LAUSD South Region Elementary School No. 2 (SRES #2) is a notable piece of civic architecture and a catalyst for neighborhood revitalization. The school is located in a south Los Angeles residential neighborhood less than a mile away from the epicenter of the 1992 Los Angeles riots.
The school provides a highly functional, dynamic environment that addresses the needs of the community while inspiring the creativity of its students. Vibrant colors of plaster are used for a creative design solution for the building’s facades. Bold hues of blue, green, red and orange on the façade have earned the building the nickname of The Rainbow School.
SRES #2 relieves overcrowding at nearby elementary schools, and meets the requirements for California's Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) Certification, whose mission is to promote schools that are energy and resource efficient, comfortable, well lit, and contain amenities for a quality education.
The design team developed a secure environment that was not intimidating by locating the school’s main buildings away from busy intersections. This provides urban walls to ensure safety for students walking to school and to shelter the school’s play areas. Furthermore, this creates shielded environments for indoor and outdoor teaching so teachers may take advantage of the mild Southern California climate. The result is a design that creates a secure sense of place in an exciting and rich spatial environment.
View Original