denny Architectural Art & Design

Central Los Angeles Area High School #9 offers core education for grades 9-12 as well as courses in the visual arts, performing arts, music, and dance. To do justice to its mission as a public institution, the school campus also incorporates a public theater that seats nearly 1000 visitors, a facility which has previously been missing in the cultural offering of downtown Los Angeles. The school for approximately 1800 pupils is organized into four academies and comprises seven buildings: the theater building, library, cafeteria, and four classroom buildings—one for each of the artistic disciplines taught here. The design concept was to employ architectural signs to communicate the Los Angeles community's commitment to art. The point of departure for the urban arrangement of the buildings was the central and visually exposed location of the site, divided from Grand Avenue only by the 101 Freeway—one of the most heavily traveled roads to pass through the downtown area of Los Angeles. Through the four classroom buildings, the master plan sets out an orthogonal arrangement that obtains additional spatial tension through the three special buildings for the library, lobby, and theater tower.