Sited at the threshold of Boston’s Chinatown neighborhood, the new Josiah Quincy Upper School is a showcase for equitable, community-focused, sustainable design as one of the first projects to open under the Green New Deal for Boston Public Schools initiative. With limited open space in Boston’s dense urban core for a new school building, JQUS was conceived as a dynamic high-rise school on a less than one-acre site adjacent to the Josiah Quincy Elementary School. The grade 6-12 facility creates expanded opportunities for students and community members alike, with spacious, light-filled learning and common areas.

A sheltering entrance plaza welcomes the neighborhood into the soaring, light-filled cafeteria, which is anchored by a mural that evokes the rich culture of the surrounding neighborhood. The mascots of both the Josiah Quincy Elementary School and the upper school are depicted in the mural, the dragon for JQES and the phoenix for JQUS. They exchange pearls of wisdom as they dance above the two schools, symbolizing harmony, balance, and prosperity.

A welcoming vertical circulation core connects public-facing spaces near the ground level including a cafeteria, media center, gym, auditorium, and black box theater with upper academic floors. North- and south-facing classrooms have expansive windows for daylighting and are organized around collaborative projects areas to accommodate group and individual learning. The upper academic floors are structured as a four-story tall truss, cantilevering over the main entrance plaza. This also enabled the gym and auditorium to be projected from the rest of the massing and suspended from the truss for flexible spatial treatment below. The diagonal truss and brace members are visible through exterior openings, showing how the building structure works.

Despite the school’s location on a constrained site adjacent to two major highways, the design provides a connection to nature and spaces for outdoor, hands-on learning. An occupiable rooftop complete with an outdoor STEM classroom, gardens with a variety of native plant species, and walking paths offer space for movement and science-based learning opportunities. The landscaped roof not only positively impacts student well-being but also provides health and climate benefits by mitigating urban heat island effects, slowing stormwater runoff, mitigating air pollution, and increasing biodiversity. As only the second state-funded public school in Massachusetts to achieve LEED Platinum certification, JQUS sets high standards for efficiency, resiliency, and environmental health.

The new JQUS is the first permanent home for the school, which was established as a pilot program in 1997 and serves a mostly minority student population of 650 middle and high school students. It is Boston’s only full-program International Baccalaureate school.

Design: HMFH Architects
Contractor: Turner Construction Company
Photography: Ed Wonsek