Project Data:

Completion Date:     11/1/2021

Square Footage:      26103

Building Use:           High School STEM Academy

Project Description:

Intense workshops with STEM staff, leadership and students form the foundation for this center for exploration and learning. The unique Westlake High School campus, designed among deep arroyos and adjacent hills, elevates the student experience. The planning process has included meetings with neighbor Amgen to visit lab environments in a real-world context. Resulting teaching labs embrace flexibility, maximize views and exposure, and offer natural living-labs and gathering spaces for students and faculty. The goals of this project directly reflect the AIA Framework for Design Excellence.

Optimizing flexibility for an evolving STEM curriculum while connecting students to nature, root the learning environment in a future-focused setting. Labs enable reconfiguration “On the Fly”. Fixed infrastructure wraps around the perimeter leaving the center as flexible workspace. Students and faculty determine the adaptability of engaging collectively or exploring independently in small groups. Outside spaces encourage outdoor learning while the prominent “Blue” Teacher’s Space offers a retreat with a view for faculty to prepare and recharge.

Simple spatial organization coupled with vertical planning minimizes the project footprint and places the most intense demand for HVAC at the top, establishing basic organizational concepts. Located on a hillside, attention is focused upon student arrival, orientation and views, enhanced campus access, and response to shading and wind patterns. The design uses color to articulate uses in the building and to highlight activities. The goal is to encourage students to experience their surroundings, and to carry inspiration into labs for further exploration, drawing them into STEM and into the sciences.

The community of Westlake Village is integral to the success of this project. Their advocacy for students and future-focused design informs the project, supporting research and exploration. The third-floor rooftop deck provides an outdoor classroom and community asset that embraces surrounding mountains and campus sports below, with community events highlighting academic accomplishments.
The campus is carved between hills and arroyos, weaving natural forms with bridges and terraces, integrating buildings with the land. This physical environment gives form to the project, reaching out to views while leading students up the hill from the main campus. The hills to the east provide shade from the morning sun, while broad overhangs and outdoor spaces on the west offer afternoon shade. Prevailing breezes from the southwest enhance natural cooling.

Designed to LEED Silver criteria, high-performance is a central design element of this project. Operable windows and overhangs capture sea breezes and provide shade. Local materials are selected for recycled content and low VOCs. Water reduction strategies include plumbing fixtures as well as drip irrigation for California native plant materials. Lighting and HVAC strategies reduce both the demand side of power and the carbon footprint of design and construction. An intentional understanding of flexibility and future change for fixed systems include structure and MEP, offering the greatest high-performance strategy. This design easily adapts to future demands. All systems are accessible within a teaching environment that understands all students learn differently. Students and faculty will shape their own environment within inherent non-invasive flexibility.

Framework for Design Excellence

Design for Integration:
Beauty and function meet in this high-tech STEM building tucked between the arroyos and hills of Conejo Valley. It is a place-maker infused with community support to provide an inspirational setting for learning and growing. Social, environmental, and economic goals are met through community engagement, environmental stewardship with restorative views, and careful economic management in design and construction.

Design for Ecosystems:
A sustainable design compliments a hilltop setting, graced with bountiful breezes and sunshine as well as California native, drought-tolerant, natural regional landscaping and habitat. The careful selection of building materials focuses upon low maintenance choices that reduce the demand for refinishing and cleaning over the life of the building. Inherent flexibility is achieved by clustering utilities along the perimeter to allow for future resiliency without major changes to the infrastructure.

Design for Economy:
As a project realized with public funds, there has been a sincere commitment to meeting aggressive budget parameters. Goals for first project cost versus long-term maintenance and operations have been met. The long-term performance of this building relies upon the zoning of flexible space reconfiguration without creating expensive and wasteful outcomes through the careful integration of engineered building systems.

Design for Energy:
Passive design strategies are evident in sunscreen features, allowing for maximum light and air circulation with operable windows to capture hillside breezes. This project exceeds both CA Title 24 and CAL Green and meets LEED Silver criteria. Artificial LED lighting maximizes photometric performance. Forced air systems are energy efficient. Carbon-based products are minimized. The project can be retrofitted with solar panels in the future. As an inherently resilient structure, it is well-suited to continuous performance improvements.

Design for Well-Being:
Health and wellbeing are primary goals to support learning and cognition. Occupants locally control comfortable lighting and air, with operable windows. This project is fully accessible for all occupants and considers its connection to nature to be a primary focus. Materials have all been vetted to meet the goals of the Mindful Materials program and are all local to the area.

Design for Resources:
Mindful materials have been used exclusively, with minimal long-term maintenance. Toxic content is avoided, and a low carbon footprint has been an overarching goal with an emphasis on local procurement. During construction, waste has been 100% diverted from the landfill. A strong campus-wide recycling program is enforced. This project is designed to have a long lifespan with the ability to change over time.

Firm Name:              Perkins Eastman

Completion Date:     11/1/2021

Square Footage:      26103

Building Use:           High School STEM Academy

Location:                 Thousand Oaks, Westlake Village

Design Architect:
Brian Dougherty, FAIA, LEED AP

Associate Architect or Firm:
Perkins Eastman

Landscape Architect:
NUVIS Landscape Architecture

Owner / Developer:
Conejo Valley Unified School District

Engineer:
Petra Structural Engineers - Structural Engineer
Design West Enginering - Mechanical/Electrical/Plumbing Engineer
Armstrong & Brooks Engineers - Civil Engineer

General Contractor:
Multi-Prime, owner acted as the general contractor.

Consultant:
Marcene Taylor, Inc. (MTI) - Cost Estimating

Photographer:
Nils Timm