A new charter school has broken ground in Los Angeles’ Koreatown neighborhood. Operated by Bright Star Schools and designed by L.A. firm Berliner Architects, Rise Kohyang High School (RKHS) will serve about 600 students in grades 9 to 12 and is slated to open in the fall of 2023.
With almost 88,000 square feet, the $40 million high school is an L-shaped, three-story building with a central courtyard. The outdoor space can be accessed via the ground-level multipurpose room/lunch area and school offices. On opposite ends of the building, two stairways lead to the second floor, providing access to 24 classrooms on two levels, a library/media room, and additional staff areas. Offices are placed on all three floors to provide student supervision and facilitate collaboration among administrative staff and teachers. A second-floor balcony overlooks the courtyard.
Around the campus perimeter, fencing both creates a secure enclosure and gives students a visual connection to the outside. The fence also features the school’s name in a mix of English and Korean, a nod to the school’s community.
“Space is sparse and expensive in Los Angeles,” Richard Berliner, principal of Berliner Architects, said in a statement. “Our primary challenge was accommodating RKHS students, faculty, and staff while programming an outdoor space on an extraordinarily small, 1.2-acre site. We designed the courtyard to act as the school’s main entryway and took advantage of the naturally sloping campus topography to integrate a partially subterranean ground level for parking and student drop-off.”
The project meets design guidelines from the Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) for reduced energy consumption and increased sustainability. Green features promote water conservation, energy efficiency, greenhouse-gas emission reduction, and indoor environmental quality. Skylights, louvered sun blades, and roller-type window shades balance natural light and solar heat gain.
Berliner Architects is also designing the $35 million Rise Kohyang Middle School, located about two miles from RKHS.
Building Team:
Owner and/or developer: Bright Star Schools
Design architect: Berliner Architects
Architect of record: Berliner Architects
MEP engineer: Budlong and Associates
Structural engineer: Saiful Bouquet Structural Engineers
General contractor/construction manager: Bernards
![RISE High School ext 2](/sites/default/files/inline-images/RISE%20High%20School%20ext%202.jpg)
![RISE High School balcony ext 3](/sites/default/files/inline-images/RISE%20High%20School%20balcony%20ext%203.jpg)
Related Stories
Education Facilities | Dec 5, 2019
A new Atlanta-area STEM magnet school will feature a flexible modular design
The design firm Cooper Carry combined three of its practice studios to collaborate on this project.
Giants 400 | Sep 4, 2019
Top 90 K-12 School Sector Construction Firms for 2019
Gilbane, Balfour Beatty, Turner, CORE Construction, and Skanska lead the rankings of the nation's largest K-12 school sector contractors and construction management firms, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2019 Giants 300 Report.
Giants 400 | Sep 3, 2019
Top 140 K-12 School Sector Architecture Firms for 2019
DLR Group, PBK, Huckabee, Stantec, and VLK Architects top the rankings of the nation's largest K-12 school sector architecture and architecture engineering (AE) firms, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2019 Giants 300 Report.
Giants 400 | Aug 30, 2019
2019 K-12 School Giants Report: 360-degree learning among top school design trends for 2019
K-12 school districts are emphasizing practical, hands-on experience and personalized learning.
K-12 Schools | Jul 8, 2019
Collaborative for High Performance Schools releases 2019 Core Criteria Version 3.0 Update
The update adds credits to lower carbon footprints and to promote climate change resiliency.
K-12 Schools | Nov 5, 2018
Modernizing schools is paying off in creating better learning and teaching environments
A new paper reports on a recent study of nine schools in Washington DC that gauged occupants’ perceptions.
| May 24, 2018
Accelerate Live! talk: Security and the built environment: Insights from an embassy designer
In this 15-minute talk at BD+C’s Accelerate Live! conference (May 10, 2018, Chicago), embassy designer Tom Jacobs explores ways that provide the needed protection while keeping intact the representational and inspirational qualities of a design.
Education Facilities | Apr 11, 2018
Three tips for safe and secure schools
The task of providing safe and secure environments in which our children can learn is both complicated and far-reaching.
Multifamily Housing | Nov 28, 2017
Elementary school, daycare campus will serve Toronto’s skyrise neighborhood
The $65 million Canoe Landing Campus brings much needed social infrastructure to the 20,000 residents of Toronto’s CityPlace towers.
Higher Education | May 31, 2017
Space utilization in higher education: more than sf per student
There’s more to space utilization than how often a room is occupied. What happens inside an occupied room is just as important.