Activating a long standing vacant site by responding to complex urban conditions, the Culinary Arts School and Civic Center sits within the dense South End neighborhood in the city of Boston.
Anchored by both the street and Jackson Square park on one side, and by an existing outdoor space belonging to an elementary school on the other, the building design responds and interacts with both urban, but contrasting conditions. The front of the building responds to the park by introducing heavy vegetation on the massive interior atrium and locating the more public aspects of the project such as the library and lounges facing the park and the street; while the more private programmatic elements such as facilities, classrooms, and teaching labs are focused in the back both responding to privacy needs and to the adjacent elementary school.