Santa Monica High School
Discovery Building
Santa Monica, CA
The landscape provides clear and accessible connections between the buildings and wayfinding for the campus, while providing an outdoor respite in our California climate. Large shade trees and landscape rooms serve as outdoor classrooms, dining areas, and outdoor gathering spaces in a variety of sizes. Low water and low maintenance shrubs soften the expanses of concrete, wrapping the outdoor seating areas in green.
On the east side of the building, at the north end of the fire lane, a stepped amphitheater that incorporates a small outdoor classroom provides seating while mitigating the grade change. The main entrance to the pool is flanked on one side with low planting and canopy trees on the other side. The Dining Court on Level 1 opens out to a plaza on three sides, creating dining areas for the students, faculty and staff. A series of curved benches on the east side of the cafeteria allows for a theater in the round experience with seating for dining and performances. Across the main pedestrian path, an outdoor dining garden includes built-in benches and a BBQ station for the students.
On axis with the Michigan Gate, Freedom Walk is comprised of a series of stepped terraces that follow the natural topography of the site, providing shaded seating terraces along this primary circulation route. At the bottom of the Walk, concrete seat walls enclose an outdoor classroom space to the south while to the north, an integrated stair and ramp provides access to the lower parking lot. The Walk also brings pedestrians to the updated outdoor plaza area in front of Barnum Hall. The landscape spaces integrate seamlessly with the architecture, stepping down around the building to provide access to the interior spaces. Clear pathways framed by high canopy trees and ample seating address the unique lifestyle of this Southern California school.
Client
SMMUSD Santa Monica High School
Size
33 Acres
Team
HED
Moore Ruble Yudell (Architect)
Photography
Inessa Binenbaum