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.
