Choate Rosemary Hall
Ager Group Landscape Architect.
Wallingford, CT – The Cameron and Edward Lanphier Center for Mathematics and Computer Science at at Choate Rosemary Hall, a private college-preparatory boarding school in Wallingford, is underway, sited on the historic side of the campus with connections and views to the contemporary side.
The contextual duality sets up an interesting framework for the building and landscape development. While the building is outwardly contextual in nature, the inside is contemporary, expressing current trends in math and science education. The curriculum will take students beyond the traditional STEM subjects — science, technology, engineering, and mathematics — and incorporate the art of elegant design.
The new center will integrate technology, education, and creativity into a 21st century program preparing Choate students for innovative thinking and creative collaboration.
The building, designed by architects Pelli Clarke Pelli, is organized around a heritage Copper Beech tree forming a courtyard to protect the tree. An elevated wood deck rings the interior glass walls of the courtyard to protect the tree roots while allowing student use of the courtyard. A lower courtyard connects the building to the existing pond, and a grand stair marks the entry to the building, creating a south-facing entry plaza.
The Ager Group of Boston is the landscape architect.
The project is proposed to achieve a LEED Gold certification, with the landscape composed of native vegetation requiring no irrigation, and local and recycled materials. The project is scheduled to be completed in 2015.
