Friends' Central School
Center for Innovation + Design
Client: Friends' Central School
Size: 9,340 s.f.
Completed: Sept 2024
In 2022, Friends’ Central School set out to expand its STEAM education facilities, and hired CICADA to reimagine one of its historic buildings as a new makerspace for design, woodworking, robotics and future planning for new programs. Rex Gymnasium, originally built in 1925, had served as a multi-use venue for campus gatherings and arts activities once it had been superseded by newer gymnasiums, and so became the school’s choice to repurpose as the home of the new Center for Innovation and Design.
CICADA worked with the school’s Design Team to develop the programming for its educational goals, adapt the existing space while still preserving its beloved features, upgrade the building envelope to meet the school’s LEED goals, and deliver the project in time for classes for the 2024 fall term.
Photograph from 1926, during construction of Rex Gymnasium
Photograph from 2022, before renovation (CICADA)
Photo from 2024, after renovation (Kendon Photography)
Situated in the heart of the campus, building’s location aligns with the school’s goal to enhance access to these tools, spaces, and classes for all students. According to FCS, the new Center for Innovation and Design “instantly became a campus favorite, serving as a hub of creativity for student in their STEAM education, both for class projects and during free time.”
CICADA incorporated a partial second floor within the existing double-height structure: robotics, wood- and metalworking studios on the lower level, and a design studio on the upper level. Dust collection and acoustics were carefully considered, allowing for multiple classes to be in session at once.
Key sustainable features of the project in pursuit of LEED 4.1 for Schools certification include:
New full-building envelope insulation
Energy-efficient windows
Natural daylighting & LED lighting
All-gender inclusive restrooms with low-flow plumbing
New mechanical systems with energy recovery units
Rendering of main Fabrication Studio
'Before' photo (courtesy of client)
Photo of main Fabrication Studio (Kendon Photography)
Images by Kendon Photography