| Completion |
6 / 2014 |
| Square Footage |
37,890 |
| Budget |
$16,000,000 |
| Specific Use of Building |
Educational Middle School Campus |
| Project Location |
Corona del Mar High School, 2101 Eastbluff Dr., Newport Beach, CA |
|
| A home within a campus that connects students to the roots of their local environment. A place that inspires and challenges students to explore, yet still feels secure. The new Middle School Enclave at Corona Del Mar High School originates from an understanding of its place in time and geography. It is a lesson in sustainable living, appreciation for the environment, and recognizing the importance of flexible materials adaptable to the time of day and year. Subtle references to the original landscape offer students one-of-a-kind lessons in conservation. This new home for the High School’s youngest students will allow them to transition into the greater population at their own pace, offering shelter when needed and access when desired.
The three story academic facility is designed to house the core curriculum for 7th and 8th grade students. General classrooms for English, History, and Math are gathered on the west side of the courtyard while the new Science Labs and Exploring Technology Lab wrap the east and south. The sheltering quad that is created is linked to the greater campus through a series of new terraces and gathering spaces that allow the middle school students to ebb and flow with the broader student body while maintaining a sense of individual identity.
Designed utilizing criteria from the Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) and LEED, the resource conserving and healthy living features of the new facility are highlighted to instruct students how to be good stewards of their environment. Prominent among these elements is the rain water garden that collects precipitation from the building and quad, bio-filtering the water and spilling it onto a newly restored native garden to the south where the water is detained and percolated. This feature echoes the upper Newport Bay wetlands just a mile away, further linking students to the land. Energy performance of the facility surpasses Title 24 by more than 30% through the use of daylighting, high efficiency glazing and lighting, natural ventilation and fresh air, and maximum insulation in the building shell. Water is treated as a precious resource with conserving features throughout the project, including minimal landscape irrigation and ultra-low flow sanitary fixtures. Acoustics and exterior views have been optimized to provide an energizing learning environment. Recycled content is preeminent in nearly every product selected for the project. All of these lessons have been gathered into a series of educational displays that remind and inform the students of their relationship to the consumption of the earth’s resources and their impact on the future.
Envisioned by the Client as a new gateway to the west side of an existing campus, the Enclave reaches out with clean lines and clear organization to echo the spirit of the original design of the school. It is a celebration of the youth and energy that will inhabit this space for a brief moment on their lifelong educational journey. |
