Portsmouth Abbey School Student Center

During the summer of 2021, we were asked by a member of the Board of Trustees to evaluate renovating the existing obsolete student center at Portsmouth Abbey School. At the conclusion of the evaluation, it was decided that the existing building could not properly support the new program functions the school wished to include with a renovation, so the renovation project was abandoned. Shortly thereafter, we were asked by the school to develop concepts for a new student center on a site identified in the school master plan overlooking Narragansett Bay. We were then retained to proceed with the preferred concept from documentation through construction.

This new student center is the first building on campus that addresses and embraces its siting adjacent to Narragansett Bay. With picturesque views facing out towards the water, and the world beyond, the building is conceived as a porch to the world. The building also replaces an existing, inadequate student center, and actively encourages student collaboration and socialization—an important goal for the school’s Board of Trustees when commencing this project.

What makes the project unique is that it is sited within an architecturally unified campus designed by Pietro Belluschi in 1964. The original campus plan and buildings placed primacy on creating an inward-looking experience that provided the school with a strong identity and reinforced a sense of individual scholarship and reflection. Our design reinterprets the architectural language of the Belluschi-designed campus and incorporates contemporary solutions that are sustainable and flexible, and that encourage students and the entire school community to intermingle.

The timber-framed two-story glass enclosed commons recalls the exposed wood structures of the original campus. At the top of the commons, a copper brise soleil controls heat gain and solar glare while echoing Belluschi’s distinctive copper roofs of the original campus. A long, broad-reaching perforated aluminum pergola covers an outdoor terrace facing the bay and mirrors the deep overhangs of the original campus buildings.

The center has become the main gathering space on campus and provides Portsmouth Abbey School with space for activities such as casual study, meetings, dances, assemblies, and presentations. A gaming area at the far end of the commons and an outdoor hearth on the terrace both encourage socialization and relaxation. Group study rooms give students a place on campus to work together on assignments and a grill room offers them access to much desired comfort food.

The copper screen and pergola that wrap these spaces create an internal environment that is dappled with diffused sunlight resulting in an ephemeral and inspirational experience that mirrors the sacred space of the campus chapel. Stunning views of the Bay and of the building’s beautiful exposed wood have a biophilic effect on occupants, contributing to their overall mood, productivity, and well-being. 

The Trustees of Portsmouth Abbey School desired to construct a student center that would enhance student life at this grade 9–12 boarding school on Narragansett Bay. Their hope was that a new multi-format student center would promote collaboration and innovation between students and better prepare them for the future. The Trustees also wanted the new student center to be integrated into the rich architectural language of their Pietro Belluschi-designed campus while simultaneously being distinctive and referencing its site facing Narragansett Bay.

The student center is situated between the Belluschi quadrangle and Narragansett Bay at the edge of campus. In this location, our concept conceives this 8,000-sf facility as a porch to the world providing students with a place to gaze out, meditate, and gather. A porch is a distinctive American building typology, situated between the public and private realm, that serves as a passage between a community and the world beyond—a place of greeting, assembly, and engagement. By acting as a threshold between the campus and the outside world, the student center embodies the porch metaphor, creating a place that encourages social interaction and community engagement.

Additionally, our design reinterprets the iconic architectural language of Pietro Belluschi. The timber-framed, glass-enclosed commons recalls the exposed wood structures of the historic campus buildings. On top of the commons, a pre-patinated copper screen references Belluschi’s distinctive copper rooftops while controlling heat gain and solar glare. The decorative perforation of this screen is inspired by the wings of St. Benedict’s Raven—an inspirational cultural narrative of this Benedictine community. Extending beyond the commons is an outdoor covered terrace and amphitheater that overlooks Narragansett Bay. A perforated aluminum pergola covers the terrace allowing diffused sunlight into the commons as it shades seating beneath it. The long broad reach of the overhead pergola recalls the deep overhangs of the adjacent historic campus buildings thereby allowing the student center to sit comfortably next to its neighbors while also distinguishing itself as a destination on campus.

The challenge of this project was one of integration and distinction. The original campus master plan and buildings were designed in 1964 by Pietro Belluschi, who organized the structures around a rectangular central lawn. This inwardly-focused monastic quadrangle, called the Holy Lawn, is surrounded by academic buildings and an iconic chapel set at its head. While the original campus organization created a strong internal sense of place, identity, and belonging, it did not acknowledge its siting adjacent to Narragansett Bay.

Our design reinterprets the iconic language of Belluschi while providing innovative sustainable solutions that address its bay siting. The new student center is located at the head of Ravens Quad, a recreational green space recently developed as a residential expansion that is externally open-ended to the bay. Our concept conceives the student center as a “porch to the world” opening onto the bay, and the world beyond, and offering an alternative to the monastic-like structures of the original campus. By acting as a threshold between the campus and the world beyond, the student center provides an inspirational space for civic engagement, collaboration, and discourse amongst students with ample and stunning views of the bay.

Both the inward-facing Holy Lawn and outward-facing Ravens Quad embody the mission of the school: reverence to God and commitment to community action. The student center has positively impacted this academic community by providing an inspirational space for gathering, collaboration, and discovery thereby preparing students to lead lives of public action and service to others.

We worked closely with the Portsmouth Abbey School’s Board of Trustees and School Administrator to develop the building’s program and understand the needs of the school. We collaborated with them to build consensus and we maintained an active, positive role in developing a design that reflected the actual conditions—cultural, economic, and political—of the institution and community of which it is a part. During the concept phase, we provided the client with three conceptual design directions: a porch, a portal, and a court option. It was determined that the porch concept best embodied the goals for the new student center. Also, throughout the design’s development, students and recent alumni were involved in giving the design team input.

Like all our designs, the concept for the student center at Portsmouth Abbey School was developed through the language of storytelling—invoking the values of its institution to convey an expression that is lasting and timeless. Our architectural solutions reflect the regional traditions of the areas in which we build and seek a timeless expression that eloquently tells our clients’ stories. In this way, our work is “a-stylistic,” with no preordained aesthetic expression, and is inspired by thoughtful, economic, and efficient solutions that are meaningful to the people who inhabit and enjoy our buildings. The diversity of our work results from a consistency of approach and ideation, which when tempered by setting and client needs produces a rich variation of response. Our work is at once situational, inextricably bound to the specifics of place and program, and universal in its broader aspirations to locate itself within the canon of modern architecture.

Our work is also united in its commitment to design excellence, and social and environmental responsiveness. We believe there is an opportunity for design excellence in all projects, regardless of size and budget. This building is no exception. Our design process inventively integrates sustainable approaches to advance the architectural metaphor and theme of each project. Green design elements are integrated into the design to advance and support the architectural experience and composition and to create a healthy environment that is operationally sustainable. For example, the copper rooftop of the student center is a brise soleil that diffuses south and west facing sunlight, rejects heat gain, and allows interior lighting to remain off during the day. The broad overhanging pergola keeps the terrace and area around the building cool. Low and high operable windows capture breezes from the bay to naturally ventilate the building during temperate seasons. The heavy cross-laminated timber structure is a renewable resource that has a low carbon footprint.

Email interview conducted by John Hill.