Birches School celebrates new home

The Birches School is hosting a community open house for the general public on Saturday, Nov. 3 from 1–3 p.m. to see its new home—the renovated Bedford Road property of the late computer executive An Wang and his wife Lorraine.

The school bought the Wang property in 2016 in concert with the Rural Land Foundation, which then sold four of the 16 acres to the town for use as an athletic field and conservation land. Over the summer, faculty and staff moved into the new building from their original quarters in the First Parish’s stone church.

The move has allowed the school to add a seventh and eighth grade and the space for enrollment of up to about 95 (it has a permit for another addition in front). The Birches opened in 2012 with just five students in grades K-2. The school began looking for a new home when it reached maximum capacity of 49 students more than two years ago and was pleased to find one just up the road.

“We couldn’t realize our nature-based mission almost anywhere else in greater Boston, then-head of school Elizabeth ten Grotenhuis said in 2016.

“It goes without saying that this physical building and also the grounds have been intentionally designed to maximize our mission as a nature-based school,” said Bonnie Ricci, who became head of school in March 2018. The original picture windows stayed and provide natural light for the nature lab and science/tech/art room.

“It feels fresh and airy and spacious and welcoming,” Ricci said. “But we also made a commitment to keep as much of the existing historical house as possible.” This can be seen in one of the entryways, which is clearly the home’s former foyer, with a chandelier and carved banister at the bottom of a staircase.

The building had its beginnings as a mid-century Cape house, and “every time Dr. Wang had a success, he would add a bit on,” Ricci said. A building with nine different elevations had to be made compliant with disability and fire codes, and a 1970s addition had to be torn down because it was no longer structurally sound.

Outside, a swimming pool was filled in and is now occupied with outdoor classroom seating in the form of a circle of stumps from unhealthy trees that were cut down. The geology of the area dictated another feature: huge boulders that were uncovered during excavation were moved into another circle in the woods, a bit like Stonehenge writ small.

Ricci declined to say what the project cost but said the project “benefited from the incredible generosity of friends and supporters of the school … we’re grateful to be in this space and also to Lincoln and the partnerships with Lincoln Land Conservation Trust, Parks and Recreation, neighbors and town officials. They’ve been absolutely lovely every step of the way.”

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