Chapter 2: The Colossus of Spring & McKeen

Teaching an old dog new tricks

If you read the opening “Chapter” on this subject, you know that your correspondent is a bit “skeptical” when it comes to design characteristics of the new school, and how it relates to community pride and the traditional New England “character” of the surrounding area.

Much of this '”skepticism” derives from this correspondent’s life in the world of science and engineering, and our woeful lack of sophistication in matters of the “creative economy,” culture in general, and the fine arts.

And so it is that we are pleased to report an epiphany on this plane.  We have learned that when one is exposed to a seemingly chaotic, discombobulated, and inexplicable architectural construct, it only takes one or two very minor details to rise above the mess, as it were, and “pull everything together.”

This became obvious as we drove by the campus over and over in recent weeks, and watched the Colossus take a more definitive form.

(Let us interject here that just the other day, while approaching the site, we saw a very official looking car, a Ford Victoria typical of law enforcement, passing by on McKeen.  It was marked “US Art Marshall - To Observe and Protest".  Has anyone else seen it, or have any clue as to its existence?  Given our subject here, it seemed quite ironic to us.)

In particular, we noticed two unifying features that make the architecture of the School sing, and that ennoble and lift the human soul.  And we are confident that the children who will soon attend the School will resonate to the creativity on display.

Let’s take a look.

         

While some might see this octagon rising above the structure as reminiscent of a pill box hat from the Jackie O era, or an “artistic statement” about Stop Signs, I choose to believe it is much more.

Just what, I’m not sure, but I put myself in the “if you have to ask, you’d never understand” demographic.  It’s unifying power is obvious nonetheless, isn’t it?

And then we have this stunning feature of the design:

Again, some might look askance at this brickwork, seeing it as some kind of graffiti-like expression by a malcontent bricklayer, or the result of one too many at the evening barbecues on the construction site, or as a friend said, a bad batch of bricks going unnoticed until it was too late.  Then again, they could be a design recommended by the Audubon Society to attract chimney swifts from far and wide.

We choose instead to see the awesome and unifying power of the ……the…..well I’m sorry, but we’re at a loss for words as we gaze upon the sight.  Such is the plight of a newly minted art aficionado.  One’s deeply felt appreciation of such creations races well ahead of the new vocabulary needed to articulate it.  We apologize.

There  are a few other non-artistic details we picked up on our recent travels, and we’ll pass them along here before leaving you to ponder the miracles abuilding at the Colossus site.

To begin with, look upon this:

Note how the rather prosaic brickwork design ends in a pronounced way.  We’re hoping that the exposed areas are going to be filled in with colored panels reminiscent of those used in the beloved A/B and C/D wings of the old High School.  In fact, we’ve got our fingers crossed that they were salvaged from the demolition, like the trusses for the gym were, and will be recycled in the new school.  What a tribute that would be to the town’s commitment to reuse and sustainability.  I was always partial to the turquoise panels; how about you?

We’re also a bit puzzled by the lack of customer access to the McDonald’s wings of the new school, as you can see here:

There will be plenty of on-site parking, but where does one place their order?

Unless this is the solution:

Could it be that the apparent “drive by structure” in the foreground will in fact be where you talk at the menu to place your order, and then receive it at your vehicle via a magic air tube transport?  Or is it something else…perhaps an impressionistic take on the Golden Arches, the way Picasso might see them in a cubist vision?

Surely it will all be revealed to us in the fullness of time.  By those with a far more nuanced and authoritative understanding of such creations.  The part I can’t wait to hear is how they connect the entire campus to the essence of a traditional New England village.

That should take us to the next level of cultural sophistication!

It should be quite a trip.  Whether by bus, train, car, or other means.

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