PROJECT NARRARTIVE

Charles Maclay Middle School Wellness Center is one of nineteen wellness centers on campuses throughout Los Angeles Unified School District, designed to enhance quality of life for students and families. The goal is to provide an environment encouraging academic success by making lifelong healthy choices. In partnership with a non-profit organization, students, family members, and staff, we created a healing environment designed to promote human wellbeing. The spaces were conceptualized based on biophilic design. Patient privacy, health safety, infection control, warm material palettes, green materials, and sustainable building practices also influenced the design. Oriented on an east-west axis, the building maximizes north and south lighting, creating a compelling elevation within its surroundings and a welcoming destination. The entryway features a strong overhang, columnar supporting elements, and playful circular cutouts to enhance light. It reinforces the building's identity, provides a clear path into the building, and welcomes visitors, students, and staff. Elevations of the building use alternating panels in natural tones of fiber cement board, plaster, and glazing to create a harmonious visual rhythm taking the pattern from DNA. The design considers the physiological human responses to the natural environment to reduce stress and enhances the user’s wellbeing.