Osborn designed the Los Angeles Unified School District Playa Vista Elementary School (PVES), a new K-5 elementary school, which accommodates 650 students in 26 classrooms on a four-acre site. PVES is one of the first LAUSD schools pursuing certification by the USGBC; the design incorporates a strong array of sustainable building practices and is anticipated to cover 58.55% of the building’s annual energy cost. The school is both CHPS certified at 43.5 points and is currently pursuing a LEED Platinum rating. Further, the landscape is a strong part of this flexible learning environment, striated into “learning landscape” zones: vegetable gardens, meeting areas, outdoor classrooms, and water zones.
The school is a teacher training site in collaboration with Loyola Marymount University. With the Playa Vista development team, local stakeholders, Loyola Marymount University, Friends of Ballona Creek and many other stakeholder groups, this project is an exercise in planning with comprehensive outreach.