Los Angeles Unified School District Edward R' Roybal Learning Center

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Los Angeles Unified School District Edward R.
Roybal Learning Center
2009 Monarch Award

• Los Angeles, California
• High School (Grades 9 12)
• Type II, 1-Hour
• WWCOT

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Before and After Corner of 1st Street and
Beaudry Avenue
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Photo
Before and After Aerial View Northwest
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Photo
New Administration-Academy Building/Colton Street
Entrance
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Photo
Before and After Existing Classroom Building
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Photo
Classroom
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Photo
Library/Cafeteria/Multi-Purpose Room
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Photo
Cafeteria/Multi-Purpose Room
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Photo
Library
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Photo
Library
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Photo
Before and After Existing Gymnasium
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Site Plan
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Floor Plan
New Administration-Academy Building First Floor
Plan
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Floor Plan
New Administration-Academy Building Second Level
Floor Plan
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New Multi-Purpose/Library Building
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Refurbished/Reconstructed Existing Building
Level 1, 2, 3 Floor Plans
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Gymnasium - Floor Plan
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Project Narrative
Please provide a narrative description and
definition of the project that highlights
exceptional features, discusses specific
challenges presented, how those challenges were
met, and any other points of significance for the
project. Please type below. Not to exceed 2 pages
total.
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• Introduction
• Famous even before its grand opening in September
  2008, Roybal Learning Center (aka Belmont
  Learning Complex, Central Los Angeles High School
  11, Vista Hermosa High School) was the victim of
  notoriety and negative press over its 20-year
  history before becoming a permanent, thriving,
  innovative, and inspiring learning environment
  for inner-city high school students. Formerly
  derided as the most expensive high school never
  built, Roybal Learning Center beat all the odds
  and opened on the scheduled date, was built
  within the new budget, and was finished ahead of
  schedule. The design/construction/facilities
  team worked tirelessly and collaboratively at
  every stage, solving complex issues together
  without finger-pointing and negative
  consequences. The team engaged the community,
  conducting town hall meetings in both Spanish
  and English, in order to answer questions
  regarding cost, schedule, and safety and present
  illustrations and timely project reports, which
  held the team accountable for the projects
  success. The results of this team approach the
  Associated General Contractors of America (AGC)
  Marvin M. Black Excellence in Partnering Award!
• A Brief History
• With the intention of relieving over-crowded
  Belmont High School, LAUSD initiated plans in
  1988 for a new 3,500 semester-seat school
  comprised of four Small Learning Communities
  (SLCs) that share common facilities. With
  construction about sixty percent complete, the
  project was halted in 1999 after the discovery of
  dangerous methane gases and an earthquake fault
  below the surface. After nearly four years of
  extensive debate and analysis, the LAUSD Board
  voted to continue the project in 2002 and hired a
  new architectural firm with K-12 facility and
  architectural forensics expertise. The new
  architects surveyed the partially-completed
  buildings and evaluated and corrected observed
  deficiencies. Among their many findings, they
  determined that weather, over the course of four
  years, had severely damaged all of the walls,
  that the roof-top air conditioning systems did
  not meet current efficiency standards, and that
  all warranties had lapsed.
• Project Goals
• In addition to rehabilitating the existing
  buildings, the teams objective was to create new
  buildings that would meet both the Districts
  educational goals and the State of Californias
  seismic safety standards. After extensive
  research and analysis, LAUSD determined that the
  transformation of the unfinished Belmont Learning
  Complex into the new Roybal Learning Center
  should entail
• Demolition of the two buildings which were
  constructed over the seismic fault and
  replacement with new structures.
• Development of methane gas management systems,
  for both existing and new buildings, to fully
  mitigate the hazards.
• Replacement of all existing construction that
  had been damaged by exposure or inadequately
  installed.
• Reorganization of the campus plan to meet
  LAUSDs commitment to, and standards for, Small
  Learning Communities (SLCs).
• Offer active recreation for community youth and
  adults by including a soccer field on the
  adjacent Vista Hermosa Park.
• Create a new public image for the school, its
  students and the community.
• A New Promise for the Children
• From the development of the master plan to the
  planning of the individual Small Learning
  Communities from the re-branding of its exterior
  image to the creation of outdoor learning spaces
  Roybal Learning Center has been transformed
  into a state-of-the-art, 21st Century green
  educational environment that will help uplift the
  surrounding neighborhood.

