The project is a 25,000 square foot, Pre-K to 6 educational facility for the Santa Ana Unified School District (SAUSD), focused on the goal of creating an inclusive 21st century neighborhood school with an innovative DREAMS curriculum (Design, Research, Engineering, Arts, Math and Science).
Citing the project’s sustainable concept for Adaptive Reuse and design quality, the AIA Jurors unanimously celebrated this project:
The design is well-considered, thoughtful, and nicely executed, including a playful slide that descends along the side of the building. Another great embodied carbon story that encourages the reuse of existing structures.”
The design team delivered a unique solution that would facilitate progressive hands-on learning for 225 students a year, and understand how this solution would enhance the community, leveraging the local climate to support indoor/outdoor educational activities with glazed retractable walls and highly flexible interior spaces. As part of the resilient design concept, WD focused on creating a healthier building, updating the design of the building skin, adding operable windows and a new ventilation system which exceeds energy requirements by 30% and provides 100% outside air for healthier indoor air quality.
Our responsibility as architects is to both dream and to build responsibly, Westgroup Designs Principal, Dr. Shazad Ghanbari said. “ This will be a transformational environment; an example for our next generation of emerging technology and learning experiences.”
Please join us in celebrating Sima and this achievement!
See original publication here.
We Design. We innovate every day to ensure that your vision drives everything that we do. We leverage our design expertise as a tool to help achieve organizational goals and strengthen business outcomes.
We Deliver. Most of the clients we started with are still with us, and 89% of our projects come from repeat clients. We know that the optimal solution begins with selecting the right team, who have the expertise, experience and vision, and combine this with the tools, technology, values and integrity to bring it all together.
We Drive Change. For 30 years, our success, locally and internationally, has been the result of more than just the quality of our work, it has been the culmination of attitude, strategic approach and the way we treat our clients. As passionate, committed stewards of the built environment, we practice what we preach and have been named one of the Best Places to Work in Orange County by the OCBJ for a second time as we share this dedication to excellence with our clients and project partners.
We Design. We innovate every day to ensure that your vision drives everything that we do. We leverage our design expertise as a tool to help achieve organizational goals and strengthen business outcomes.
We Deliver. Most of the clients we started with are still with us, and 89% of our projects come from repeat clients. We know that the optimal solution begins with selecting the right team, who have the expertise, experience and vision, and combine this with the tools, technology, values and integrity to bring it all together.
We Drive Change. For 30 years, our success, locally and internationally, has been the result of more than just the quality of our work, it has been the culmination of attitude, strategic approach and the way we treat our clients. As passionate, committed stewards of the built environment, we practice what we preach and have been named one of the Best Places to Work in Orange County by the OCBJ for a second time as we share this dedication to excellence with our clients and project partners.
WD’s Bocce Ball team name, The Notorious B.O.C.C.E., pays tribute to The Notorious B.I.G. who is ranked one of the top 10 greatest rappers of all time by Billboard Magazine. Gold crowns & chains, spirited shirts, Bocce skills, and a custom rap led WD to victory for both the Most spirited team and first place in the A+D Division!
We are so grateful for IOS and Haworth for putting on such a great event that creates an opportunity to raise money for Laura’s House, an important charity in Orange County.
8th Annual IOS + Haworth Charity Bocce Ball Tournament is a social gathering that raises money for the winning Bocce Ball teams’ charity of choice.
Laura’s House is a domestic violence safe refuge, providing over 4,000 abused women and children with shelter, as well as supportive services for 50,000 people such as counseling, life skills education and legal assistance. To learn more, click here.
WD is proud to announce that our company is listed in the Top 5 Best Places to Work from the OC Business Journal. What makes us stand out? Team spirit, happy employees, and projects we are passionate about! Here at Westgroup Designs, we design experiences that positively affect the way people live, creating memorable experiences with innovative and out-of-the-box design. We have a team that supports and encourages one another, making each day at WD a fun one! Our office culture, love of collaboration, and passion for our work is taking us places.
Great things happen when you love what you do!
Best Places to Work in Orange County is a survey competition that determines the best employers in the area. Managed by Best Companies Group (BCG) and published in the Orange County Business Journal, 2017.
