Cove Elementary School
SCOPE
Serving Area + Storefront + Cafeteria
LEVEL
Elementary School
LOCATION
Beverly, MA
INSTALL
6 days, April 15–20, 2024
THEME
Cove Cafe
OVERVIEW
Cove’s principal wanted kids to see the beauty in their own town. So we took the cafeteria from the harbor to the park, out to sea and down with the whales.
The mural centers on a park on Beverly’s little harbor, with gardens people travel to see and a handmade sculpture of a well-known local figure playing with the birds. The storefront is where the water meets the land. Moving right around the room, you walk into the park with the statue and gardens, then out to the ocean with boats in the background, deep under the water with the whales and fish, and back up onto the beach at the storefront.
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THE BRIEF
We took Cove’s cafeteria from under the sea to Lynch Park in one continuous scene.
Beverly’s School Nutrition Director, Christina Leal, started planning Cove’s cafeteria with us in January 2024.
A plain, institutional cafeteria that looked dated. Principal Erin Sweeney wanted the sea and Lynch Park, the town’s waterfront park, in the same room.
We designed it live with Erin and Christina over six sessions, January to March 2024. The window wall sits under the sea, the storefront rolls onto a beach, and the room carries into a hand-painted Lynch Park scene. The school’s owl shows up around the room, and the cafeteria rules get a wall of their own.
Peek Inside
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The collaborative story
Designed live with
Cove’s principal
We’ve done several schools with Food Service Director Christina Leal, and for Cove she wanted something different from the others. We worked to fit the school’s story to the principal’s vision and made sure images of Beverly made it into the mural. For Christina, the point was to show the kids how much beauty there is in their own town.
We kept the brief in a shared doc and built the artboards on screen with Principal Erin Sweeney and Christina until they signed the final artboard on April 8, 2024.
“I can’t wait to see this design on the walls. It is going to look amazing!!”
Key Elements
-
Sea-to-Shore Storefront
- Element: Printed wall graphics
- Location: Storefront
Waves roll onto a beach, with shells, a ship’s wheel and an anchor on the door panels, leading into the park.
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Lynch Park Scene
- Element: Hand-painted mural
- Location: Far right of the storefront
Beverly’s Lynch Park, painted by hand where the beach meets land.
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Cafeteria Rules
- Element: Sign
- Location: Wall B
The owl holds signs for clean up your area, say please and thank you, keep calm and include others. The doors read Work hard, Use kind words, Be a good friend, and Be the leader you want to follow.
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Under the Sea
- Element: Printed wall graphics
- Location: Wall D, window wall
A whale, sailboats and a fishing boat between the three tall windows, with the school motto on a scroll: Be Kind, Be Respectful, Be Responsible, Be Ready to Learn.
Gallery
We didn't design a cafeteria.
We designed somewhere they'd actually want to be.
And the kids? They noticed everything.
A lot can happen with a little change
in your space
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