LPA’s landscape designs for Piedmont Hills High School and Oak Grove High School earned Merit Awards at the recent American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) California Sierra Chapter Design Awards. The projects were recognized for their thoughtful approach and creative solutions.
“It is an honor to be recognized by our peers from the ASLA California Sierra Chapter,” said LPA Director of Landscape Architecture Kari Kikuta. “The projects exemplify the abilities of our integrated design team to seamlessly knit campuses together through creative design improvements.”
The Piedmont Hills High School courtyard supports the campus’ new science hub facilities and connects classroom instruction spaces with outdoor learning pods. The design creates an intimate outdoor amphitheater/classroom while treating storm water in the adjacent planting areas. The accessible pathway, creatively tucked into the slope, helps direct foot traffic towards the center of the campus.
“The general form of hardscape and circulation were very well executed,” jurors said. “The seamless incorporation of accessible routes is very nice to see. They are arranged in a way that encourages the universal access route over the shorter non-accessible route.”
ASLA CA Sierra Chapter Honors LPA Landscape Projects
Piedmont Hills High School's Science and Classroom Building
LPA’s design of the Piedmont Hills High School’s Science and Classroom Building recently received an Honor Award from AIA Silicon Valley, which praised the varied indoor and outdoor learning environments.
Oak Grove High School’s aging campus and quad were transformed into a useful outdoor space for students to socialize, study and learn. Improvements included the reimagining of an underutilized shade structure into a striking new campus icon, creating a new sense of arrival to the campus.
“The re-imagined structure is a beautiful, thoughtful, iconic element in the landscape,” jurors said “While the existing shade structure is definitely the show piece, the updates to the ground plane landscape help to create what is clearly a more inviting space.”
The design also created a dramatic shift in students’ social behavior. Prior to the renovation, students gathered in pockets around the campus. The new outdoor pathways, embellished stone seating and welcoming quad encourage students to interact and congregate throughout the campus.
The California Sierra Chapter awards ceremony was hosted by LPA Project Manager Corrie Lindsay, the chapter’s president.
