Whitefield Academy Morris Hall

Whitefield Academy Morris Hall

Whitefield Academy is a small, independent K12 school that has experienced consistent growth since its inception in 1997. Morris Hall, the newest building to be added to the academic campus, was designed to support the school’s exceptional college preparatory education and accommodate an anticipated enrollment growth in the high school program. The 54,000 sq. ft. building houses 16 flexible classrooms, three science labs, a media center, art room, lecture hall, administrative offices, and a 300-seat black box theater for dramatic performances, concerts, and recitals.

Located at the north end of the academic campus, Morris Hall was sited to complete the David G. Jones Quadrangle, the main campus greenspace. As the new focal point on the quad, the design intent was to provide a state-of-the-art academic facility that complimented the existing campus architecture as well as the surrounding pastoral landscape.

Students are drawn from the Quad into the building by the double-height entrance, which is framed by exposed architectural steel framing and a wood-decking ceiling. Continuing the established architectural vernacular, the design of Morris Hall incorporates the same rich palate of materials – field stone, glass, wood and steel – but with a more sophisticated design character, befitting of the more ‘mature’ high school students. Daylight-filled study rooms are located on all three building levels and provide students with dynamic views of the Quad and an adjacent pond.

Entering the building from the Quad, students are led into Main Level Lobby, a tall, open space that connects all three levels with a main central stair. Glass walls at either end of the Lobby provide a view corridor from the quad to the surrounding landscape, maintaining the students’ visual connection to nature. Program spaces ‘pinwheel’ off the Main Level Lobby, with the Administrative Offices located directly off the Lobby for security and ease of access. On the opposite side of the Lobby is the entrance to the black box theater, which is the largest formal gathering space on the campus.

On the east side of Morris Hall, informal student breakout areas are located on all levels, giving students commanding views of the adjacent pond/water feature and creating a dramatic lantern effect at dusk. These spaces also serve as overflow classroom or seminar space to support the academic program. The west wing of the building features a two-level porch that provides additional informal study spaces and creates a formal architectural feature that addresses Quad. Fronting this porch is a terrace that can accommodate a variety of outdoor programming.

Morris Hall has become the focal point of the academic campus, both physically and functionally. On any given school day, Morris Hall, is a hub of activity and learning with students weaving in and out of classrooms as the bell rings. Before and after school, students can be seen lingering behind to chat with teachers about a class project, their extracurricular activities, or just life in general. In between classes, the hallways are alive with conversation with students from all grade levels sharing with one another.