Kennedy Middle School’s new Administration/Family Center

The recently opened 4,000-sf, $5.9-million Kennedy Middle School Administration/Family Center, designed by HED, is the combination of an administration building and a Welcome Center that caters to whole families.

Over the past few years, the existing school had been expanded, resulting in a campus configuration where the administration was now internal to the campus making it difficult for visitors to find and creating security concerns with visitors walking through the campus. 

Additionally, Redwood City has seen a substantial change in demographics over the last two decades that has resulted in a much more diverse student body, which meant Kennedy Middle School needed a way to engage with this new community.

 The goal of the project was to create and administration building that acted as a hub for the community, as well as a welcome center and control point for those visiting the campus. The building’s placement succeeded in reorienting the campus and creating an obvious entry while keeping the architecture to a scale complementary to its surroundings. 

“We were able to develop a building that serves a multitude of needs,” said project architect Juan Pagan in a release. “It serves as an administration building that is fully connected with the community. The mix of private and shared spaces foster collaboration between families, students, and staff that strengthens Kennedy’s role as the center of its community. The design presents a contemporary view of what K-12 education can be.”