U.S. Department of Labor
Exeter Job Corps Center

EXETER, RI

The Exeter Job Corps Center embraces its mission to teach eligible young people the skills they need to become employable and independent and place them in meaningful jobs or further education. Our design approach for the new Exeter Job Corps Center drew from this mission and sought to create an inviting and stimulating campus environment for students. 

Serving 200 students and comprising 110,000 sf, the campus sits on a plateau, overlooking recreational fields and woods. The project involved complete renovations and major additions to two 1960's school buildings, creating an athletic facility and campus center. A new dorm complex and vocational education building complete the 21-acre campus. To protect an under site aquifer and the nearby Queens river, the project included a sand-filtered water purification and septic system.

The campus center is the hub of student activity with a dining hall/function room, library, and 300-seat auditorium/performance hall. The athletic facility features a multi-court gym, weight rooms, game areas, lounge, snack bar, and culinary arts facility. Complementing the two-story academic building with general purpose classrooms, administrative offices, and a medical center, the vocational center includes additional workshops and classrooms. A 200-bed residence hall provides on-site student housing with lounges and study rooms.