A Peaceful Space in the Heart of the City
The vision for Excel Academy High School was to create a new school that offers all the typical public school components within a more modest budget. Excel’s leadership team envisioned a new building with an elegant, organized interior while saving as much of the exterior site as possible for outdoor use. Our design team was up to the task and delivered the project ahead of schedule and under budget.
The new school is a testament to efficient design and thoughtful planning, creating a state-of-the-art facility that supports rigorous learning while minimizing its environmental footprint. Serving students from East Boston and Chelsea, the school provides a quiet space insulated from urban noise, including the roar of planes from nearby Logan Airport.
Client
Excel Academy Charter Schools
Size / Area
60,200 SF
Certifications
LEED Silver certifiable
Students
650
Grades
9-12
From Parking Lot to Vibrant Campus
The tight 2-acre urban site, once a barren train yard and parking lot, has been transformed into a vibrant campus. Featuring a well-planted exterior courtyard and direct access to the East Boston Greenway, students and staff benefit from accessible pathways connecting the school to the community’s bike paths and public transit. The exterior landscaping incorporates native plantings that complement the Greenway, enhancing the area’s ecology and aesthetic appeal.
Elegant Interiors Promote Rigorous Learning
The robust acoustic and energy-efficient building envelope ensures a calm environment conducive to learning, while large triple-glazed windows provide daylight-filled classrooms. The building provides an interior space sheltered from city noise and supports the quiet elegance of the school’s program. Inside, the school features:
- core classrooms equipped with advanced technology
- two science labs with full infrastructure
- a cafeteria that doubles as a meeting space
- a regulation high school gymnasium for sports and community use
As requested, the efficient layout minimizes the building footprint, maximizes outdoor spaces for student activities, and preserves the site’s usability.
Committed to Sustainable Design
Designed with sustainability and resilience in mind, Excel Academy High School exceeds stretch code insulation requirements, incorporates LED lighting with daylight harvesting controls, and is PV-ready for a solar array installation. The gymnasium structure is reinforced to support future solar panels, and stormwater storage on-site can hold over 50,000 gallons, mitigating flood risks in this partially floodplain-located campus. Our design was developed under LEED for Schools to be LEED Silver certifiable, showcasing Excel Academy’s commitment to environmental responsibility.
“Studio G worked closely with our staff to understand our program and our mission – and designed something that resonated strongly with both…During construction, they were a key part of one of the most effective project teams I’ve witnessed – and received very positive feedback from our Construction Manager and OPM for their attention to detail and responsiveness.”
– Owen Stearns, Executive Director, Excel Academy Charter Schools
A Building That Supports Success
Our team was excited to collaborate with school leadership and stakeholders throughout the design process to ensure the completed building aligns with Excel Academy’s mission of fostering academic excellence and personal responsibility. The resulting campus not only supports high graduation rates and college admissions but also offers a dynamic and enduring asset to the community.
