The practice of Build-to-Suit for a specific client’s needs at a specific point in time has been the default model in United States real estate for a long time. Now, with a massively disrupted market looking for new and viable ideas about the long term value of buildings, and increased accountability for the responsible use of resources, the time has come for the industry to enact real change.

We will explore how the Open Building concepts and movement is encouraging planners, designers and clients to think differently to reinterpret and understand what good building bones are, to allow for reuse and change.

During this session, Carey Upton, Chief Operations Officer of Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District, together with HED Architect and Education Principal John Dale FAIA, will reflect on the evolution of learning and the supporting facilities on the campus of Santa Monica High School (Samohi) in Santa Monica, California. This campus has been developed over the course of a century, responding to varying imperatives in terms of learning styles and the facilities that house them. A recent master plan and two major new projects have begun a radical transformation that will re-shape the interaction of teachers and students for the next century. The first of these facilities, a major multi-purpose academic facility known as the Discovery Building, is designed based on Open Building principles and will open this summer. A new athletic and career technical / visual arts complex (The Gold Gym and Exploration Building) will soon follow. The new buildings are a radical departure from what has been created before. They will contain much more varied, flexible spaces, both interior and exterior, that will support a wide range of learning styles and activities - and are designed to change.

Please join us and explore these evolving strategies for design.

Topic

Advancing Architecture