Maria Weston Chapman Middle School

The new Maria Weston Chapman Middle School was built on the existing 16-acre site in Weymouth and welcomed students back in 2022 to the reimagined and newly constructed Middle School. The project, made possible through a partnership with the Town, design teams, and the MSBA (Massachusetts School Building Authority), achieved award-winning status and is Certified as LEED Gold®. The design includes a town square, three academic wings (each marked by a distinct tower-like structure home to specialized STEAM lab spaces), a cluster of classroom teams surrounding a double-height presentation space, work areas, and support spaces, accessible open spaces, with over 220,000 sq. ft. of new space, and a redesign of the existing gymnasium structure (by keeping the gym intact, the project team was able to save valuable time, budget, and reduce the amount of embodied carbon released during construction). Moreover, the project incorporates numerous sustainable design strategies including outdoor classrooms, a 1/2-mile fitness loop, Bioswales, rain gardens with native grasses in the landscaping to help conserve water and reduce stormwater infrastructure, triple-glazed windows contribute to a projected EUI that is 52% below code baseline, low-flow plumbing fixtures reduce water usage.

Our team was responsible for civil engineering, land surveying, and environmental permitting for the feasibility study through construction phases. This included evaluating existing conditions (including utility mains for the neighborhood through the campus and significant topography ledge present), stormwater management, site utilities, grading, and LEED elements. Challenges included a compact site with extreme proximity to bordering neighbors.