The geometric steel shell nestled among the wooded campus of Shady Side Academy in Fox Chapel looks peculiarly out of place.
But as construction moves along on the 49,300-square-foot Rockwell Middle School, leaders said the building will fit seamlessly into the school’s transformation of its campus at 423 Fox Chapel Road.
Once complete, the $26 million project will converge grades 6-12 for the first time since 1958. It has a capacity for 260 students.
The move is meant to build collaboration and provide younger students access to upper campus resources, along with mentoring from their older peers. Students in grades 6-8 are scheduled to move into the building in January 2026.
“I’m really looking forward to being able to more readily have student interaction between schools,” Assistant Head of Middle School Brian Johnston said.
The combined campus will allow students to bloom because of the increased capacity for collaboration, Head of Middle School Michelle Merson said.
“The access to other resources and access to older kids will be invaluable,” she said.
Over the next 15 months, faculty and administrators will work to identify opportunities to align or create programs to spur meaningful interactions between younger and older students, officials said.
The initiative is essential to developing leadership skills, mentorship opportunities and a sense of belonging across the grade levels, they said.
The existing middle school property, about a mile away along Benedum Lane, will be put on the market.
There will be no changes at the Junior School in Point Breeze or Country Day School in Fox Chapel, both of which house primary grades.
Construction on Rockwell Middle School broke ground in May and is expected to wrap up by December 2025.
On Oct. 15, a topping out ceremony saw the final beam lifted into place, with PJ Dick project manager Theresa Giacomino applauding the ahead-of-schedule work pace.
“It’s a milestone,” Giacomino said.
A small group gathered for the event, including 1962 alum S. Kent Rockwell, who with his partner, Pat Babyak, pledged $15 million toward the project.
The donation was the largest in the academy’s 140-year history.
Rockwell saw his pledge as a chance to make a meaningful commitment after “seeing all of the good things happening at Shady Side and learning more about the vision for the campus master plan.”
A native of Edgewood, Rockwell attended graduate school at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and built a successful career rooted in innovation and technology.
He is CEO of Rockwell Venture Capital, founded in 1983. Rockwell and Babyak live less than a mile from Shady Side Academy and enjoy leisurely walks through the 130-acre campus.
He recalled his experience at Shady Side Academy as rewarding and pleasant, saying, “There was a wonderful collegiality among my classmates, and I don’t think I ever had a teacher I didn’t like.”
Jamie Scott, chief philanthropy officer, said a total of $20 million has been pledged to the project to date.
The new facility was designed by Pittsburgh-based Strada LLC. Contractors are PJ Dick and sister companies Trumbull and The Lindy Group.
It fills the space where the aged Hunt Hall dorm/converted classrooms and McCune Library once stood.
Rockwell Middle School will feature natural lighting, solar panels and energy-efficient systems. Adaptable classrooms and multifunctional spaces will support problem-solving and team-building, officials said. There will be 14 rooms connected by breakout spaces where teachers can conduct one-on-one consultations or lead small group testing. Those rooms are larger than the any classroom in the current middle school building.
Two open spaces will serve as flexible classrooms where students can collaborate for group work, study sessions or commingled classes.
Johnston said the rooms are a highlight for teachers.
“One of the things I’m most excited about for our students and teachers is that the new classrooms will give them the space they need to easily adapt a room to different activities and have the ability to let the kids spread out,” he said.
On the ground floor of the building will be specialty areas for art, technology, chorus and band. Art and tech rooms will share a makerspace and direct access to an outdoor patio.
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Large windows will fill the classrooms, atrium, library and cafeteria, allowing ample natural lighting.
“The natural light will brighten the mood for everyone,” said Sebastian Woodhouse, an eighth grader.
Construction builds on Shady Side Academy’s most recent campus improvements that include the $2.2 million conversion of Memorial Hall into the Class of 1966 Memorial Hall Library, along with the Gene Deal Fields, a $1.75 million outdoor sports complex with a multiuse turf field for lacrosse, soccer, baseball, softball and field hockey.
School President Bart Griffith said relocating the middle school will provide students “unparalleled access to the exceptional facilities of the upper school campus, ensuring a seamless and enriched educational journey.”