SCHOOL AS CENTERS OF COMMUNITY
 Schools are a vital part of our communities. They provide a common thread that ties the community together in many different ways. Facilities that expand this role and create a deeper asset, available to all, reflect the true nature of that community. They become the heart and soul of all. Legacy facilities tap into the energy of the community and reflect its values, culture and history while providing a resource for all to use.
Excellent design engages the community as a significant member of the design team. Connecting the design with the values of the community builds support for quality design. Whether through the use of shared field space, shared facility use, or even shared investment to provide services above and beyond what is normally offered in the school, districts and communities get a better use of their tax resource.
In the Tenderloin district of San Francisco, the neighborhood community, the design team and the school district came together to create a truly revitalizing investment in their community. The Tenderloin Elementary School is a testament to the value of the community as a partner in design. Developed as both a school and a community resource center, Tenderloin provides educational space for 300 students, a community health center and community meeting space. The school brings back to the community a sense of pride, community identity and activity in a legacy facility.
The design incorporates hundreds of handmade tiles, crafted by students and community members during the design process, in murals depicting the culture, history and values of the neighborhood. The design response grew from active participation of the members of the neighborhood in a series of design charettes, intense group oriented design sessions that encourage all participants to share in the design process.
In Los Angeles' Korea Town neighborhood, a new elementary school is growing from the roots of the community. Designed to relieve an overpopulated elementary school several blocks away, the new school will provide educational spaces for 300 K-3 students. As part of the effort by the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) to create small-scale neighborhood schools, this new school is grounded in the cultural roots of the neighborhood. The school will serve a population made up of primarily Hispanic and Korean immigrants. The design response draws from those heritages to reflect the important cultural influences in the area. A bold use of color and design features grounds the new school in the area. The colors, drawn from both of the cultural heritages, identify the different uses within the facility and draw attention to the school from along the busy street it fronts. The entrance canopy draws from the architectural language of the cultures to reflect their history. That language grew from working with the community and drawing on their shared cultural legacies.
Engaging the community in the design process enriches the design solution and helps build a broader support for the design response. Excellence comes from the incorporation of the cultural and social fabric that comprises school communities, even when no real community exists around new school sites.
Creating schools that engage and reflect their community can be achieved through the use of the following principles:
- From the beginning of the design process, include the community. Allowing the community to have a voice in the design process creates pride and ownership in the outcome while acknowledging the important role the school plays.
- Explore and incorporate design references to the culture and history of the community. Understanding, and reflecting in the design, the heritage of a community grounds the design solution. Even when a new school is being constructed at the edges of growing communities, the discussion and incorporation of cultural references will provide for a richer design solution while sustaining the unique characteristics of the community.
- Provide for opportunities to explore and incorporate shared use and community use functions in schools. The school facility represents a significant investment in public dollars and finding ways to extend the use of the facility beyond traditional school hours represents a wise use of that investment.
Legacy facilities grow from their communities. Developing design solutions that reflect the culture and history of the community connects the facility with that environment and makes the final design solution much richer.
Previous Article Next Article |
