Design/Completion 2006/2011
Los Angeles, California
86,209 s.f.
Building Structure: Poured-in-place concrete and Steel
Building Materials: Concrete, steel, dual glazing, translucent panel, Trespa
Meets CHPS HPI Grant Criteria
Design Awards: 2008 National School Board Association Exhibition of School Architecture
The South Region of the Los Angeles Unified School District is a high-density inner-city environment dotted with high-capacity neighborhood schools. To relieve the stress of a growing student population, Aspire Tate Academy is one of several new schools providing new and progressive campus experiences to the students and families of south Los Angeles. The site acquisition at Slauson and Main Street features an existing dirt soccer field that has led to a community partnership with the family of Juanita Tate, a community activist and volunteer who has left a great legacy in this neighborhood. The result is a site with a valuable joint-use FIFA soccer field that has no equal in this part of the City. The assembly of adjacent parcels, and a one-block street closure has provided this new home for its neighborhood students.
Features of the site include: a secondary residential street drop off area and direct access to the administrative offices, and to the kindergarten building and adjacent play area. A two-story classroom building is also home to a new library, teacher work rooms, and outdoor covered learning center. Below this building is subterranean parking for 90 cars. A new Multi-purpose building features a kitchen, teacher’s lounge, and covered lunch area. This building also provided restrooms to the adjacent playfield for after school and weekend community use. The parking garage accommodates off-street community parking for public events, and has a dedicated accessible path of travel to the joint use playfield.
Safety, security, oversight and durability are all realities with the design of Aspire Tate Elementary Academy. As a result, the courtyard plan creates a protective perimeter for students to learn and play. Originally designed as a traditional elementary school, the project was selected as an Aspire Charter School just months before completion. Collaborative meetings with LAUSD and Aspire leadership has resulted in a comfortable fit for an innovative concept accommodating three Principals and three programs.
