Rose Salgado Elementary School

A new elementary school site for San Jacinto USD with 77,000 SF of Classrooms, MPR, Media Center and Administration spaces.

A strong connection to the outdoor space was really important to us.  The campus was designed to focus inward to landscaped courtyards, providing views of San Jacinto peak and relating to nature with every room having floor to ceiling windows bringing the outside in.  "A room is not a room without natural light," - Louis Khan.

Architecture and visual branding go hand-in-hand. In honor of Professor Edward Hyatt, the first SJUSD teacher-principal, we proposed the school be named after the first school paper he published around 1888, “The Mountain Echo." Later, after the school board asked the community to suggest names, the school was named after Rose Salgado, a beloved community leader, dedicated member of the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians, and past San Jacinto school-board member. She died in May 2021.

The silhouette of San Jacinto peak is incorporated into the façade’s design.

A covered walkway creates exterior space for physical distancing at morning check-in and after school pick up. Installed concrete benches for waiting and last-minute shoe tying.

For cost saving measures, we combined the footprint of the administration, media center, MPR, kitchen, and speed lines. By grouping these spaces together, it reduced the number of exterior walls, saving on annual energy costs.

The building is anchored at the corner of the site protecting the campus from vehicular noise along Vernon.

Designed for one story to reduce construction costs.

Larger building forms have playful colors and are located at building entrances. Circular openings create interesting shadows as the sun angle changes throughout the day.

Classrooms have moveable walls for better learning in smaller groups.

Using durable interior finishes, we create comfortable environments to spark children’s curiosity.

We created intentional play areas between buildings and outdoor learning spaces where students get much-needed time away from screens and can enjoy a healthy dose of fresh air.

Two story classroom addition

This School is a Transitional Kindergarten through 12th grade school. Located in Southern California, the school is in a rural location adjacent to bridle paths and yet close to residential and commercial development. 

The project comprises the school’s goal of adding thirteen (13) classrooms to an existing on-campus site.  The campus has a Spanish mission or “Santa Barbara” architectural style.  

MLK Monument Enhancement

Riverside, CA

23 years ago, a sculpture of Martin Luther King Jr. was commissioned by the Riverside African-American Historical Society and the City of Riverside, and placed near Riverside City Hall on the Main Street pedestrian mall.  Over time, the City and volunteer groups commissioned the Mahatma Gandhi, Dosan Ahn Chang Ho and Eliza Tibbets monuments and placed them along the pedestrian mall creating a walking museum. 

The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial monument is a 7'-0" tall bronze statue supported by a 5'-0" round by 2'-0"  tall granite foundation with letters reading, "I HAVE A DREAM"…  Curving concrete curbs with metal benches attached flank the monument on two sides.  The monument is connected to the main walking path with concrete sidewalk, pavers and tree lined landscape buffers. 

The artist of the Martin Luther King Jr. sculpture, Lisa Reinertson said this about her work, “This sculpture is meant to be a reminder and an inspiration to all of us to think about the kind of world we want to leave for our children. Dr. King’s insistence on nonviolent activism, and on confronting the moral injustices of inequality and racism within our system and within our culture, is something deserving to be etched in bronze.- So that for future generations these stories my never be forgotten, and in hopes that we someday may truly live up to Dr. King’s dream.”

Redlands East Valley High School Stadium - Phase 1

 For years, the Wildcats of REVHS were always “visitors” but never the home team. After many years of planning, community discussions, and environmental studies, the Wildcats will soon be able to have their own track and field stadium. The school’s main campus opened in 1997, and at that time stadium funding was not available. The high school has been holding sports events at the University of Redlands and other sports facilities throughout the region.

Now, construction of the new stadium is almost complete. Consisting of three phases, Phase One is scheduled for completion by the end of 2023.

Winchester Elementary School

A full modernization project for the Hemet Unified School District, revitalizes and rejuvenates an existing, decades old campus.  The scope includes the demolition of several existing classroom buildings, construction of a new Media Center/Library, Kindergarten and other classroom buildings, modernizing six existing buildings, a reconfigured parent and bus drop-off and driveway approaches, new site pavement, new landscaping and irrigation, underground utility extensions, and new roof-top HVAC units.  A fresh, 21st century look! Read our story about this amazing project.

Redlands High School Security Gates

Creating a safe and secure school campus for students is of paramount importance. We assisted the District with extending existing ornamental fencing on each side of Citrus Avenue and providing controlled access to Redlands High School. By carefully selecting, designing, and integrating the security gates within brick clad columns and walls and matching the existing red brick structures on campus, we maintained a consistent and aesthetically pleasing appearance while enhancing security. It's important to strike a balance between security and preserving the visual appeal and heritage of the campus.

Jefferson Elementary School

“Dream, Believe, Achieve, Succeed.” “Paw Power.” “Perseverance Always Wins.” These are the mottoes for the elementary school campus for which PCH was tasked with replacing the relocatable classroom buildings with permanent facilities and renovating the two existing academic buildings. The campus has recently been designated as an historic landmark on both federal and state registries and any proposed architectural design was to reflect this notable honor. The result was a design that paid homage to and preserved the beauty and integrity of the 1927 structure by choosing materials, finishes, and a pattern language that is sensitive to its historic references.

