Tour- Cal Poly Tour- TOUR IS FULL

ABSTRACT: 

1) Washington Elementary School, Pomona USD

Washington Elementary, a Title 1 elementary school nestled at the foothills of the San Gabriel mountains, 30 miles east of downtown Los Angeles had been under-performing years. When the newly appointed Principal, Alan Pantanini, arrived he quickly observed a broadly disengaged campus community and severely outdated campus facilities. Determined to transform his school into a beacon of hope, that offers Next Gen learning spaces to its community, Alan teamed with local architect Jay Tittle, AIA in an inspiring journey of transformation. From the outset, Alan and Jay recognized that a traditional design approach to campus transformation would not automatically result in academic success. They identified that creating and delivering a successful Immersive Learning space with flexible furniture and technology to deliver Project Based Learning needed to go beyond the built environment. It would require a change approach that incorporated thoughtful coaching and training for teachers that would lead to a shift in instructional mindset. A shift that was embraced by the front-line users, teachers, and allowed for the physical environment to be woven together with instructional delivery allowing for learning to take place anywhere. During this workshop you will hear from 5th grade Washington Elementary students present their perspectives of the before, during and after the campus transformation. Additionally, we will demonstrate how we changed teacher mindsets through a guided learning demonstration.

OBJ #1  Develop an approach to pedagogical transformation through a guided learning demonstration that was utilized in the Washington ES transformation.
OBJ #2  Gain understanding of new approaches to instruction and learning via a brief hands-on activity.
OBJ #3  Participants will be able to adapt WELL building approaches to an interior transformation project.
OBJ #4  Understand best practices in training/coaching teachers to embrace new instructional and classroom management techniques to be successful in a flexible classroom environment.

2) Bronco Recreation & Intramural Complex

The 120,000-square-foot Bronco Recreation and Intramural Complex (BRIC) is a hub for student activity on campus. The complex was developed as a place where the University’s 24,000 students could exercise and socialize, supporting student life on campus. The project was funded by student fees and designed after an extensive engagement program involving all the stakeholders. The center combines a wide variety of activities designed to promote health and wellness on campus, including a 6,500 square-foot pool, a three-court gymnasium, 16,000 square feet of weight and fitness space and a 51-foot-tall rock climbing wall—one of the largest on the western coast. The center also includes a multi-activity court, two racquetball courts, administration offices, locker rooms and shower facilities, and a juice store for a healthy food and drink options.

The design team was challenged by an awkward site, limited by existing easements, setbacks, topography and a less than optimal building orientation. To maximize the space, a dramatic, gravity-defying three-story steel structure was incorporated, including several substantial cantilevered floor areas, the largest of which extends nearly 60 feet. A running track on the top floor affords joggers a scenic view of the campus and surrounding areas.

The project earned LEED Gold certification, with a design that includes a high-performance stormwater management system, a “cool roof” design, maximized natural daylight, thermal displacement ventilation and passive solar protection through fritted glass fins and strategically-located shaded ribbon windows. Recycled or locally-manufactured materials were used throughout the project, which also includes low-flow plumbing fixtures, a solar water-heating system for the pool and the landscape maintained with greywater. The results are a testament that an informed design process can produce beneficial outcomes that have tangible and transformational impacts to support student success.

OBJ #1  How the evolution of health & wellness has impacted student success and lifelong learning.
OBJ #2  Key planning strategies that influence the way recreation facilities are designed and built.
OBJ #3  How integration and informed design can produce tangible and measurable results.
OBJ #4  How sustainability was a design partner in advancing the University’s goals and mission.

3) Student Services Building

With its undulating roof and curving form, the Student Services Building makes a powerful visual statement, establishes a new landmark on the campus and in the region, and brands itself as the very symbol of the university and its long history in agriculture, science and technology. Striking in design, it marks a place of arrival and orientation for students, staff, alumni and visitors. The design draws its inspiration from the Southern California mountains and foothills that are articulated in the building’s shape and the form of its standing-seam aluminum roof, uniting it with the landscape and demonstrating a commitment to sustainable operations and practices in a dramatic way.

The tour will take attendees around the site to explain the project’s contextual role as a new landmark on campus and how overall building design developed. It will then enter the building to experience the new student service centers, approach to circulation, daylight, views and collaborative workspace. Along the way, the various sustainable strategies implemented to reduce energy and water use and support occupant wellness and productivity will be shown.

OBJ #1  Understand the sustainable strategies implemented to create performance-driven design
OBJ #2  Find out about a different student service delivery approach through service centers
OBJ #3  Experience a workplace environment focused on interaction, collaboration and wellness
OBJ #4  Learn about flexible planning and systems strategies to provide long-term flexibility

4) Student Housing

Student success is interwoven with one’s ability to engage on campus. Student housing plays a pivotal role in this desired outcome. On this tour, participants will experience layered social spaces designed to promote engagement and socialization. We will walk through the planning, design and execution of two new mid-rise housing buildings and a new dining commons at the newly transformed front door to Cal Poly Pomona’s campus.

OBJ #1  Design goals in the planning of student housing
OBJ #2  Approach to solving building systems in mid-rise housing
OBJ #3  Lessons learned in designing for non-binary genders
OBJ #4  Lessons learned in a design-build housing project