We know that schools are a major civic investment and should be both a source of pride and a center of vibrancy and connection. Our firm is known for deep and consistent engagement throughout the course of a project, which enables us to develop strong and trusting relationships with our clients and community stakeholders.
Our focus is on delivering value: Architecture that inspires a sense of community at an affordable price. Learning environments (like students) must be able to meet the challenges of an ever-changing world. We design flexible, easy-to-maintain, energy-efficient schools that stand the test of time. At the same time, we know that cities and towns across the Commonwealth are grappling with the financial realities of aging infrastructure and omnipresent demands on their limited funding, and we understand full well that our job is to deliver maximum ROI for the projects we undertake.
Recently Completed Projects
Dedham, Massachusetts
RDA was selected to work with the Town of Dedham to determine how best to provide an appropriate Early Childhood program for 310 of the District’s Pre-K and Kindergarten students that was housed in a severely ill-suited teaching environment at the former Curran Elementary School. Our designers led the District through an exhaustive design process that explored 14 options on 5 different sites, resulting in an evaluation matrix that allowed the School Building Committee to set aside various biases and unite around the eventual solution – a 52,000 SF stand-alone Pre-Kindergarten/Kindergarten Early Childhood Center located on a delightful 20-acre wooded site. The scale of the building, with its hip roofs and multiple classroom ‘pods’, is responsive to the size of the young learners it houses. The materials, colors, and textures used on the exterior take their cue from natural site elements including ledge outcroppings and the colorful vegetation that surrounds the building. Natural lighting is abundant throughout the school and the building layout provides a logical, inviting floor plan that is easy to navigate and, more importantly, is an exciting place for the Dedham’s early learners as they embark on the start of their educational experience.
Hingham, Massachusetts
Foster Elementary is a new 126,385 sq. ft. school designed for Hingham’s PreK-5 program for up to 605 students and built on an occupied site. The existing building had a litany of issues, including outdated mechanical systems and educational spaces unable to accommodate the needs of students in the 21st century. The new school has space for the expanded Integrated PreK, Kids in Action, and the Special Education programs. The design also addresses a District-wide need for administrative space, athletic fields, a gymnasium with room for spectators, and event and performance space. Each grade level is grouped as a “neighborhood” with common space for collaborative grade-level educational and project-based activities and provides much needed space for SPED and KIA administrative offices. This highly energy efficient school is all electric, net zero ready, and has ground source heat pumps. The $113 million school opened in 2024.
Bridgewater, Massachusetts
A snowfall-induced roof collapse led the Bridgwater-Raynham Regional School District to hire RDA to do a forensic analysis. We discovered the school had been troubled by indoor air quality issues from the time it was first built, in addition to the safety and programmatic issues as well, given the existing buildings strange configuration of three classroom wings and a central spine. After studying both new and existing building renovations and various sites, a new Pre-K–2nd grade scheme serving 980 pupils on the existing site was determined to be the best fit. Furthermore, a grade reconfiguration (moving third grade to another existing school) saved the town millions of dollars in construction and project costs. The design included a site circulation and parking analysis, and a wonderful tiered and fully accessible outdoor learning and play area. The LEED Silver $88 million dollar school opened in 2022.
Marblehead, Massachusetts
RDA was hired in 2017 to assist the Town of Marblehead in determining the best course of action to address programmatic and parity needs at its PK-3 grade level, where it operated two neighborhood schools and one consolidated school, spread out over five different school buildings on four different sites. We were charged with exploring both 160-pupil neighborhood school, and 450-pupil consolidated school options. RDA provided the District and Building Committee with (23) different development options with a detailed analysis of program, play space, traffic impacts, operating costs, massing/shadow impacts, phasing, permitting, and project costs. The Committee unanimously approved the construction of a new 450-pupil school on an existing school site, designed by RDA. The design vocabulary speaks to Marblehead’s seaside location, and includes wave/buoy/sail/lighthouse references. An innovative two-story mosaic mural, the work of local artists, features historical and educational elements, and will mesh nicely with the school’s curriculum.
