Project Info
As subconsultant to OBR Architecture, Schmidt Design Group provided design, community engagement, construction documentation, and construction administration services for the development of the new ground-up 65,000-square-foot K-6 elementary school. The project is located on a 10-acre site, housing approximately 450 students in the Pacific Highlands Ranch community of San Diego, CA. The school fills a significant need for the growing, multicultural community. The project site is bound by residential neighbors to the east and north, a future City of San Diego park to the northwest, and the Santa Monica Ridge and canyonlands to the south. The design includes careful consideration of the adjacent open space to celebrate both the native habitat and the new school campus. The site features predominately native and drought tolerant plant species and on-site stormwater treatment within the campus to mitigate the impact of the development on the sensitive canyonlands.
Pacific Sky Elementary School is an exciting and unprecedented new project with which the District challenged conventional prototypes. By prioritizing the students, the District sought to create a learning environment that fosters growth and supports the overall development of all 450 children. The educational environment is thoughtfully designed to embrace the outdoors and maximize the potential for connecting with nature. The structure
of the campus is fluid and organic with canyon-like carvings between the buildings, drawing inspiration from the neighboring canyonlands. The landscape isintentionally simple, providing both durability and a native character which invites birds, butterflies, lizards and more into the campus.
The Pacific Sky Elementary campus environment supports the District’s curriculum and educational vision through the creation of flexible spaces that students fromdifferent classes and age groups co-inhabit. Learning bleeds beyond the traditional boundaries of their homeroom “class” as students purposefully use the learning commons and outdoor learning spaces to collaborate with peers, work individually, and/or connect personally with other students. The design of the campus thoughtfully and playfully celebrates the topographic changes throughout the site. The design takes advantage of the site’s natural grade changes, with berms, gentle sloped walks, and play equipment that activates the playground slopes, encouraging climbing, relaxing, or sliding. Each playground also contains a dedicated “digging area” encouraging students of all ages to dig, explore, and allow their imaginations to take flight. Access to the lunch court and amphitheater can be achieved by conventional means like accessible ramps and stairs or via playground slides nestled into the natural and graded slopes to connect
the various “layers” of the site. Needless to say, the slides have become the primary mode of transportation for students and staff seeking to access the amphitheater and lunch court, adding an element of excitement and exploration to an otherwise typical transition between spaces.
Awards
- Orchid Award, San Diego Architectural Foundation Orchids and Onions Awards