Inner City Arts School
Architect: Michael Maltzan Architects (
website)
[Phase I started 1989 / Phase III completed 2008]
Through a fortunate connection between USC and the design architects I, along with my studio, had a chance to take a private tour of this local campus as research for our K-5 school project. Our guides - two designers from local firm Michael Maltzan Architects and two school representatives - gave valuable insight into the program needs and design strategies steering the project. I'm really beginning to admire the work of Maltzan's office; it ranges from high-end residential to low-income housing to non-profit, and engages cost-effective realized projects to innovative theory.
The school operates in conjunction with the Los Angeles Unified School District, providing non-discriminatory art education to K-12 students from around the city who have may not have daily access to similar programs in their own schools as a result of severe budget cuts. Students attend 1.5 sessions in various disciplines, from ceramics to performing arts, painting, animation, or graphic design, two days per week for seven weeks. The school hosts plays and musical performances from professional outfits, and also serves as a civic meeting place in one of the most under-privileged neighborhoods in Los Angeles.
The scale of the building is very intimate which facilitates interactive learning. The relatively small spaces cater to children, whose needs are the clear priority of the design strategy; the scale also differentiates the project from many of the more recent and extravagant LAUSD projects that have come under intense public scrutiny. Each individual space is flexible and can easily be converted for multiple uses through the implementation of garage doors, movable partitions and mobile furniture. Walls are left bare as a "canvas" for the work of students. Natural light enters each space through the addition of skylights and light wells; skylights were also added in the Phase I construction, which converted an old 1920's body shop to offices, a painting and dance studio and music room. Windows/glazing are not placed arbitrarily, as one might read them, but rather according to function (for example, ground-level "inverted" clerestories to give working potters a connection to the outside earth, a subtle but profound inclusion) and to provide maximum security from the street.
Really an excellent case study and one that restores some of my lost faith in the architectural profession as an agent of positive change.
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| [Street View. Much of what is seen here is a former Hudson Auto Dealership.] |
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| [Pottery studio atrium & covered kiln yard.] |
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| [Ceramics tower.] |
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| [Courtyard and giant palm tree.] |
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| [Rooftop parking with a great view of downtown.] |
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| [Phase I construction. Roof trusses & decking from old body shop preserved.] |
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| [New theater reception.] |
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| [Inside of pottery/ceramics tower. Orange to symbolize optimism.] |
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| [Library & one of our studio instructors.] |
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| ["Inverted clerestories."] |
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| [Dance studio. Construction intentionally left unfinished as an educational tool.] |
like maltzan's work a lot, esp. that later phase of the project you saw, and the cylindrical SRO housing he did.
ReplyDeleteWhite stucco doesn't ever look this good in the ATL!
The cylindrical housing is near me, I've driven past it several times. Might visit at some point.
ReplyDeleteThe white looks better in LA because of the west coast light...and there are never any clouds, so the contrast against the bright blue sky always accentuates the silhouette....mmmm, none of that hazy cloudy southeastern mess haha