 PCH endeavored to:

1) Maintain and refresh the existing 1927 Administration and 1928 Library Buildings.

2) Enlarge the existing park-like setting by preserving existing mature oaks and including turf and drought resistant plantings.

3)  Enlarge the existing parking lot to provide more spaces for staff and visitors, including a bus and parent drop-off loops.

4)  Relocate the Kindergarten Building to the front of the campus closer to main parking lot and parent drop off.

5)  Create a main organizational axis (North/South) leading from main parking lot to the south playfields.

6)  Maintain a secondary axis (East/West) from the secondary Vicentia Ave. parking lot to the MPR from the east side of campus.

7)  Include "breakout" areas throughout the campus as places to informally gather.

8)  Incorporate landscaping where possible: maintain sustainable plantings as outdoor shade sources.

Norco Elementary School

This 1960’s campus sits in the heart of Norco’s ‘Horse Town USA’, surrounded by single-story residential and horse corral structures.  Our collaborative vision for this campus provides a unique architectural identity that speaks to the city’s motto while being contextual to the rural openness and scale of surrounding properties. The campus program replaces a dated and undersized administrative building, teacher’s lounge relocatable, and a classroom building with a small multipurpose space and serving kitchen. To create the new campus identity, prefinished galvanized metal deck siding and standing seam gable roof was introduced to accentuate specific building forms and provide focal points for campus way finding. Dry-stack stone veneer wainscots and warm exterior colors throughout capture rural textures of the community. The project added an Administration Building, a Multimedia Building with two computer labs and library, a Multipurpose Building with a stage and kitchen, two custom Lunch Shelters, a rear parking lot and two rubberized areas for expanded play opportunities.

Garretson Elementary School

This project involved much needed modernization to a 1960‘s campus lacking typical amenities, technology and space. In collaborating with key campus Administrator‘s, District Facilities and Maintenance and Operations team members, our solution created a unifying identity that will inspire students, teachers and administrators for the next 50 years. The entire campus frontage was transformed by replacing the undersized and dated administration building, kitchen, teacher‘s lounge, kindergarten relocatables, and parking lot with a New Administration Building, Multimedia Building, Multipurpose Building, Kindergarten Classroom Building, enlarged parking facilities, and environmentally-sensitive landscaping.

Corona High School Additions

The rejuvenation of Corona High School began in 2004 with the construction of three large building additions in the front of the campus for Administration, Science Classrooms, and Performing Arts.  In 2011, was the completion of a new Football Stadium with synthetic track and turf, Concessions, Fieldhouse Gymnasium, and an entire Aquatics Center and Pool.  Recently completed construction, includes a new Lobby Addition to the existing Gymnasium, Wrestling Training Center, Softball Field, Baseball and Softball Dugouts, and a Locker Room Addition to house the entire football program. 

Cesar Chavez K-8 Academy

Desiring to expand the existing school into a comprehensive K-8 “Academy”, the District and PCH master planned to supplement the existing campus with new buildings and amenities in four separate phases to allow continuous operation of the site during construction.  The existing school site sits within a larger (approx. 34 acre) District-owned property.  Separate playfields and facilities for K-6 and 7-8 grades were provided to minimize conflicts between grade levels.  Currently completed, Phase 1 consists of a permanent two-story classroom building, single-story science lab building, kitchen building, shade shelters, hardcourt play areas, small parking lot, and a vehicular access road for deliveries and student loading.  Future Phases “2”, “3”, and “4” consist of Administration/Media Center Building, Gymnasium Building, and Multi-Purpose Building respectively.

Mission School

The Mission School project revitalizes an existing historic campus with new building additions and modernizations capable of accommodating 600 K-5 students.  The classic mission architecture blends modern materials and technology to create an exemplary 21st century place of learning.  Pedestrian and vehicular circulation has been reorganized to maximize efficiency and safety while allowing students and visitors to fully experience the architecture and its historical context.

A new arcade and bell tower pays tribute to previous structures and unifies the campus by creating a main pedestrian circulation element that provides sun control and protection from the weather.  Original Art Deco interiors of the main Auditorium are being revitalized and equipped with state-of-the-art audio visual technology for community performances and meetings.  Southern California Edison’s “Savings by Design” program is contributing funding for the project’s innovative energy-saving design and construction.  The rejuvenated campus has received high acclaim from District, Community, and State Officials.

Hatfield Buick

As part of a nation-wide corporate image enhancement program, the 100-year-old family-owned auto dealership received an “extreme makeover” to increase community visibility and customer appeal. The extensive renovation integrated and enlarged the showroom floor, sales offices, service and parts department.

Extensive use of glazing, exterior metal panels, energy-efficient lighting, and modernized signage enhances interaction and creates excitement for pedestrian shoppers and passing autos. The dealership was “open for business” throughout the construction phase and was praised at the Grand re-Opening by state and community leaders.