flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

LA high school takes design cue from historic Mexican architecture

LA high school takes design cue from historic Mexican architecture


August 11, 2010
This article first appeared in the 200910 issue of BD+C.

The Los Angeles Unified School District recently opened the $75 million Felicitas and Gonzalo Mendez Learning Center, a high school in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Boyle Heights, near Little Tokyo. Designed by Nadel Architects in a joint venture with Barrio Planners Inc., the 114,000-sf school is vertically integrated, allowing the campus to fit on a compact, six-acre site. The architects incorporated traditional Mexican design features, including vibrant colors, bold geometric shapes, deeply recessed windows, and colonnades. The learning center consists of two, 500-student learning communities with courtyards that open into a central plaza. It is the first high school to open in East Los Angeles in more than 85 years.

Related Stories

| Apr 30, 2013

Tips for designing with fire rated glass - AIA/CES course

Kate Steel of Steel Consulting Services offers tips and advice for choosing the correct code-compliant glazing product for every fire-rated application. This BD+C University class is worth 1.0 AIA LU/HSW.

| Apr 25, 2013

Colorado State University, DLR Group team to study 12 high-performance schools

DLR Group and the Institute for the Built Environment at Colorado State University have collaborated on a research project to evaluate the effect of green school design on occupants and long-term building performance.

| Apr 24, 2013

North Carolina bill would ban green rating systems that put state lumber industry at disadvantage

North Carolina lawmakers have introduced state legislation that would restrict the use of national green building rating programs, including LEED, on public projects.

| Apr 24, 2013

Los Angeles may add cool roofs to its building code

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa wants cool roofs added to the city’s building code. He is also asking the Department of Water and Power (LADWP) to create incentives that make it financially attractive for homeowners to install cool roofs.

| Apr 22, 2013

Top 10 green building projects for 2013 [slideshow]

The AIA's Committee on the Environment selected its top ten examples of sustainable architecture and green design solutions that protect and enhance the environment.

| Apr 15, 2013

Seattle school certified as world's fourth Living Building

Bertschi School, an independent elementary school in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle, Wash., is now home to the first Living Building on the West Coast and the world’s fourth fully-certified Living Building.

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category


K-12 Schools

Designing for dyslexia: How architecture can address neurodiversity in K-12 schools

Architects play a critical role in designing school environments that support students with learning differences, particularly dyslexia, by enhancing social and emotional competence and physical comfort. Effective design principles not only benefit students with dyslexia but also improve the learning experience for all students and faculty. This article explores how key design strategies at the campus, classroom, and individual levels can foster confidence, comfort, and resilience, thereby optimizing educational outcomes for students with dyslexia and other learning differences.



K-12 Schools

New K-12 STEM center hosts robotics learning, competitions in Houston suburb

A new K-12 STEM Center in a Houston suburb is the venue for robotics learning and competitions along with education about other STEM subjects. An unused storage building was transformed into a lively space for students to immerse themselves in STEM subjects. Located in Texas City, the ISD Marathon STEM and Robotics Center is the first of its kind in the district. 

halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021