| Middle College High School (MCHS) at LA Southwest College is a result of the unique collaboration between the Los Angeles Unified School District, the Los Angeles Community College District and Southwest College with the goal of expanding the educational opportunities for the local community and providing a direct link to higher education for MCHS students. The high school shares Southwest College’s existing campus amenities such as outdoor playfields and large capacity lecture spaces. The new 52,000-SF facility includes classrooms, science labs, a library, multi-purpose space, indoor pool, food service area, and administrative spaces. The project achieves a high degree of sustainability and is pursuing LEED Platinum certification.
The self-contained and fully functional high school serves as a Small Learning Community for LAUSD. By its presence on the community college campus, it fosters interaction between the college and high school from a facilities and curricular perspective. MCHS shares the college’s playfields and other campus facilities, while the college has access to MCHS’s facilities for expanded functions after hours and on weekends. The design responds to the dual goal of creating a building that belongs to the family of existing campus buildings, while simultaneously serving as a facility with its own distinct identity.
By placing the main public spaces at the ground level at strategic points, the program develops important relationships with its context and exterior spaces. The design considers the program element of circulation through and around the building to be of crucial importance to the success of the project. A broadened circulation system and angled wall geometries work together to form pockets of space that act as informal gathering areas for students – a key component of a Small Learning Community. These internal “streets” replace the traditional student quad and function as the social center for the school.
There was a deliberate effort to design the building as part of the extended family of campus architecture. Exterior finishes are primarily cement plaster with a secondary veneer system of standing seam metal panels, selected to match the metal canopies of existing buildings. Large glazed areas are located at public entries and all glazing is tinted either a light shade for vision glass or a dark shade to match existing buildings.
The school exemplifies how an efficient, healthy and economically feasible building can be achieved through the implementation of green building design techniques, while supporting the academic success of its students by providing a building environment that is conducive to learning. The requirements of CHPS, LEED for Schools, High Performance Schools and Savings by Design are incorporated into the building design. The design targets LEED Platinum certification and realizes energy performance that exceeds Title 24 by 41.2% through the use on-site renewable energies, storm water treatment and natural daylight harvesting. The facility also educates students and faculty through the use of PV demonstration and informational kiosks that register building performance and a school garden. |
