Cahuenga New Elementary School No. 1 is the first school to be built in Los Angeles under California's Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) program. The school will feature woodframe construction over a concrete garage, sustainable design, and an overall look that allows it to blend with the neighborhood.
The 64,362-square-foot school will consist of two primary buildings: a three-story classroom structure and a 1.5-story multipurpose building. A 72-space concrete parking garage will be housed underneath the school.
The school will feature several aspects of sustainable design including stormwater management, light and temperature management, air quality control, imaginative use of recycled materials and acoustical control.
The school's playground will incorporate a bioswale to collect water, filter it and cause it to percolate into the water table. Low-e materials and automated controls will be used to improve interior air quality. Double-glazed windows will make the building less permeable to noise.
Predicted annual energy savings total $60,000, and the payback period is less than one year.
The architect for this project is Fields Devereaux Architects & Engineers (Los Angeles).
