International Elementary School

In Architecture

Dynamic architectural elements communicate directly to students in this multi-cultural urban school

Posted: Feb 25th, 2009 / Last Edited: Jun 1st, 2010 Print

Description

In post World War II Los Angeles, schools were built on the suburban model, typified by single story buildings on sprawling, grass-covered, five-acre sites. High urban real estate prices, combined with a dearth of large empty parcels of land, have rendered this model obsolete for most American cities today. Our stacking strategy, which locates the playground and other open areas of the program above the classroom spaces, cut the land requirements in half and allowed us to allocate resources to a higher quality building. Multifunctional playgrounds and outdoor athletic facilities are carved into the roof planes; children literally play on top of their world, safely above and out of sight of the school’s urban context.

The perforated metal wall that embraces three of the four façades is essentially a boundary transformed into an architectural element - a skin without a body. The vertical screen develops into a horizontal surface, which in turn defines a space for classrooms, library, food service, and maintenance areas. Functionally freed from the task of enclosing volumes, the façades assume new forms: bleachers for seating, perforated screening for shade, and a folded play structure.

The bar of classrooms turns the street corner to embrace the gateway to the school, where a large mural provides a backdrop for the lower level outdoor courtyard, the primary gathering place for the student body. The students assemble daily alongside oversized names, quotes, and faces of Leo Tolstoy, Maya Angelou, Octavio Paz, and hundreds of others – a timeline of geographically diverse figures in literature. The didactic surface communicates directly to the students in this typically, urban multi-cultural school. Even if they are still too young to read most of these authors, they will, after six years of exposure to the names and faces, begin to develop a consciousness of our common literary culture.
In post World War II Los Angeles, schools were built on the suburban model, typified by single story buildings on sprawling, grass-covered, five-acre sites. High urban real estate prices, combined with a dearth of large empty parcels of land, have rendered this model obsolete for most American cities today. Our stacking strategy, which locates the playground and other open areas of the program above the classroom spaces, cut the land requirements in half and allowed us to allocate resources to a higher quality building. Multifunctional playgrounds and outdoor athletic facilities are carved into the roof planes; children literally play on top of their world, safely above and out of sight of the school’s urban context.

The perforated metal wall that embraces three of the four façades is essentially a boundary transformed into an architectural element - a skin without a body. The vertical screen develops into a horizontal surface, which in turn defines a space for classrooms, library, food service, and maintenance areas. Functionally freed from the task of enclosing volumes, the façades assume new forms: bleachers for seating, perforated screening for shade, and a folded play structure.

The bar of classrooms turns the street corner to embrace the gateway to the school, where a large mural provides a backdrop for the lower level outdoor courtyard, the primary gathering place for the student body. The students assemble daily alongside oversized names, quotes, and faces of Leo Tolstoy, Maya Angelou, Octavio Paz, and hundreds of others – a timeline of geographically diverse figures in literature. The didactic surface communicates directly to the students in this typically, urban multi-cultural school. Even if they are still too young to read most of these authors, they will, after six years of exposure to the names and faces, begin to develop a consciousness of our common literary culture.

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Details

Location:

700 Locust Avenue, Long Beach, California, United States of America 90813

Client:

Long Beach Unified School District

Size:

91,000 gross sq ft / 8,454 gross sq m

Program:

33 classrooms, library, computer classroom, multi-purpose room, lunch garden, administration, roof-top playground, and covered parking for 60 automobiles

Design:

1997 - 1998

Construction:

1998 - 1999

Type: