Agnews K12 Campus

Agnews K12 Campus
© ​Jason O’Rear

Agnews K12 Campus

Lpa

ARCHITECTS
Lpa

LEAD DESIGNER
Helen Pierce

INTERIOR DESIGN
Alice Kim

LANDSCAPE DESIGN
Rita Frink

DESIGN TEAM
Katie Gray, Mani Basu, Ben Mcguirl, Miray Oktem

ARCHITECTURE, INTERIORS, LANDSCAPE AND LIGHTING
Lpa Design Studios

THEATER CONSULTANT
Ruzika

PROGRAMMING AND ENGAGEMENT
Kate Mraw

PRINCIPAL IN CHARGE
Don Pender

MEP ENGINEERING
Lpa Design Studios

ACOUSTICAL CONSULTANT
Salter

CONSTRUCTION MANAGER
Swinerton Builders

MANUFACTURERS
Bok Modern, Arcadia Custom, H.y. Floor, Mastria Inc., Mechoshades, Trimark Usa, Weidner, Wenger Corporation

PHOTOGRAPHS
Jason O’rear

AREA
352554 Ft²

YEAR
2023

LOCATION
Santa Clara, United States

CATEGORY
Educational Architecture, Elementary & Middle School, High School

‘S.M.A.R.T.’

Campus Combines Three Schools on One Site - The Agnews campus seamlessly integrates separate elementary, middle, and high schools on a single 55-acre site, which was once home to a historic mental health facility.

Agnews K12 Campus
© ​Jason O’Rear
Agnews K12 Campus
© ​Jason O’Rear

The three schools share a common architectural language while maintaining individual identities through color, scale, and landscape. Proximity and shared-use spaces encourage staff and student peer mentoring and a sequenced curriculum.

Based on input from educators, industry leaders, and the community, the campus was developed around a set of guiding principles dubbed S.M.A.R.T. — sustainability, mindfulness, adaptability, relevancy, and transformation.

Agnews K12 Campus
© ​Jason O’Rear
Agnews K12 Campus
© ​Jason O’Rear

The design creates a sense of scale, connection, and progression between the separate schools.

The primarily one-story elementary school buildings step up to the two-story space in the middle school and the three-story buildings on the high school campus. Each campus features STEM and collab spaces appropriate to the grade level.

Agnews K12 Campus
© ​Jason O’Rear
Agnews K12 Campus
© ​Jason O’Rear

Collaborative areas and outdoor learning spaces are aligned to the specific developmental age of the students from school to school, creating student-centric spaces to support the different levels of learning.

Clustering the buildings preserved open space and maximized opportunities for shared facilities — a media center is used by the middle and high school; the middle and high schools share a kitchen; faculty share an outdoor lounge area; and the schools share the performing arts center.

Agnews K12 Campus
© ​Jason O’Rear
Agnews K12 Campus
© ​Jason O’Rear

Outdoor spaces were treated as extended learning environments. Each school wraps around an exterior quad with its own distinct identity.

Following the progressive campus theme, the elementary school quad features a low-lying grassland-style landscape, the middle school highlights growing woodlands, and the high school quad is designed as a mature forest.

The campus emphasizes passive strategies — siting, orientation, and massing — to maximize daylighting and views while minimizing energy loads.

Agnews K12 Campus
© ​Jason O’Rear
Agnews K12 Campus
© ​Jason O’Rear

Integrated site solutions focus on stormwater treatment and low-water use plantings, while interior strategies utilize sustainable materials and resources for indoor air quality.

Native landscapes support demonstrable sustainable outdoor learning and social and recreational spaces.

Agnews K12 Campus
© ​Jason O’Rear
Agnews K12 Campus
© ​Jason O’Rear

The infill site development, connection to public transit, proximity of the campuses, and accompanying opportunity for shared uses support a build-lite-build-less strategy.


Agnews K12 Campus
© ​Jason O’Rear
Agnews K12 Campus
© ​Jason O’Rear


Agnews K12 Campus
Detail Axonometry
Agnews K12 Campus
Perspective Section


Agnews K12 Campus
Elementary School Floor Plan
Agnews K12 Campus
Middle School Floor Plan
Agnews K12 Campus
High School Floor Plan


Agnews K12 Campus
Site Plan 1
Agnews K12 Campus
Site Plan 2