The new 45,000-square-foot Center for the Arts places creativity at the core of the Brooks School campus. Sited at a primary campus crossroads, the building underscores the school’s commitment to the fine and performing arts, establishing a true hub for creating, learning, and community.
Steve Scribner
with Ann Beha Architects
Consigli Construction
Odeh Engineers
Altieri Sebor Wieber
Jonathan Hillyer
45,000 sf
North Andover, MA
The architecture draws from the campus’s familiar agricultural vocabulary of white clapboard buildings and pitched roofs, while contemporary detailing and patterning position the building as future-facing. Generous window glazing opens the building to the landscape and showcases the activity within, while large interior openings along the central “Arts Street” create visual and physical connections across departments.
The primary organizing concept of the design is the Arts Street: a central corridor that serves as a unifying connective spine: a light-filled circulation and gathering space that links studios, rehearsal rooms, and performance venues. It also functions as an active commons, hosting pinups, informal performances, and interdisciplinary work. To the west, teaching spaces for studio arts and music line the corridor, while to the east lie a film studio, flexible black box, and a 350-seat proscenium theater that supports a wide range of programs and daily instruction.
Daylight, technology integration, and sustainable strategies are embedded throughout, with four inches of continuous exterior insulation and concentrated glazing. The transparency of the building reinforces a culture of openness, allowing students and faculty to engage with the creative process as they move through the campus.
The placement of the two wings shapes a new exterior courtyard and lawn—a shared outdoor room for gathering, art installations, and seasonal events. This landscape, together with the interior spine, extends the Center’s role beyond instruction, creating a welcoming destination that brings the Brooks community together through the arts.
