Los Angeles County High School for the Arts

1. 2008 Exhibition of School Planning and Architecture Los Angeles County High School for the Arts Los Angeles, CA Design Concept Award HMC Architects

2. Los Angeles County High School for the Arts

3. Contextual View, Luckman Theater Community Environment: By the nature of its program, LACHSA has two functions: creative student workspace and accessible performance / exhibit destination. The school connects to the California State University, Los Angeles Luckman Arts theaters as well as university classrooms. Exhibit spaces, the Black Box Theatre, an adjacent amphitheater, and a roof garden on the lower building become shared spaces for all students, faculty, and public attendees. In this way, the facility becomes a community center, drawing educators, professionals, performers, artists, and audience members into a central location.

4. Amphitheater View Learning Environment: LACHSA’s compliment to the study of the arts resides in it’s layered, multifunction approach. Spaces are designed to function as both “messy” production areas and elegant exhibit halls. The program is separated vertically, with classrooms at ground level and larger art studios on the second tier. Academic spaces are similarly sized, for efficiency and cost savings.

5. Elevations Learning Environment (cont’d): The design solution separates the available site into the more formal entry area and the informal work yard (or ‘back of house’). This work yard will incorporate a natural amphitheater into the hillside for informal productions and practice. The west side of the building contains administrative spaces, foundation offices, and the main lobby. There is also a direct connection from the second level to the well-used exterior staircase that connects the parking areas to the campus, for the convenience of students and staff.

6. Campus Material Diagram Physical Environment: Taking advantage of an existing grade change, the facility connects to the 1.25-acre site at all levels, for student work or public access in select areas throughout the space. To maximize use of the given site, a retaining wall is planned that will form a natural southern boundary of the school and bracket a south facing courtyard for use by the students. The northern side, or ‘front’ of the lower building will include a modular material that is related to the brick on typical university buildings. Appropriate landscape materials will supplement the use of the surface as an elevated ground plane.

7. Black Box Theater Design: As the school’s most public function and the largest part of the program, the top level of the building houses the facility’s Black Box Theatre. To highlight, the box will be clad in reflective glazing and will feature dramatic lighting to transform it from workspace to performance gallery between day and night. A large event board announces performances and community events on the public face of the building, emphasizing the dual nature of the facility. The interiors of the classrooms and studios will have a utilitarian aesthetic appropriate for an artist loft, further reducing cost. As the building utilizes a specialized moment frame structure to maximize efficiency and flexibility, very few of the interior walls are load bearing and therefore allow for future adjustment to the building usage.

8. Inspiration Planning Process: The new Los Angeles County High School for the Arts on the campus of California State University, Los Angeles, was conceived as a creative haven for the study of visual and performing arts. Drawing from the diverse artistic statements of prolific Andy Warhol, minimalist Donald Judd, and innovative dance legend Martha Graham, the facility is part artist loft/part polished exhibit space to accommodate student and faculty needs.

9. Contextual View Planning Process (cont’d): Financed by a hardship budget, the project’s design collaboration between the architect, County of Los Angeles, and State University staff centered on three objectives: maximizing space, increasing facility efficiency, and creating flexible spaces for numerous arts endeavors. The result is a 42,000 square foot space that uses economic constraints to its advantage, introducing simple, minimalist materials to enhance a multipurpose creative environment.

10. Exhibition of School Planning and Architecture 2008 Project Data

11. Exhibition of School Planning and Architecture 2008 Project Details