CA shares West Campus plans, anchored by new Centennial Arts Center

Concord Academy is preparing for the most ambitious capital project in its 100-year history: a chance to unify its program and campus to meet the needs of students today, with flexibility to adapt as 21st-century education evolves. This is the capstone to a campus vision decades in development.

Reconfiguring West Campus will enable a unified flow of study, collaboration, and exploration. Creating a new hub of activity, the planned Centennial Arts Center will unlock the full potential of CA’s curriculum for every student.

We’re envisioning a new campus map, and we’re excited about what we can accomplish together.

  • The planned Academy Village will create purposeful community for CA adults who live on campus.
  • The planned Centennial Arts Center will support interdisciplinary learning for all students.
  • Academy Garden will be restored to its original openness, creating flow from one end of campus to the other.
  • The Chapel, the heart of the CA community, will become the physical center of the school.

A Look Behind the Curtain

How the Centennial Arts Center will Promote Cross-Curricular Innovation

The Centennial Arts Center will build upon CA’s strengths, providing space for connected learning and creative partnership well into CA’s second century. The Centennial Arts Center will embrace new technology in several dedicated spaces:

  • Soundproof music practice rooms of various sizes with recording capabilities
  • Large ensemble practice space
  • Scene Shop makerspace to open up theater tech opportunities
  • Digital Production Lab for language learning, podcasting, audio engineering, and more
  • Reconfigurable Process, Presentation, Performance (P3) Lab soundstage to support integration of the arts and academics

Music Hall

A 125-seat music hall will provide appropriate acoustics and space for all of CA’s music groups, and it will also open possibilities for master classes.

Theater

This 175-seat theater is the ideal size for student performances. Retractable seats mean this flexible and functional space can be configured to suit everything from mainstage productions and dance performances to film screenings, class meetings, and classes.

Building Green

CA has committed $1 million to making environmentally sustainable construction choices.

  • A fossil-fuel-free climate system will utilize air-source heat pumps; with robust insulation levels, the building is designed to the Zero Carbon Certification standard.
  • The roof will be solar-ready, optimized for a solar photovoltaic system.
  • A mown lawn currently used for recreational athletics will be transformed into a pollinator meadow, supporting greater biodiversity and serving as an educational site.

“We need this space so we can create new methods and mediums of performance and presentation that will increase our school community’s access to and connection with the wider world.”

AMY SPENCER P’13, Centennial Campaign Arts Liaison

“The students of the future are coming. Let’s get to work!”

— Fay Lampert Shutzer ’65 President, Board of Trustees Co-Chair, Centennial Campaign

This is the moment for the global CA community to be part of the Centennial Campaign.

As of January 2023, the CA community has contributed $40 MILLION toward a $50 MILLION + goal set in 2019 for
the West Campus and the endowment.

For the latest fundraising updates and details, please visit concordacademy.org/campaign.

WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT TO MAKE THIS VISION POSSIBLE!

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