Building Form and Landscape

The school’s general development takes maximum advantage of its position at the city’s edge, where the beautiful landscape of the Sierra to the north, the free areas at ground level and the building’s forms all blend into a single landscape.

The complete use of the building’s roofs as terraces to be occupied and enjoyed at all times of the year, together with the sinuous, meandering form of these terraces, serve to effectively incorporate the building into this landscape while at the same time amplifying the area of outdoor patio space available to the students (63% greater than that required by the program). This last effect allows interior patios and terraces at ground level to be developed as greener, more heavily planted space than would otherwise be possible, and the campus feeling of the school is thereby enhanced, even as the building remains a singular entity.

Building Interior and Function

The unfragmented, continuous nature of the building ensures optimum functionality, while the variegated, sinuous form of its layout ensures that each area is given a unique spatial character. Corridors alternate between single-loaded and double-loaded, and at every level are given unique views, so that each area of the school has a different identity.

As a whole the school projects a welcoming presence, offering users a sequence of spatial experiences characterized by openness and interconnectedness, ideal for learning and growth.