May 20, 2022
Discovery Building receives a 2022 Westside Prize & Design Award!
The Discovery Building at Santa Monica High School has been awarded a 2022 Westside Prize & Design Award!
HED, in collaboration with Moore Ruble Yudell Architects & Planners, designed a dramatic new academic complex that transforms Santa Monica High School’s (SAMOHI’s) North Campus. Benefitting both school and the surrounding community, the complex elevates educational, cultural and recreational pursuits; improves campus access and circulation; and supports whole child development and diverse learning styles.
From arts and athletic facilities to larger, light-filled classrooms, enhanced support spaces to reorganized outdoor spaces, the five-story, 280,000 square foot complex fosters social interactions and strengthens the sense of community on SAMOHI’s campus.
Wrapped around an open entry courtyard, this innovative structure is designed as an “open building,” with a flexible, open-column grid, raised floor and non-load bearing walls which can be reconfigured over time. Sustainable as well as flexible, the new complex features displacement ventilation, photovoltaic and solar thermal arrays and a two-story living green wall.
Redefining traditional classrooms and taking full advantage of the California climate, large shade trees and landscape rooms also serve as teaching, dining and gathering spaces. Outdoor classrooms—including a rooftop hydroponic garden and science classroom—connect students with the natural world, supporting experiential, hands-on learning.
Read more about the 2022 Westside Prize & Design Awards and the Discovery building in the links below.