design can blend the indoors/outdoors to create an inspiring and functional educational environment that becomes a community hub, earning well-deserved recognition in the field of educational design.
Sameer Bhoite is design director at Warner Larson Landscape Architects (now IMEG).
