Originally built with brick in 1955, Washington Elementary School expanded nearly two decades later with a windowless addition lacking exterior connections. This PK-5 campus became an exciting design opportunity for Little—one worth celebrating and a project the Newport Beach Community Studio is especially proud of.

Where Learning Takes Place Everywhere

The goal of this project was not only to renovate and improve the existing campus, but to create a space where learning could take place throughout; ultimately changing the way education is provided at Washington Elementary School.

A campus that used to hinder learning, transformed into an immersive learning environment with boundless opportunities for student collaboration. But like many design success stories, this project came with its fair share of challenges: Washington Elementary suffered from poor room acoustics, and completely lacked natural lighting.

The Community Studio’s design concept was simple, yet deliberate. They wanted to highlight characteristics of Washington Elementary School’s surrounding neighborhood—largely made up of bungalow-style homes surrounded by majestically large trees—and bring those characteristics inside. Ultimately, the design created a next generation environment by bringing the outside in.

Today, laminated glass partitions with monochromatic tree silhouettes make Washington Elementary School classrooms visible, creating a biophilic sensation within the space. House-shaped bookshelves or “book houses” line the hallways, along with flexible seating which encourages learning and socialization to take place throughout. The design team addressed lighting limitations by carefully integrating skylights to bring natural daylight into the learning space.

The school’s entrance, once hidden and indiscernible, was repositioned and paired with a Washington pillar. This tall, white way finder identifies the new campus entrance, and creates a new face for the community.