Project Data:

Completion Date:     5/1/2023

Square Footage:      101718

Building Use:           Public K-8 School

Project Description:

The Architect, School District, and Community Developer collaborated to create an innovative K-8 facility, prioritizing educational philosophy, efficiency, and community integration. The Solis Park School seamlessly connects to its environment within the Great Park Neighborhood, emphasizing nature connection and distinctiveness. The school features seven structures for educating 1,000 students, provides diverse outdoor learning spaces, and strategically placed joint-use community areas. Sustainability is central, boasting a substantial photovoltaic system and focusing on energy efficiency. Built on a Superfund redevelopment brownfield site, the school embodies a commitment to environmentally conscious education within a progressive community.

Planning: The Irvine Unified School District believes in a dynamic and thorough planning process. This planning committee consisted of three entities: District, Architect, and Community Developer. No stone was left unturned in exploring all the potentials inherent in creating a K-8 facility that incorporates a comprehensive educational philosophy, functional efficiency, and community integration, all within a significant architectural statement.

Design: The Planning Committee understood the importance of creating a facility that establishes an individual identity, connects users to nature, is distinctive from other schools in the District and incorporates “Framework for Design Excellence” guidelines. This opportunity resulted in a forward focused design while complying with District construction standards and materials. Incorporating design elements that reinforced the connection to nature, such as floral patterning in glazing, signage design, color, and material schemes, reinforces the design philosophy.

Community: The school site located in the Great Park Neighborhoods of Irvine has been designed within parks, trails, gardens, native landscapes, and wildlife corridors. The unique branding of the neighborhood housing, trail/park systems, and community amenities informed the orientation, circulation, massing, design elements, materials, and identity of the school, instilling pride and ownership among users and the neighboring community.

Environment: 14 acres and seven buildings totaling 101,718 sf, support and deliver education to K-8 students. Easily supervised level changes define outdoor learning and social areas allowing for departure from the classroom. The kindergarten is located adjacent to parent drop-off/pick-up, as well as administrative functions. Grade level groupings of 1-3, 4-5, and 6-8 are accommodated within the campus in three classroom buildings. At the heart of the campus and encircled by the classrooms lies the Library, boasting dramatically lit reading rooms and elevated courtyards. Playful furniture complements the architecture and establishes a welcoming venue. Publicly accessed spaces, including administration, performance, and presentation spaces, are directly adjacent to parking and drop-off/pick-up areas. Additional open-air features include an amphitheater, agriculture center, and multiple courtyards utilized for outdoor learning and gathering opportunities.

High Performance: The District has a longstanding commitment to energy efficiency, from their early energy conservation work with the United States Department of Energy in the 1980s to the current ongoing pursuit of providing Net Zero and carbon-neutral buildings that link sustainable, high-performance design with student performance and quality learning environments. A 674 kW DC photovoltaic system offsets the energy usage by 1,016 MWh per year. Proven energy conservation techniques and designs have been woven into the facility.

Design for Equitable Communities, Design for Ecosystems, Design for Well-being 

The redevelopment of the United States Marine Corp Air Station El Toro into the Great Park Neighborhoods in the City of Irvine, CA stands as one of the country’s largest land restoration and adaptive reuse projects. The community developer was guided to reinstitute watersheds and wildlife corridors and incorporate a community designed around and in between parks, trails, gardens and native landscapes focused on health and wellness benefits to human and our regional nonhuman inhabitants.

With these principles in mind, the integration of Solis Park School into this progressive community and provided a unique forum and opportunity for the incorporation of the AIA Framework for Design Excellence. Below are some examples of the framework that were applied in the development of this project.

DESIGNING FOR EQUITABLE COMMUNITIES

The Client, Irvine Unified School District, has perpetually created educational facilities communities consider a haven, a convenient and local facility that students and family members can take ownership and pride in outside school hours. Solis Park School takes these ideals and expands on them by incorporating trail and park systems directly and literally through the campus. Solis Park School incorporates the principles of Universal Design for these trail systems and the school facility at large, promoting equity to ALL individuals, providing intuitive use and flexible design that minimizes the need for specialized design or other specialized adaptation.

A primary consideration in the design was to promote human connection. Opportunities for face-to-face exchange of ideas, social interaction and physical activity were incorporated into the project. Interior shared spaces between classrooms promote small and large group interaction between fellow classmates and other grade levels, promoting educational opportunities and confidence in chance and purposeful interactions of the user groups. Plentiful exterior courts and nodes in the trail system throughout the campus encourage outdoor learning and socialization of all students and staff by expanding the standard classroom model of education to a native landscaped open-air healthy and stimulating setting.

