Project overview:The new PreK–8 Michael Driscoll School delivers a future-ready learning environment in a complex, dense urban location. Relieving overcrowding and replacing educationally inappropriate facilities it also reinvents its city fabric by introducing a new public park, now correctly embedded in the bosom of its residential neighborhood.
A three-wing radiating floor plan organizes cohort grade-level sub-communities along generous daylight spines and brings them together at a central, visible collaboration zone: the Learning Commons/Cafeteria atrium. This heart of the school enables “learning rather than teaching,” making project work, exhibitions, and cross-grade interaction legible and inviting.
The three wings form three different outdoor rooms between them. To the South, the main entrance and public face creating a much-needed street wall for Washington St. To the West, the new playground and community park. To the East a roof terrace small child playground directly and securely accessed from each classroom.
To fit on its tight site a dedicated athletics suite with a clerestory lit 6,000-square-foot gymnasium is packed below grade. At the school front is the multi-purpose auditorium, with large windows and visibility onto the street, whose superior acoustics have made it a cherished and much sought after asset for the local performing arts community.
More than a container for an educational program, Driscoll is an instrument for it—an adaptable framework that invites teachers and students to co-author learning every day and a civic beacon that reflects Brookline’s long-term investment in equity, health, and delight.
Project location: Brookline, Massachusetts
Firm name:Jonathan Levi Architects
Architect of Record:
Completion: 2024
Client:Town of Brookline
Jury comments:Unlike similar previous projects, this one works by thoughtfully dealing with and reorienting context. The three-wing layout creates functional learning clusters and integrates inclusive programming with impressive energy performance. The central commons, intended as a dynamic heart, reads more as circulation than a vibrant hub, and the spatial hierarchy could be clearer. Interesting form and overall, a project that succeeds contextually and functionally, though opportunities remain to elevate beauty, placemaking, and experiential richness.
Images/Photographer(s):Alan Karchmer Architectural Photography General Contractor:Gilbane, CMR Project or Construction Manager:Gilbane, CMR Planning:New Vista Design Civil Engineer:CDW Consultants, Inc. Specifications:Architx LLC Structural:LeMessurier Mechanical:Garcia Galuska & DeSousa Electrical:Garcia Galuska & DeSousa Plumbing:Garcia Galuska & DeSousa Acoustics:Acentech Audio Visual:Acentech Interiors:Jonathan Levi Architects Landscaping:Halvorson Design Partnership, Inc. Lighting:Garcia Galuska & DeSousa Traffic: Vanasse and Associates, (Giles Ham)
Data/Communications: Garcia Galuska & DeSousa (David Pereira)
Geotechnical/Geoenvironmental: McPhail Associates, LLC (Chris Erikson, PE)
Hazardous Materials: CDW Consultants (Susan Cahalan, PG, ISSP-SA)
Historic Preservation: Building Conservation Associates, Inc. (Lisa Howe)
Cost Estimating: Daedalus Projects, Inc. (Richard Marks)
Site Surveyor: Hancock Associates (J Dan Bremser)
Theater Consultant: NextStage Design (Gene Leitermann)
Food Service: Crabtree McGrath Associates, Inc. (John Sousa)
Sustainable Design: Vidaris (Lisa Ross)
Elevator: Van Deusen & Associates (Mark Krass)
Door Hardware: Allegion, PLC (John Gant)
Furniture & Equipment: Tavares Design Associates, Inc. (Rob Fogarty)
