Atlantis Charter School
Fall River, MA
Atlantis Charter School is an all-new campus for a K-12 program on a 65-acre former industrial site overlooking a scenic reservoir.
The 94,000 SF school is divided into three wings, a Lower School for Grades K-6, an Upper School for Grades 7-12, and a Gymnasium wing shared by all students, with a total population of 1,400 students. The two schools share a central, landscaped courtyard, as well as regulation-sized athletic fields and track.
Flexibly designed cafeterias double for eating and recreation. In the Lower School, the wall between the cafeteria and music room opens to create a performance venue. The two-story volume of the Upper School cafeteria is set up for presentations with a designated projection wall. Stadium stairs alongside the cafeteria are used for informal student gatherings. Benches in halls provide a “cool down” spot and serve informal student/teacher interactions.
The Lower School includes a playground with separate areas for older and younger children, as well as Art and Music Rooms. The Upper School features an innovative ‘Career Academy’ with dedicated resource rooms for 5 vocational tracks: Med/Tech, STEM, Business and Entrepreneurship, Teacher Training, and Art/Culture/Design.Each student samples all five tracks, and develops expertise in a chosen track their senior year. The 5 Career Academy Rooms and Cafeteria are the centerpiece of the Upper School, with storefront windows and views to the entrance and the courtyard.
The architectural vocabulary of the complex derives from the rocky site and ledge outcroppings, and is clad with gray ground-face concrete blocks in patterns reminiscent of geological strata, with colorful metal accents.
Studio G conducted an initial Feasibility Study and participatory program process, and then followed up with extensive community review and permitting. Constructed under CM at Risk as per Chapter 149a, the school opened in March 2018.