The Nurtury Learning Lab Opens its Doors to the Community

On Monday, June 16, 2014, the Nurtury Learning Lab in the Bromley-Heath Housing Development in Boston’s Jamaica Plain celebrated the opening of its state-of-the-art, 22,600 SF community hub and children’s learning center designed by studioMLA Architects. Boston Mayor Marty Walsh joined the long list of dignitaries in attendance, including Nurtury president and CEO Wayne Ysaguirre and Boston Housing Authority Chief Administrator Bill McGonagle. Also attending were studioMLA’s Mike Lindstrom, Bill Mensinger, Nicole Tietjen, and Joanne Hiromura.

The Learning Lab is the result of a long collaboration between Nurtury and studioMLA Architects: “The development, design, and construction of the Learning Lab at Bromley-Heath represents the single most ambitious project in Nurtury’s history, and it will make a lasting, positive impact on the urban fabric of this neighborhood,” said Wayne Ysaguirre. “studioMLA has been a dedicated partner with us through the seven-year process to bring this project to fruition, encouraging creative dialogue and collaborative design to create a center in which the community can take pride and feel welcome.”

Meeting a need for increased community connectivity, access to social, wellness, and educational services, and ample natural outdoor space, the new learning lab is situated in the heart of the housing development and revitalizes the neighborhood with a dynamic new building and enhanced green spaces. The exterior brick, natural cedar, and glass create an open, welcoming, and distinctive architecture that reveals a warm and vibrant interior. To ensure sustainability, energy efficiency, and a healthier climate for children and staff, studioMLA designed the Learning Lab to achieve LEED Gold certification. Early education-specific classrooms together with a teaching kitchen offering cooking classes and health promotion services are designed to set a new standard and become a model for how the physical environment can enhance the learning experience. A natural playground with a host of natural play opportunities, abundant vegetation, and gardens, as well as a greenhouse, allows children to connect the earth, sun, plants, and the foods they eat and develop an understanding of natural systems.