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

K-12 Schools | Nov 1, 2022

Safety is the abiding design priority for K-12 schools

With some exceptions, architecture, engineering, and construction firms say renovations and adaptive reuse make up the bulk of their work in the K-12 schools sector.

BAS and Security | Oct 19, 2022

The biggest cybersecurity threats in commercial real estate, and how to mitigate them

Coleman Wolf, Senior Security Systems Consultant with global engineering firm ESD, outlines the top-three cybersecurity threats to commercial and institutional building owners and property managers, and offers advice on how to deter and defend against hackers. 

Education Facilities | Oct 13, 2022

A 44-acre campus serves as a professional retreat for public-school educators in Texas

A first-of-its-kind facility for public schools in Texas, the Holdsworth Center serves as a retreat for public educators, supporting reflection and dialogue. 

K-12 Schools | Sep 21, 2022

Architecture that invites everyone to dance

If “diversity” is being invited to the party in education facilities, “inclusivity” is being asked to dance, writes Emily Pierson-Brown, People Culture Manager with Perkins Eastman.

| Sep 7, 2022

K-8 school will help students learn by conducting expeditions in their own communities

In August, SHP, an architecture, design, and engineering firm, broke ground on the new Peck Expeditionary Learning School in Greensboro, N.C. Guilford County Schools, one of the country’s 50 largest school districts, tapped SHP based on its track record of educational design.

Giants 400 | Sep 1, 2022

Top 100 K-12 School Contractors and CM Firms for 2022

Gilbane, Core Construction, Skanska, and Balfour Beatty head the ranking of the nation's largest K-12 school sector contractors and construction management (CM) firms for 2022, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.

Giants 400 | Sep 1, 2022

Top 70 K-12 School Engineering + EA Firms for 2022

AECOM, Jacobs, WSP, and CMTA top the ranking of the nation's largest K-12 school sector engineering and engineering/architecture (EA) firms for 2022, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.

Giants 400 | Sep 1, 2022

Top 160 K-12 School Architecture + AE Firms for 2022

PBK, DLR Group, Huckabee, and Stantec head the ranking of the nation's largest K-12 school sector architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms for 2022, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.

| Aug 24, 2022

California’s investment in ‘community schools’ could transform K-12 education

California has allocated $4.1-billion to develop ‘community schools’ that have the potential to transform K-12 education.

Giants 400 | Aug 22, 2022

Top 90 Construction Management Firms for 2022

CBRE, Alfa Tech, Jacobs, and Hill International head the rankings of the nation's largest construction management (as agent) and program/project management firms for nonresidential and multifamily buildings work, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.

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.


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