Erinn McCarthy Humanities Hall

Maryvale Preparatory School

Location Brooklandville, Maryland

Maryvale Preparatory School, a rural 425 student school, was in need of a campus master plan and a new humanities hall for its growing community.

This historic castle is the genius loci for the school campus. Over the decades, three-(3) additional school buildings were constructed, but none established a formal relationship with the castle or order for the campus. The design team was selected to reaffirm the castle as the campus' heart and connect the upper and lower campuses through thoughtful site planning that includes a new humanities building and future development sites.

The Humanities Building is comprised of an entry gallery, 500-seat auditorium, six-(6) classrooms, computer lab and music department. By strategically addressing site complexities and program organization, the building is broken into three-(3) discrete masses: the entry gallery, auditorium and classroom bar. The two-(2) story glazed entry hall faces the castle, with an internal grand stair mirrored by an external garden stair.

The classroom bar flanks the wooded side of the site, providing three-(3) stories of tree house-like views to the forest beyond. To the gallery's north, a compressed light lock opens to a multi-tiered auditorium. Entering beneath the balcony, the room unfolds to a grand north-facing window providing views to a teaching amphitheater and the woods beyond.

Awards

AIA, Baltimore Chapter, Honorable Mention, 2014

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Project Details

Project Cost $10,955,404
Square Footage 30,000

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