John Chase recently wrote a book LA 2000+, New Architecture in Los Angeleswhich compiled 30 projects completed since 2000 in Los Angeles. The book includes such notable projects as Frank Gehry's Disney Concert Hall and Morphosis' CALTRANS Building. Interestingly, it also includes 3 school projects.
The project on the cover of the book is the Pilibos Armenian School in East Hollywood by Studioworks. The gym is a modified Butler building and the library is a hovering boat-like structure. The irregularly placed windows and bookshelves punctuate a completely plywood-wrapped interior.
At Duarte High School, Osborn completely reinterprets a campus of 1960's era concrete structures. A new administration facility straddles the existing building leaving remnants of the pre-existing concrete. The new campus entry is now visible from the adjacent 210 freeway due to a signifcantly scaled entry element and signage. The entire front of the campus is wrapped in a newly constructed lunimous interior hall to attenuate the road noise.
A recent Rios, Clementi, Hale project for LAUSD also gets mention. Their modest primary centers are constructed from standardized modules, but use color and graphics to distinguish the otherwise straightforward structures. Courtyards, fences and facades make up the core of the project.
