Arcadia Education Center

An education center becomes a community hub

Collaboration and accessibility were at the center of the vision for this 36,700-square-foot education center east of Los Angeles. The Arcadia Unified School District wanted to relocate its main offices and find new ways to serve 4,000 K-12 students.

The $12.7 million alternative education center became the public face of the district to the community, offering local employers the chance to connect with students in a high-level, collegiate-style environment. Located adjacent to the future Gold Line rail expansion, the project capitalized on a park-adjacent space to turn the center into a hub for the community as the area continues to grow.

The building is home to a variety of unconventional collaboration spaces, including conference style teaching rooms, flex desks outside classrooms and open-air spaces for interactive programming. The integrated design allows students across grades and disciplines to interact in ways not normally found in large school districts.

Between glazing expanses, lighting controls and motion centers, the building has highly efficient lighting control. This helped the center exceed sustainability goals, beating Title 24 Code energy regulations by more than 18 percent.