Project overview: The Sturbridge Senior Center project demonstrates how thoughtful design can amplify services, strengthen community life, and honor history. Guided by the Center’s mission to promote health, independence, and social connection, the project sought not simply to expand space but to reimagine what senior services could mean in a small town.
The process required balancing the cultural importance of the 1874 Italianate schoolhouse with the need for a universally accessible, future-ready facility. The design solution—a modest addition tucked respectfully behind the schoolhouse and linked through a dynamic two-story “Puzzle Overlook”—preserves history while opening the building to a new chapter. Circulation is clear and intuitive, with a covered entry for ease of use and program spaces organized along a straightforward axis.
Universal Design principles were embedded from the outset, shaping everything from site entry to interior layouts. Accessibility, intuitive wayfinding, and visibility create an environment where seniors can engage confidently and comfortably. In this way, the building itself becomes an extension of the services it houses: supporting dignity, independence, and well-being.
The outcome is both practical and symbolic. Seniors gain a vibrant, flexible hub for health, learning, and socialization, while the town sustains its historic schoolhouse as a living part of community life. Key lessons include the power of design to bridge past and future, the importance of embedding Universal Design early, prioritizing designing to passive house standards, and the value of a transparent, community-centered process that builds trust and pride.
Project location: Cambridge, Massachusetts
Firm name: NBBJ
Completion: 2024
Jury comments: Consistently excellent throughout. Beautiful project with a clean, simple, and impactful material palette. Very good use of light, textures, and dynamic interior spaces. The lab atrium is particularly engaging, offering an interesting contrast to typical lab environments.
Images/Photographers: Chuck Choi, Robert Benson General Contractor: John Moriarty Associates Civil Engineer: Bristol Engineering Advisors Specifications: Kalin Associates Structural: Thornton Thomasetti Mechanical: BR+A Electrical: BR+A Plumbing: BR+A Acoustic: Acentech Audio Visual: Acentech Landscape: Halvorsen Lighting: Lam Partners Wind Modeling and Analysis: RWDI Geotechnical Engineering: Haley & Aldrich Transportation Consultant: VHB Elevator Consulting: VDA Door Hardware: Robbie McCabe Consulting Legal Counsel: Adams & Rafferty Materials Handling: St. Onge
