This project is from a Spring 2009 course at Woodbury University. My partner, Giovanni Salas, and I worked to make the library spaces the core of elementary school design.

1. 3 Schools in the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles have a majority of English
L : Linking Learning Libraries
Life Cycle of a School Language Learners and Economically Disadvantaged children with below basic test
Studio 3B: Spring 2009 scores. Schools lose government funding due to low test scores and are unable to
Instructor: Eric Olsen adequately prepare students to make a positive impact on their environment.
Location: Pacoima, CA
Partner: Giovanni Salas (All Work by Author Unless Otherwise Noted) To counteract this, the school should embody a continual learning process, with each
space supplementing the next. The primary one-way ramp circulation allows equal
accessibility to all students. This circulation continues into a constant strip of library
that acts as the entrance into each classroom. This linear organization allows for
design flexibility. For instance, if the a class is reporting on a specific topic, all books
in the school with that focus can be moved to the classroom in need, allowing the
students to browse at their leisure.
The classroom walls are lined with white board wallpaper and cork, giving more wall
space for visual displays and student interaction. Enveloped in this environment
of resources and opportunity, children are immersed in a sea of knowledge,
synthesizing the library and classroom, allowing for more teaching/learning
styles, and maximizing exposure to materials to augment a student’s learning
experience.
The additional spaces complement all learning styles: the outdoor play area offers
planters, whose edges act as seats for outdoor class time and back walls that rise to
serve as the canvas for school murals and a handball court; going indoors, there is a
3
Current School Growth: Less Library L School Growth: Add Modules gym for the energetic youth, and computer spaces that hold the overflow stacks.
Utilizaing Air Space for Program and Underneath Space for Parking and Vehicular Access

2. 1 - Primary Circulation Ramp
2 - Continuous Strip of Library Visual
3 - Classroom
4 - Play Area Platform
Auditory
5 - Built-In Planter/Outdoor Seating
Experiential
6 - Gymnasium
7 - Mural Canvas/Handball Court
8 - Ramp Connecting Play Area Platforms
9 - Girl’s Bathroom
10 - Computer Space/Stacks for Surrounding School Libraries
11 - Boy’s Bathroom
12 - Elevator to Administration/Circulation Desk
13 - Pedestrian Footbridge Over Storm Channel
14 - Drop Off/Pick Up Zone
15 - Parking Underneath Raised Classrooms
16 - Vehicular Access from Laurel Canyon Blvd
Library as Hallway
B
y
eewar
5
est F
So
ut
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118 W
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5 12
7
6 4 10
A A
8 13
9
3 14
2
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1
B 50’
Plan: Improve Quality of Learning with Various Spaces

3. + + =
+ =
Classroom
Library
Circulation
Modulate Structure for Ease of Circulation Materials Allow the Classroom to be Versatile
Modulate Program for Ease of Learning Rendering by Giovanni Salas
The Play Area Offers Open Space, Art Space, Planters, and Rest Areas
Rendering by Giovanni Salas

4. Section A: Height Change for Continual Future Growth 50’
Section B: Utilizing Air Space Over Public Infrastructure 25’