TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION DESIGN + ENGINEERING

2018 LE Solutions | Association for Learning Environments

THE TIDE ACADEMY

Sequoia Union High School District

To innovate, we must explore andimagine a future which engages studentsas creators, building an empoweringsense of place and a culture for life-longlearning. The design of a new small highschool was based on the research of howthese students can become successfulleaders in technology, innovation, designand engineering. Through an in-depthresearch-based programming process,the stakeholders developed a school thatwill become a model for creatingworkplace-like learning environments,making school a place of excitement,curiosity, wonder and exploration.

Five Guiding Principles influenced thedesign of the TIDE Academy: humancentered, indoor / outdoor connections,innovative thinking, health & wellnessand research based decision making.These principles were developed fromresearch that involved literature reviews,activity based design and project tourssearching for the relationship betweenlearning space design and innovativeworkplace design – asking ourselves:how might a learning environment,designed like an innovative workplacestudio, better prepare students tosuccessfully learn and lead.

“How might a learning environment, designed like an innovative workplace studio, better prepare students to successfully learn and lead.”

executive summary

SF CampusAcre SiteStory CampusStudentsConstruction Budget

45,20023

400$29M

scope of work & budget

Photovoltaic Roof Panels

1

2

3

4

5

6

Learning Studios (1st & 2nd Floor)

Dispersed Admin (1st & 2nd Floor)Design & Technology Labs

Engineering Labs

Vertical Courtyard

Student Union & Upper Deck

7 Exterior Team Rooms with a View

8 Outdoor Lab

9

Green Roof10

12

3 45

6

7

8

9

10

school & community engagement

The campus will serve 400 students fromsouthern San Mateo County. It will bethe first new district-run high schoolbuilt in the East Palo Alto / Belle Havenarea in 60 years. Since Sequoia closed itsRavenswood High campus in East PaloAlto in the late 1970s, most high schoolstudents east of Bayshore have beenbused to schools across the freeway.

According to the Sequoia Union HighSchool District, over 500 students livewithin 4 miles of the school. Challengeswith local industrial business and thesize of the site were certainly concerns;however, the importance of a small highschool in the heart of the innovationcenter led to a design process thatrequired innovation to overcome thechallenges.

This industrial park area has beenundergoing a significant neighborhoodtransition into an innovation cluster.With high-tech neighbors like Facebook,the academy is in the center of the hub.Therefore, a project that engages thecommunity and shares the educationalopportunities within became a drivingdesign strategy for the campus, bothorganizationally and architecturally.

Design Leadership Committee

School BoardThe design team presented to the School Board,as requested, in either public meetings or infocused workshops

Department Specialists With the development of a new school – the teamhad no teachers to seek input from and, therefore,developed a strategy to pull key teachers andadministrators from within the district to advise onthe design space through a series of topic-focused meetings

The Design Committee was a diverse group ofthought-leaders to provide regular feedback onthe development of the project: Chief FacilitiesDirector, Facilities Project Manager, Director ofProfessional Development & Curriculum, WellnessDirector, Instructional Technology Specialist and,finally, several Instructional Coaches / TeacherLeaders

Regional Organizations & Industry LeadersInvolving major industry organizations helpedbuild consensus, emphasizing the opportunitiesfor both industry and students. With neighbors inthe Tech Industry, this relationship was influentialin the development (Example: Uber)

Planning Curriculum CommitteeIn concert with the facility planning and design,the District coordinated an educational planningand curriculum committee that worked alongsidethe design team to develop a learner profile,school themes and curriculum for TIDE Academy

• Guiding Principles• Establish Priorities• Develop Design Guideline

Finalize Program & Scope Verification

Schematic + Design DevelopmentProgram Development

Create Learner Profile

Innovative Project Tours

Developed Academies and School Theme

Curriculum Development

Continued Discussions to identify Head of School

Visual & Experience Mapping

Virtual Reality Experience

Stacking & Adjacencies

Stakeholders were challenged to shift their mindset: from building physical spaces to designing places of engagement & impact.school & community engagement

school & community engagement

Design Leadership CommitteeChief Facilities Director, SUHSD

Facilities Project Manager, SUHSDDirector of Professional Development &

Curriculum, SUHSDInstructional Technology Specialist, SUHSD

Instructional Coaches, SUHSD

The planning process began with theteam defining the characteristics of thelearner profile that would attend thisschool. Through that process, the teamwas asked to imagine how might theenvironment support that type of learner.To discover where the district was interms of 21st century learning andteaching, everyone participated in anexperience mapping activity with alearning spectrum from Traditional toTransformational, aligning space tocurriculum goals.

Additionally, the Design LeadershipCommittee toured and researched casestudy projects, noting their observationalreflections. Seeing possible spaces in reallife was key to the process.

visual listening

experience mapping

school & community engagement

As a small high school on an extremelytight site, there were certain difficultprogrammatic decisions the district hadto make early on, particularly related toathletics, electives, and educationalamenities. Alternative health andphysical fitness educational programswere considered and flexible spaces likethe ‘Performance Lab’ on the 3rd floorallow the students to express theirinterests with a flexible space that can beadapted to changing elective options,supporting the project based curriculum.

“This Project includes a robust planning process that defines the characteristics of the learning profile of the school, and then imagined what environment would support this type of learner.”

