KOREATOWN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Program: Elementary School
Location: Koreatown, Los Angeles
Year: 2015
Building as bridge, building as buffer. California schools in increasingly urban areas have the challenge of protecting students from harsh streetscapes as well as providing sanctuaries to foster learning. Sited along busy Vermont Avenue in Koreatown, the project utilizes a singular bar parti allowing the building to act as a buffer from the busy street and therfore orienting itself towards the quieter residential area to the east.
To retain as much outdoor space as possible for recreation, the building’s bridge-like form spans over excavated soil to create a sunken covered space of socialization and recreation. Voids puncture the floating mass and allow light to flood the space beneath where the children convene at the cafeteria and sunken courtyard. By consolidating nearly all programs into one mass the building acts as a device to integrate the varying student demographics.
Ground Plan
Level +1 Plan
