Waterford School’s Murray Science Center opens.
September brought me back to school to the Waterford School campus and to photography the new science building, the Murray Science Center, which is nothing like the science classrooms and labs of my schooling.
With ample glass and clean modern forms, the building can be found at the eastern edge of the campus, just south of the sports courts. Okland Construction built the project, and Stephanie McCarthy of EDA Architects designed it.
The north end of the building allows a glimpse to an upper-level patio. The roll up door provides direct access for large pieces of equipment to roll in and out of the Maker Lab.
Entering the building from the east side is this lounge area. The entry extends through to another set of doors on the west side.
Looking across the lounge area, there is an upstairs study room. The glassed elevator shaft can be seen to the right.
Consulted during the design, the science faculty’s influence can be seen in the Nature Lab and displays of specimens within and outside of the cases.
The glass wall at the end of the Nature Lab looks out to the stairway and lobby.
The Maker Lab occupies a large ground level area. Here students can create and program robots and other innovations. I know that could I still be in school, this is where I would spend my time!
The building, built to LEED guidelines, has a looped geothermal system to heat and cool the building. The faculty collaborated to make this a learning opportunity for students, resulting in a glassed room to view the system’s mechanics. To additionally support understanding the geothermal heat exchange system, the piping is left uncovered in the classroom ceilings and color-coded to explain fluid movement.
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The landscaped swale at the west side of the building is designed to manage stormwater onsite. Behind the camera are two other similar depressions. Combined, the three swales provide sufficient storage for a 100-year storm event.
This building impressed me. It’s a stimulating environment for learning and manages to make science studies exciting and a means to better understand how things function.
See more galleries by Scot Zimmerman here.