The kindergarten through eighth grade user groups played a crucial role in the Solis Park School design and aesthetic approach. Building layout was considerate of the adjacent community’s vehicular and pedestrian circulation systems and program functionality as they relate to grade levels, safety and security. Maintaining a human scale that promotes comfort and is an advocate for our place in nature was primary for developing interior and exterior settings. Use of a limited color pallet, utilizing a single accent color of green, as well as natural materials and indigenous, climate sensitive low-water and drought resistant flora underline the projects greater ideals.

As an architectural practice that explores educational design, continued exploration of Equitable Communities as well as all the AIA Framework for Design Excellence is paramount. Our countries educational system and its impact on individuals, society and natural resources as well as all aspects of our continued habitation on this planet depend on developing intertwined strategies to evolve societal, educational and conservational demands.

DESIGN FOR ECOSYSTEMS

The development of Solis Park School was an opportunity to promote the importance of the natural environment upon students, staff and the residents of the community. Newly restored wildlife corridors in the development are continuing to bring back native wildlife to the school and surrounding areas. Animals, birds and insects that have long been displaced due to prior human advancement into their native habitats are finding new territory to occupy. On-site native landscaping and areas of limited use advance the cause in the reestablishment of indigenous wildlife. Students and staff at the school now have an opportunity to interact with nature and cultivate their appreciation of the natural environment. Planting these seeds of appreciation of nature has the potential to last a lifetime and reinforce the individual’s commitment to environmental causes.

Equitable access to on-site native landscape development has been incorporated throughout. Nature trail systems have been designed with the principles of Universal Design to assure equitable access to all. Trailside nodes with surrounding natural landscaping and seating allow for opportunities to stop, look, listen and smell our natural environment.


DESIGN FOR WELL-BEING

Solis Park School was an exercise in designing for well-being. Examples illustrated in the DESIGN FOR EQUITABLE COMMUNITIES and the DESIGN FOR ECOSYSTEMS above relay additional valuable examples of strategies for designing for well-being.

An essential goal of the planning committee was to have visual continuity to the outdoors from all interior spaces. Classrooms have all been designed with an abundance of fenestration that grants plentiful natural light and air circulation. Classroom furniture utilized in the Solis Park School is diverse in nature to be suitable for varied learning styles and physical abilities. The library reading rooms comprise of floor to ceiling glazed walls with floral inspired patterning to emphasize the tie to nature, exaggerated cantilevered roof lines provide sun protection to the building and the exterior reading courts. The library incorporates colorful and ingenious furniture that allows for use of various age groups as well as individual physical abilities.

Classroom buildings have been designed with adjacent protected exterior classroom and physical activity space. The exterior space allows for ample circulation of air, plentiful protection from the elements, abundant natural light and expansive acoustic treatment making them an ideal zone for outside educational breakout space and physical activities.

Additional examples of design for well-being are components for physical exercise, personal expression, the arts, socializing, and other outdoors learning activities. The gymnasium, available for community and private events, provides a protected space for exercise and sports. The gymnasium building houses a state-of the art Fitness Lab for use by students and staff. Turf playfields and paved play areas provide for social and athletic involvement that reinforce physical and social development. The multi-purpose building consisting of a performance hall, band and choral classrooms expand personal interest in the arts and exposes students to individual expression as well as working with like-minded individuals in a group effort that emphasizes dependance on one another. The exterior amphitheater expands on these efforts and provides an additional venue for school and community events.

The Agriculture Center provides for students to learn the process of growing and harvesting fruits and vegetables. Nurturing of plants and comprehending the health aspects of our diet can provide and initiate a lifelong interest in health and well-being

Completion Date:     5/1/2023

Square Footage:      101718

Building Use:           Public K-8 School

Location:                 101 Abacus, Irvine, CA 92618

Kenneth Podany, Architect/Principal

Irvine Unified School District

Civil - SLR Engineering, Inc,
Structural - VCA Engineers, Inc.
Plumbing/Mechanical - PMPE Consultants
Electrical - TK1SC
Food Service - Ricca Design Studios
Fire Protection - Protection Design and Consulting

Integrated Design Group

C.W. Driver

PJHM Project Manager - Kevin Kaiser, Associate Principal

RMA Architectural Photographers