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New Buildings The new Commons Building is the
focal point on First Street and strengthens the
campus urban edge. As the center of campus
life, the multi-purpose auditorium, food service
facility and library also delineate the campus
main quad. The new Administration and 500-seat
Academy Building provides the identifying
entrance element on Colton and Boylston
Streets. Rebirth of Existing Buildings The
existing buildings located along Beaudry Avenue
were completely stripped to the core. Three
floors were redesigned to each house two separate
Small Learning Communities. A large gymnasium
accommodates indoor athletic events. The
subterranean floors were transformed into parking
for 481 cars. Custom signage enlivens the highly
visible corner of Beaudry Avenue and First Street
and presents a new and welcoming face, announcing
to the public that the Roybal Learning Center
plays a vital role in downtown community life.
Sustainability Roybal Learning Center is a
CHPS-certified high school that fulfills LAUSDs
commitment to building sustainable learning
environments. Trees provide both visual
enhancement and shade. Water-saving plumbing
fixtures abound. State-of-the-art
air-conditioning equipment meets both
environmental and economic efficiency standards.
The State of California and Savings by Design
recognized the energy efficiency of the buildings
by awarding grants to both the District and the
architect for the sustainable execution of the
project. Construction The District received
competitive bids for the project in October of
2005. An award-winning, well-respected,
nationwide construction firm with prior LAUSD
experience was awarded the construction contract
in November, 2005. Notice to Proceed was issued
on December 1, 2005 and after a coordinated
mobilization period, construction commenced on
March 1, 2006. Roybal Learning Center was
completed early and welcomed students for the
first time on September 3, 2008. A Meaningful
Beginning to a Historic Journey From Lemons to
Lemonade, Roybal Learning Center is a success
story because of community support, the
willingness to meet challenges head-on and the
commitment to provide inner-city students with a
school they can call their own. Now, students of
primarily low-income Latino families who were
bused to out-of-the-area year-round schools
proudly attend classes on an outstanding,
state-of-the-art, sustainable campus, right in
their own neighborhood. They enjoy a traditional
two-semester calendar and more personalized
learning experiences on what is like a mini
college campus, full of open corridors and green
spaces. Roybal Learning Center is named in
honor of the late U.S. Congressman Edward R.
Roybal (1916-2005), who is recognized as one of
the most prominent Latino civil rights leaders of
the 20th Century. During the ribbon-cutting
ceremony, his daughter, U.S. Congresswoman
Lucille Roybal Allard said tearfully, My father
believed that education was the single greatest
gift we could pass onto our children, because an
education, as he would say, never can be taken
away from you. That is why he fought throughout
his career to provide our community with quality
educational opportunities like the Roybal
Learning Center will offer. Like the phoenix
rising from the ashes, the Edward R. Roybal
Learning Center, which at one time seemed like a
lost cause, has been transformed into a
remarkable and dynamic learning environment that
will serve its ever-growing inner-city downtown
Los Angeles community well into the future.
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Project Budget 202,305,125
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Project Details
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Ed Spec/Program of Requirements

• Please see PDF files with submittal package.

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Project Data Confidential Form
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Photo ReleasePrint, Sign, Scan and Submit with
Package
Name of Project Edward R. Roybal Learning
Center Location of Project Los Angeles,
California Occupancy Date, if applicable
September 3, 2008 CEFPI has our permission
to aSend photos electronically to jury members
(required for entry). aDisplay photos in the
award winners area of the website, if selected
as a finalist. aDisplay photos on other sections
of the website as representative CEFPI
projects. aPrint photos in CEFPI
newsletters. aPrint photos on CEFPI marketing
materials, i.e. brochures , awards, call for
entries, etc. aPrint photos and project details
in the CEFPI Design Portfolio, if selected as a
finalist. aSpecial projects with prior
permission. Please Note CEFPI maintains an
in-house archive of school designs as part of our
research library. Your information will be
entered and recorded as one of those
designs. Firm WWCOT Responsible
Party/Photographer Andrea Cohen Gehring, FAIA,
LEEDAP Signature Date of Release April 21,
2009