Owner: City of Worcester, MA
Principal Architects: DRA
Contact: Mr. Richard Bedard
Contractor: Suffolk Construction Co.
Area: 163,500 square feet
Completion Date: 1992

 

At its completion in 1992, Sullivan Middle School became one of the City of Worcester’s largest schools, replacing five out-dated buildings. The chosen site, behind South High School on an extremely steep site bordered by wetlands, was a formidable challenge.

 

As Consulting Architects to Drummey, Rosane and Anderson, Regent Associates proposed a building which steps down the slope while curving along the contours of the hill. The School is organized into “schoolhouses” which subdivides the 1200 seventh and eighth graders into smaller groups, which enhances their sense of identity.

 

Constructed of alternating courses of standard and quad brick with precast concrete lintels and sloped window sills, the classroom wing passes tangentially by the main core which houses the cafetorium, gymnasium, administration, guidance and health suite. Operable partitions allow the semi-circular music room to open onto the back of the stage in the cafetorium. The main entrance Lobby, or Commons, is a bright sky-lit, two-story space for gatherings.