John Friedman Alice Kimm Architects
1461 E 4th Street
Los Angeles, CA 90033
213 253 4740
jfak.net
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c. JFAK, 2020
Wonderland Elementary School Kindergarten Classroom Building
Los Angeles, CA
2023
The new Wonderland Elementary School Kindergarten Classroom Building, an LAUSD Magnet School, is a sculptural one-story building that is mostly curved in plan, presenting a soft edge towards the campus. It replaces two dysfunctional, portable structures that were meant to be temporary but served the campus for many years. The new design builds upon the idea that “wonder” can be expressed in an architecture that is simple, sculptural, light-filled, colorful, and full of unexpected moments and spaces of discovery. The program includes two kindergarten classrooms, student restrooms, faculty restroom, electrical and utility room, a covered walkway to provide protection from inclement weather, and storage rooms that are accessible from the exterior. Toplight, provided through skylights and solatubes, is a key component of the design. A covered walkway is integrated into the volume of the building to shelter users during rainy days. The walkway is topped by an opening in the roof filled with translucent colored acrylic louvers, which cast ever-changing and moving colored shadows onto the wall and ground surface below. This rainbow effect is one of the primary sources of magical moments experienced by the young children using the building. Each classroom has a special circular reading nook, also toplit, that will form the basis of small-group teaching, independent reading, and other special activities. The building meets Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) sustainability measures.
Client
- Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD)
General Contractor
- Geronimo Concrete, Inc.
Project Team
