Design team outlines ecology-driven schematic design, site plan and athletics constraints for Salem High School

Perkins and Will and landscape consultants presented a schematic-design update to the Salem High School Building Committee on Aug. 21 that emphasized ecology-led site planning, a massing strategy of three parallel academic "bars," and tradeoffs for athletics fields and circulation.

The design team described work underway to support the MSBA schematic design submission, including weekly consultant coordination, geotechnical test pits, traffic review with MassDOT, a cut/fill grading analysis, and schematic estimating. Perkins and Will said the team is preparing schematic documents required for the MSBA funding process and coordinating mechanical, electrical and fire-protection reviews with city staff.

Navia Raju, an ecologist on the Perkins and Will team, framed the campus as a transition zone between upland forest and coastal wetlands and recommended nature-based strategies: wetland restoration, increased infiltration and pollinator/native planting to support biodiversity and climate resiliency. Raju highlighted soils, glacial stratified deposits on site, and growing climate-driven flood risk as design drivers; the team proposed boardwalks, outdoor classrooms, meadows and pollinator gardens that could double as living classrooms.

Landscape architect Lynn (Studio 2112) showed how the team translated ecological zones into landscape typologies: wetland buffers, meadows, forest-edge buffers and core forest patches. The plan places outdoor maker spaces, foraging and teaching gardens near the central courtyard and a proposed outdoor amphitheater adjacent to the Black Cat Cafe and servery. The landscape team emphasized biodiversity metrics for planting (no more than 10% of a species, 20% of a genus, 30% of a family) to promote ecological resilience.

Perkins and Will showed building massing that steps with the site—s topography, with three academic bars connected by a central circulation spine and shared facilities (gym, cafeteria, auditorium) opening to the landscape. The team said the kitchen was relocated to the center bar to reduce internal circulation and that career and technical education (CTE) spaces are distributed to make CTE work visible from the site.

Athletics: the team confirmed two MIAA-compliant multiuse fields in the central site core but said the baseball and softball layouts where currently drawn would be practice-only rather than competition-compliant because required outfield and backstop dimensions cannot fit without additional space or overlays that typically require synthetic turf. The design team noted that overlaying multiple competitive field footprints commonly leads to a requirement for synthetic turf if competition-level play and extensive hours of use are expected. Committee members asked for additional clarity on fencing heights, night lighting impacts on ecology and maintenance implications of any synthetic surface.

Site circulation: the plan preserves a southern vehicular entrance for parent drop-off and relocates bus/day-care activity to the northeast loop; gates were shown to provide secure perimeter separation during school hours while maintaining pedestrian access to athletics and green spaces. The team said reconfiguration retains current parking counts by converting the existing bus parking area near the tennis courts into vehicular parking if buses are parked elsewhere.

Schedule and next steps: the team said schematic design estimating will take place in November and that MSBA comments on the preferred schematic report were received and responded to by staff earlier the same day. The team expects continued coordination with MSBA and the city—s consultants and promised updated drawings for committee review, including a revised first-floor plan to reflect recent program moves.

Committee members expressed strong interest in maximizing ecological features for student learning, including restoration of wetlands and trails to connect Salem High School to Salem Woods Park, and raised practical questions about night lighting, the cost and environmental trade-offs of synthetic turf, and where potential bus parking would be located. Designers said these topics will be refined in the schematic design documents and in conversations with city departments.

Sources: Perkins and Will presentation, ecology briefing and landscape presentation during Salem High School Building Committee meeting, Aug. 21 (transcript).