Jubany-NAC|Architecture received an Award of Honor in the Project-in-Design category for Gratts Primary Center and Early Education Center, a Los Angeles Unified School District project located near downtown Los Angeles. The Leroy F. Greene Design & Planning Awards are presented each year by the American Institute of Architects California Council and the California Coalition for Adequate School Housing (C.A.S.H.) to recognize exceptional architectural and program implementation in the design of public school facilities.

Gratts Primary Center and Early Education Center was honored for the level of creativity in the design, which addressed a difficult site that is small and steeply sloped. The design features a three-story facility nestled into the slope, with ground-level access (and playgrounds) from each of the three levels. The design makes innovative use of multiple levels to create varied play spaces, including a protected play area on the roof of the parking structure for the kindergarten students and play space atop the lunch shelter.

The project was also recognized for its extraordinary collaboration between the school district and local community non-profits, including the Boys and Girls Club, A Community of Friends, and New Schools/Better Neighborhoods.

What the jury said: “This is a really beautiful project on a tight, steeply sloping urban site that extensively engaged stakeholders from community advocacy, to the council district, to the educational community, to the neighbors. This project transformed this site into an amazing series of learning spaces for the students. Planners created a facility that is simple, playful, fun and really inviting. It’s a wonderful sustainable urban design that creates a more visible public space for the students and for the educators.”

NAC|Architecture received two Citation of Excellence Awards. Honored were Woodrow Wilson High School (Phase 1) in Tacoma, Washington, and the Joel E. Ferris High School Gymnasium, Health and Fitness Complex in Spokane, Washington. The national awards are granted annually by Learning By Design, a publication of the National School Boards Association.

The award recognizes the new three-story Woodrow Wilson High School as a Green Project. The Architects, Consulting Engineers and School District worked collaboratively in an integrated design process to allow innovation that created a healthy learning environment and efficient building. Sustainable features include a fully integrated system that involves building siting, layout, envelope and materials; and mechanical, electrical and control systems. The new building is oriented along an east-west axis to maximize daylighting potential.

Exterior sunshades and louvers on the south façade provide high-quality daylighting, while reducing solar heat gain to the interior. Photo-sensitive control of the indirect/direct classroom lighting further reduces heat loads, while directly cutting electricity consumption. One- and two-story light shafts bring daylight to the rear of the classrooms and conduct warm return air to the rooftop mechanical penthouse via fan-assisted natural convection. A displacement ventilation system – the first installed in a Washington high school – provides both efficient air distribution and 100% filtered outside air to the building, minimizing energy usage while maximizing indoor air quality.

What the jury said: “This is a green building, but it’s also a very good school. They haven’t made any compromises. In fact, they’ve enhanced the campus. It was all shoe-horned into the site in a very skillful way. They’ve made a robust effort to handle all of this in the design to make sure their goals are being achieved in this building.”

Flexibility to accommodate various athletic/fitness activities and convenient access drove the design of the Joel E. Ferris Gymnasium, Health and Fitness Complex, the focal point of which is a 1,775-seat main-events gymnasium with adjacent 200-seat auxiliary gym. Fitness and weight rooms are located along the east side of the gyms with access from the lobby and spectator entry space. An adjacent multipurpose mat/wrestling room provides for P.E. activities and easy access to the main-events gym for wrestling matches. Student locker rooms and athletic storage are located along the west side of the gyms.

Sited to offer spectacular views to the southeast from the fitness and weight rooms, the facility features a village-style design that is represented by a composition of varying building masses and materials. The wooded site is an exciting backdrop to the steep roof forms and detailed precision of the exterior façade. A glass curtain-wall system and exposed wood eave supports reinforce the village design concept.

What the jury said: “The entrance illustrates a playful use of building forms. It’s a beautiful pavilion at the entry. The design does a great job of separating the large spaces from the small, to break down the scale of the building.”