KIPP Academy Lynn Charter School, a non-profit which serves students in educationally under served areas, hired BLOOM Architecture,and Architectural Renovations of Lynn, to study feasibility and possible solutions for the expansion of the school’s facilities. The school had outgrown its existing building and was utilizing modular classrooms to accommodate its increasing student body. The study presented a unique challenge, as the adjacent Holy Family Church was providing land for KIPP Academy’s use and the expansion would connect directly to the church.BLOOM Architecture analyzed site constraints and the school’s needs, and developed a program including 14 new classrooms, cafeteria, gymnasium, teacher offices, and support spaces. Various schemes were also studied for site access, parking and drop-off space for faculty, parents, and churchgoers. Architecturally, two separate schemes were developed. A traditional scheme, with gable roofs aimed to provide aesthetic continuity, honoring the style of the existing church. The modern scheme, on the other hand, sought to express the distinction between the two buildings with shifts in material and a more linear and geometric articulation of form.
