In the 21st century, a building dedicated to education cannot do without an approach aimed at sustainability and respect for the environment as a fundamental element of its construction. And just from that reflection, it’s a perfect example of that “Learn by doing, learn by caring” the motto of new schoolthat the new science and environmental center of the Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects Atelier for this private school draws inspiration from. Founded in 1967 in the United States, Nueva School focuses on educating students with strong intellectual abilities from kindergarten through high school. In particular, the Hillsborough campus in California, on which the new Science Center was built, is aimed at students up to the eighth grade. Spread over 33 acres along the coastal and semi-rural hills of the San Francisco Peninsula, the school’s campus consists of several buildings amid lush vegetation, mostly oak trees, with fantastic panoramic views across the bay. Surrounded by a forest, the Science and Environment Center building fits right into this context: a two-storey building with eight flexible classrooms with external classrooms for interdisciplinary activities.

The building received the 2022 AIA National Education Facility Design Award and is LEED Gold, Net Zero Energy certified. In fact, the project was carried out in accordance with the sustainability and energy saving objectives of the master plan, with particular attention to the preservation and restoration of the original habitat, as well as the design of flexible educational spaces that can be easily adapted to the different training programs.

The architects encouraged connections between users and the natural environment through a series of passive strategies and design choices that are easy to spot. An example is the shape of the building, inspired by the natural topography of the hill. A solution that has made it possible to reduce the excavations required for construction and to maximize contact with the natural environment, through a series of outdoor classrooms that become an extension of the classrooms located on the ground floor. Therefore, a building with a “narrow” floor plan was preferred, a solution that helped maximize the natural lighting and ventilation of the classrooms and reduce the building’s visual and physical impact on the surrounding nature.

(Agnes Bifulco)

Images courtesy of Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects

Project: Nueva School Science and Environment Center
Architect: Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects www.lmsarch.com
Project team:
Bill Leddy, director
Jason Bolander, Project Manager
Ian Ashcraft-Williams, Project Architect

Architect: Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects

engineers:
Civil: BKF engineers
Structurally: Murphy Burr Curry
MEP: Point Energy Innovation (Base of Design)
Electrical: Cupertino (Eng. of Record)
Mech/Plumbing: Air systems

Advisor:
Landscape: CMG landscape architecture
Joint Trench: UDCE
Impregnation: WJE
Acoustic: Salter
Laboratory: HERA
Audiovisual: Shalleck
General Contractor: WL Butler

Photographer: Bruce Damonte, Richard Barnes

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