Berkeley High School

Narratives

Architect Narrative

Goals for a new school complex were defined in a series of workshops, including the idea that students needed “a third place” other than home or classes, open day and night. A Student Union could reach out to all students for hanging out, studying, playing at the gym or having a dance, getting something to eat, and library use. Internet access would be available from any space. Students could learn real-life skills by helping with food preparation or administration. Shared public use of facilities would be encouraged on weekends or after-hours.

The resulting design creates a true “gateway,” one that bridges the physical and cultural gaps between 3,000 diverse public high school students and the city that surrounds their dense urban campus. The design of the Student Union was conjoined to the gymnasium through a glassed-in breezeway. Sliding glass walls open between dining and gym to create a sizeable space large enough to hold community and school-wide events. The breezeway entrance aligns with the city street grid, leading downtown and to the transit station.

On the tight urban site, buildings were crafted to take maximum advantage of daylight exceeding state energy requirements by 35%. All spaces are naturally ventilated (only the computer room is air conditioned). Large clerestory windows in the gym and glazed walls framing the 50-meter indoor pool open out to the campus on two sides bringing natural light and visually connecting the city and quad.

The library reading room was located on the site’s most prominent corner and placed above the main public entrance as a beacon and “front door” for the campus. An attached but separate computer lab, in addition to computers in the library, allows for more individualized learning; classrooms for special education are down the hall. But it is the new Student Union which best celebrates education’s central role. Ringed with clerestories, the central space has become a popular gathering spot for eating, discussions, and performances, much to the satisfaction of college counselors and student advisors whose new offices directly open to the seating area. Use of student services has sharply increased. (More funding is required for the student union to be open longer hours with supervision.)

Food service is geared towards a learning environment. Five small kitchens correspond to five specific food service learning areas, including Mexican, Chinese and Asian food which students assist in preparing. In the big kitchen, catering for large functions occurs as well as prep for the smaller kitchens.

Students also help daily with the school administration. The office/administration area is designed with see-through partitions, and conference rooms have one glassed wall for ease of visual supervision.

Built of durable cast-in-place concrete to withstand heavy daily use of recreational and student services, the new high school complex is light and has a high degree of transparency with no secluded areas—the flow of spaces discourages graffiti and welcomes participation. The new complex supports the social interaction essential to the school’s educational mission, as well as reconnects the high school to its urban community.

Educator Narrative

Hands-on “moving pieces” sessions with the community and meetings with the student body, staff and PTA resulted in a design for the building that brings together learning, support for learning, and 24/7 community access in full partnership with environmental enhancements and the “safe school” concept. Ideas generated provided functional flexibility, and emphasized the importance of a “student centered” approach, quality usage and eye-pleasing features—factors not emphasized in the planning and completion of other campus buildings. “IF STUDENTS LIKE AND APPRECIATE THEIR CAMPUS NOT ONLY WILL THEY ATTEND…LEARNING, STUDENT BEHAVIOR, SCHOOL APPEARANCE AND SAFETY WILL BE SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED,” said the school superintendent. A recent walk on the campus clearly proved the statement’s validity even going beyond expectations. Vandalism and graffiti have noticeably decreased. “The whole campus has changed as has the way the community views the school. What a difference a building can make!”

Learning IS center stage. THE NEEDS OF SECONDARY STUDENTS ARE SERVED IN DRAMATIC WAYS BY THE NEW CONSTRUCTION. The new facilities are conducive to learning and the services provided elicit a willingness to learn and study from students not previously engaged. A second-floor state-of-the-art Library was designed to serve both students and the community. The reading room, with tall windows, faces City Hall sending a visually appealing and environmentally sensitive announcement to the community and students that learning is valued. On the second floor opposite the Library, classrooms and a Career Counseling Center serve both study purposes and individual student service needs. The first floor Student Union with a sunken center floor, surrounded by glass windows and a multiple story rotunda is rimmed on the street side by a Counseling Center and a Resource Room. Designed to meet students where they are, the Student Union provides for individual needs and creates spaces for multiple approaches to learning such as music instruction, and multiple-class presentations both video and oral, and performing arts. The Student Union is also a gathering place “that you have to arrive early” to use providing students and staff multiple options in healthy eating through well-spaced food centers.

A new Gym adjacent to the Student Union serves instructional, social, large testing sessions and student center uses. Lockers rooms separate the instructional gym and a new swimming pool. A studio with a large wood floor above the locker rooms serves the dance program and African American studies classes involved in native music practice. For safety purposes, the entire building closes off the city side of the high school previously open to a busy street framing the campus providing a physically secure structure. The building was also designed to work in tandem with the 3,000 seat Community Theater a few steps away across a courtyard quad providing pre-and intermission food services and crowd overflow through a video-drop into the sunken Student Union area. A Ticket Office buffers the building and the theater.

Student, staff, community and alumni quotes are numerous: “These buildings have made us all proud to be at the school. I’ve got real school spirit now!” The superintendent and the community are right: “A building CAN make a difference.”