Lynn, Massachusetts
RDA was selected to work with the City of Lynn and the MSBA in 2012 to identify the best solution for the replacement of the existing 1920’s-era Thurgood Marshall Middle School. A detailed study of potential sites within the city ensued and RDA was able to design a state-of-the-art new middle school on a site only two blocks from the existing school – a site that had previously been assumed to be too long and narrow for a school. The four-story school is constructed on a pile foundation system and makes use of a building envelope designed to mitigate noise from passing commuter trains right outside the second floor windows. This large urban middle school was broken down into 9 separate ‘Small Learning Communities’ of 120-pupils each, located off of a centrally located ‘vertical wayfinding core’. Each color-coded pod is its own private ‘cul-de-sac’ in which each pupil receives individualized attention from a dedicated team of core-subject educators. Core facilities are located on the first floor, including a unique two-sided stage serving both the Cafetorium and Gymnasium which is sized to seat the entire school community at once – an ability that the school never had, and one of its favorite features. This project is LEED Gold Certified and was completed under budget and four months ahead of schedule.
Uxbridge, Massachusetts
RDA was selected to work with the Town of Uxbridge in 2009 to replace the town’s antiquated high school. From the exterior, this school feels both ‘traditional’ and ‘contemporary’ at the same time. It makes subtle use of traditional building forms such as brick walls, pediments, pitched roofs, a double-gabled facade marking the front entry, and a functioning cupola that bathes the interior entrance lobby with natural light. These features contrast with contemporary design features such as soaring aluminum curtainwall facades, horizontal solar shades, translucent skylights, composite sheathing panels, and most notably, its two-story daylit ‘Commons’, with its unique undulating wall that pays homage to the historic granite locks and water flow on the nearby Blackstone River. Its low cost is especially remarkable given that Uxbridge High School is not simply a ‘flat-roofed box’, but instead features sloped-roofs and a multitude of other durable and desirable features such as superior energy efficiency, high ceilings, abundant daylighting, a state-of-the-art performance hall, an array of flex-space, and a 1:1 technology ratio. This project was selected as a MSBA Model School in 2016, demonstrating exceptional design and flexibility, and achieved the Lowest Cost per Square Foot of any comparable new MSBA-funded high school project bid within one year before or after it.
On the Boards
Leicester, Massachusetts
East Bridgewater, Massachusetts
Lynn, Massachusetts
Families in Lynn will soon enjoy another new Middle School designed by RDA. The Pickering School is a new 183,084 SF middle school that will feature the kinds of modern teaching and learning spaces befitting a 21st Century school. The new school will support 1,100 students. The project was considered necessary given the range of issues with the exterior and MEP systems, and many interior shortcomings. Perhaps most importantly, the new school will provide parity for Lynn’s Middle Schools. RDA’s design addresses/meets the Educational Priorities of the District, includes classrooms of appropriate sizes and adjacencies, will provide for increased energy efficiency, and afford better access to natural light.
East Boston, Massachusetts
Raymond Design Associates has been retained to design an addition-renovation of the Patrick J. Kennedy Elementary School in the heart of East Boston. The Kennedy School is a small and close-knit learning community, and currently enrolls about 300 students. The school will be renovated to provide accessibility upgrades and fire protection to the existing school. The project scope includes a roughly 3,900 SF two story addition that houses a new main entrance at-grade, a new stairwell, and a new elevator serving all three levels of the building. The project is expected to open in 2024.
Newton, Massachusetts
The Horace Mann School Project is currently paused awaiting project funding. RDA accomplished much of the design work on the project while it was in the study/feasibility phase. The Horace Mann staff provided ample feedback and input through the visioning process, and the design team and school building committee has been hard at work analyzing the site and interior design concepts in an effort to streamline the next phase of the design process. The goal is to move the project forward expeditiously once project funding is secured. The team aims to complete the design by the end of 2024, with construction expected to start in the winter of 2025. Project competition in fall of 2026.
