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The Winsor School
Science Wing Renovation

Designed for the way middle and high school girls learn science today, the renovated wing pairs flexible lab environments with visible, inspiring spaces that encourage students to see themselves as scientists.

  • Location

    • Boston, MA

    Size

    • 15,800 GSF

    Program

    • Teaching labs for chemistry, biology, and physics, offices, STEM lab, project lab and prep labs

    Practice area

Preparing girls for leadership in science

Science at Winsor has long been central to the school’s mission of preparing girls for leadership in fields where women remain underrepresented. Through a comprehensive planning study led by Goody Clancy, faculty, students, and school leadership reexamined how science should be taught for middle and high school students in the decades ahead. That work identified a clear opportunity and need: modernize the existing science wing to better support inquiry-based learning while strengthening the independent school’s long-term investment in STEM education.

Organized around two teaching modes—classroom instruction in front and laboratory work beyond—each lab supports both structure and exploration for middle and upper school learners.

A focused, high-impact intervention

The existing wing reflected an earlier era of science instruction, with fixed layouts and aging systems. Within a tight urban footprint and an actively occupied building, the renovation required strategic demolition, careful phasing, and targeted reinvestment. An all-female team of design and construction professionals led the work, bringing visible representation to a project that reinforces Winsor’s commitment to girls in STEM.

Designed for hands-on discovery

Designed for active learning, the new STEM lab combines classroom instruction with hands-on making. Strategic use of color and open workstations create an energetic setting for applied learning.

Creating an energetic learning environment

Throughout the wing, science is intentionally put on display. Expanded whiteboard and pin-up surfaces allow student work to remain visible. Strategic use of color and updated casework create an energetic and welcoming atmosphere. State-of-the-art fume hoods and flexible furnishings support evolving teaching styles, while infrastructure upgrades ensure long-term adaptability. The result is an environment that feels engaging and inspiring—encouraging students to see themselves as scientists.

Better lighting, open ceilings, and reconfigured layouts foster a vibrant, collaborative learning environment.
The ceiling-mounted anchor system offers students a safe and flexible way to test principles of motion and energy.
BEFORE: Fixed casework and dated finishes limited flexibility and visibility within the lab.
Project impact
  • 10

    State-of-the-art, low-flow/energy-efficient fume hoods

  • 5+

    Academic departments housed in one facility, including Biology, Chemistry, Independent Studies, Lower School, and Physics

It’s bright, it’s beautiful, it’s innovative. Now that they actually sit at their desks, they are seeing the different types of instructions, labs and experiments. It’s a game changer.”
Karen GerominiChief Operating Officer, The Winsor School

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Project Team

Acentech

Code Red Consultants

Consigli Construction

Collaborative Lighting

R.W. Sullivan Engineering

Long Green Specs

RSE Associates

Photography

Robert Umenhofer

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