Saugus School Design Inspired by the Birthplace of the American Iron and Steel Industry
The residents in Saugus, Massachusetts, celebrate their history and keep it alive in the industrial and colonial architecture that can be seen throughout town. The new Saugus Middle High School is an extension of this, reflecting the town’s history steeped in iron works, ice and lobstering while embracing a STEAM-driven education focus. A combination of Dri-Design aluminum panels — flat, tapered series and stenciled graphic panels — were used at the entrance of the school to express this goal.
“Metal was the natural choice given the inspiration of the historic Saugus Iron Works,” said Melissa Greene, a senior associate at HMFH Architects in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and a project architect on the Saugus project. “A national historic site just outside of Boston, the Saugus Iron Works is considered the birthplace of the American iron and steel industry and served as design inspiration for the new facility. The tapered series allowed for the creation of a basket-weave look, which really animated those forms on the building and articulated them in a more human-scaled way. Dri-Design also offered the ability to incorporate custom graphics and colors that were important to the success of the design.”