Mission Elementary sits on 11 acres serving the cities of Loma Linda and Redlands. Constructed in 1937, this historically significant campus had fallen into disrepair, closing in 1993. In an effort to relieve over-crowding in neighboring schools, and with strong community support, the District sought to revive the once-proud campus. The final solution blends new construction with the original mission style architecture to create a timeless school with a very strong sense of place. The new linear Arcade and Bell Tower masks a nondescript 1960’s administration/classroom building creating a consistent architectural vocabulary across the campus and a dominant entry statement that re-establishes the tradition of graduating students ringing the historic 1880’s bell. The main student circulation promenade extends from the entry plaza Bell Tower into the campus core, affording beautiful views of the surrounding mountains and doubling as additional hard-court play area. The Design and Construction teams were further challenged with failing wood trusses, which were re-built in place, and the repair of extensive termite damage, modernizing over 90% of all structures & systems in the original building. All building interiors and site were extensively remodeled and re-designed to reflect the educational vision, and maximize traffic circulation, security, and sustainability. Two sides of the site face a busy, misaligned street intersection with the other two sides bordered by orange groves and residential development. An historic rock wall and pilasters line the roadsides offering limited options for safe campus access to walking students. The design team overcame the unsafe conditions by providing access through a portion of the perimeter rock wall and extending an on-site walkway to the school buildings. The solution allows safe access the campus at the earliest possible moment after crossing the intersection. A landscaped berm deflects noise and provides additional safety from passing traffic. The original wood-framed building was designed in classic Mission Architecture style. Construction included hand-troweled plastered walls, single-piece red clay tiled roofs, and red brick paved porches for outdoor learning. With a total project budget of $15 million, the design team proposed a three phase project to refurbish the two existing buildings and construct a third classroom building for a total of 44,325 s.f. including 19 classrooms, a library/media center, a prep/warming kitchen, an auditorium, administrative offices, lunch shelters, playground equipment, play fields, additional parking, street and right-of way upgrades, and various support amenities for staff and students. Utilizing focused sustainable design practices, all excess ground water is diverted to a retention area designed as a “School Yard Habitat” for outdoor learning with walking path. The entire site incorporates drought tolerant native California plantings. The school’s unique aesthetics are enhanced and energy savings are maximized through the use of high efficiency mechanical systems in the attic, low-e dual glazing, daylight harvesting, flexible multi-use spaces, low-flow plumbing fixtures, and multi-level light switching with occupancy sensors.
