The Dearborn STEM Academy is a 128,000-square-foot public middle/high school in Roxbury, Massachusetts. Three educational cohorts, organized by grade level, occupy separate floors surrounding the central atrium. Structural steel with complex load paths created the light-filled atrium with four stories of monumental stairs and classroom bays. Spaces flow together under cantilevered perimeter windows without traditional corridors.

The Dearborn STEM Academy is one of the nation's first purpose-built STEM schools with a design that centers transparency, flexible teaching arrangements, and collaboration. Glass-walled science exploratory rooms and collaborative spaces facilitate student interaction and learning. The structural system supports a two-story open gymnasium alongside the educational program's fabrication labs with 3D printers and specialized STEM facilities.

Key features:

• High-performance building envelope system
• Custom horizontal and vertical sun screens
• Structural steel designed for large, open spaces