New Built

Award of Honor

Dena Primary Center

Los Angeles Unified School District

Rachlin Architects

The Dena Primary Center is among the first of a new breed of smaller, community-based schools for the Los Angeles Unified School District.

The design concept evolved from the school’s functional elements, each articulated with a distinctive geometric form.  The shapes were then arranged around a central elliptical courtyard, designed in an amphitheatre style, which was conceived as the nexus of the school complex and a formal and informal gathering space for students and the local community. 

The building cluster showcases the central courtyard, sculptural walls and a multipurpose building with soaring ceilings and a glass and aluminum façade.  Along with the building’s lively geometric forms, textural and sculptural details, and vibrant color palette, the architects envisioned a lively, highly functional environment that could offer identity to the surrounding urban neighborhood. 

The planning process involved an intensive dialogue to build consensus among the stakeholders in developing a neighborhood school.  The 25,000-square foot Primary Center includes two kindergartens, eight classrooms, an administration complex, a library, a multi-purpose building, food service and courtyard/assembly area.

The Dena Primary Center reflects the District’s education program and desire to break up large, impersonal schools into settings that are manageable for teachers and students. This permitted the existing overcrowded Dena Elementary School to discontinue its year-round track and return to traditional track.  The campus is organized around an elliptical-shaped, multi-use courtyard, which is defined by the buildings’ whose arrangement provides a safe, secure and inviting outdoor learning environment. The buildings share an aggressive color scheme of purple, red and canary yellow enhanced by decorative metal panels, canopies and large glass walls.  The focal point of the campus is an outdoor multi-use courtyard that fosters a shared use between community-based functions and school-based activities.  The use of daylighting reduced the need for artificial lighting, thus resulting in cost and energy savings.  Eight of the ten classrooms and the multi-purpose room have been positioned to take advantage of large, north-facing windows.