CONGDON-DEVALLES ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Dodson & Flinker is collaborating with T2 Architecture on the design and construction of a new building and landscape for Congdon-DeValles Elementary School in New Bedford, MA. Scheduled to open in January 2027, the new school will replace two school buildings that were both over 100 years old and will serve 750 students in grades K-5. Dodson & Flinker’s site design takes advantage of the site topography to create a variety of play spaces and outdoor classrooms. Program features include basketball, soccer, gaga, exciting hillside play equipment, and an amphitheater. The school community encourages kids to be active during recess time but also values spaces for more passive pursuits such as a ‘yak trak,’ outdoor musical instruments, and a school garden. The site serves as a new connection point through the community and the school bus lane is designed to serve as a multi-purpose space with informal basketball hoops and flexible paved space for farmer’s markets or community events outside of school hours. The site was a brownfield site that had flourished into a meadow following the removal of the mill and factory buildings in the area. Plantings on the site will include a pollinator garden, meadow sod and seed, no-mow turf and low maintenance native trees and plants that provide students the opportunity to see and touch a variety of plants in a new green oasis for the community.