- SCUSD Superintendent

The assets of the location and theinnovative learning environment becamethe priority. The TIDE Academy islocated in the heart of the Silicon Valley– with technology and design pathwaysimbedded in this tech centeredcommunity, the internship opportunitiesand spaces for mentors to visit thecampus were all explored in the spacedesign. The 2nd floor features twostudios that are designed to be a largespace for exhibits and open houseevents, inviting in investors and givingstudents a chance to pitch their ideas.

stacking diagrams

virtual reality experience

school & community engagement

design guidelineslearner profile development reflective space tours curriculum + space alignment

The value of the process: Traditional preconceived stakeholders' attitude toward spatial features were transformed to a dialogue about designing with the student in mind, making informed decisions for the desired learning experience.

educational environment

As part of the required credits, studentswill take at least one college English andcollege math course. The program willinclude summer courses, goal-settingand regular check-ins with the studentsto make adjustments to their goals whennecessary. Students will always know‘what’s next’ in their educational career.

Project-based learning as a methodologywill be used in all four years at TIDE,starting with smaller projects andworking up to a senior seminar. Anacademic year would likely includeseveral projects, at least from 10th gradeon, and all will include a focus on socialjustice and community outreach.

Crafting internships that includefeedback loops between industry andschool staff will avoid outsourcingeducation to non-educators.While research on the efficacy of highschool internships is non-existent,research on a college level shows arelationship between internships andemployment opportunities. One thingmissing, and something that TIDE couldaddress: collaboration skills. This will beevaluated along a student’s journey tounderstand the impact of internships.

The new school will take preventativetracking steps in classes such as mathand world language that are vulnerableto students being segregated based onacademic ability, taking steps to addressit. Among those steps: direct instructionto the vulnerable students, working insmall groups, computer-based learning,and reassessing vulnerable studentsevery three to four weeks and reformingthe groups based on student learningneeds. Spaces to accommodatepersonalization will be incorporated intothe design.

c o l l e g e c r e d i t s p r o j e c t - b a s e d l e a r n i n g

s t u d e n t i n t e r n s h i p s p e r s o n a l i z e d f o c u s

e d u c a t i o n a l c u r r i c u l u m

educational environment

The design of the school reflects theinnovative and collaborative spirit of thedistrict and is outwardly focused to invitecommunity and industry partnerships toinfluence students’ technology-basededucation. Designed with flexiblemultiuse spaces in both the interior andexterior are learning clusters; aninnovative approach to scale learning fora true sense of accountability andaccessibility (to resources) as well asallowing the staff to know their students.This small high school is designed toshowcase the connections betweenTechnology, Engineering and Design.

The student experience is reflected in thedesign with overlaps between disciplines:creating seamless connectivity andinteractive building elements throughoutthe campus. The learning spaces will bestacked on three floors wrapped arounda “vertical courtyard” for maximumindoor/outdoor connection at everylevel. In addition to classroom spaces,the campus features a Makerspace shop,a Coding Lab dedicated to computercode education and softwaredevelopment and a Design Lab for rapidprototyping and implementing designconcepts.

Reflecting its progressive curriculum, theschool is designed to enhance hands-onlearning. All studios are connected,there is no classroom in isolation. Tocreate a seamless use of the school byboth students and staff, collaboration iswoven into the fabric of the design –even sharing professional learningspaces with student collaboration spaces.Finally, the design allows students tobecome innovators by providing spacethat functions like a studio-like workplacewith activity-based design strategies:space to think, space to huddle, space toconnect, space to innovate and space toshare.

Sequoia Union High School District(SUHSD) has a strong initiative todeliver innovative and engagingstudent environments. "[We are]very excited to build such adynamic school building thatbreaks the mold of 960 squarefoot boxes once and for all andwhere collaboration is truest 'builtin’,” said Matthew Zito, ChiefFacilities Officer for SUHSD. “Thebuilding is also a singularlybeautiful piece of architecture andwill serve as a great physical placeto attend high school for the next100 years.”

The evolution of the learning village was a collaborative effort between the Design Leadership andthe Curriculum Leadership. The standard California Department of Education classroom size is 960SF. The small high school planning effort realized the importance for active learning studios,prototyping scenarios (shown above) of different project based learning settings – the result of theseexercises led to two strategic decisions:

• Larger Learning Studios: adjusting the ‘classroom’ size from 960 to 1200 SF• Intermixing the Science Labs with the Studios in each Learning Village

educational environment

Each level features interior and exterior“Colabs”, “Think Tanks” and “HuddleSpaces” outfitted with power, data andwriteable interactive surfaces to supporttechnology driven education.

educational environment

60% more learning space

960SF

1200SF

previous standard

larger studios

adjacent collaboration space

think tanks & huddle rooms

1450SF

1600SF

32 SF/learner

40 SF/learner

48SF/learner

53SF/learner

To create a more ‘active’ learning setting – theSF per student had to allow for more movement,more variety in learning settings, and moreconnectivity. The offset of SF that wouldotherwise go into gymnasiums, administrationspace or circulation was dedicated to creatingthese oversized learning labs (labs historicallyrequire about 50-60 SF/student compared totraditional 30 SF/student classrooms).

educational environment

LOBBYADMIN & WELLNESS CENTERLEARNING STUDIOSDESIGN, ENGINEERING & SCIENCERESEARCH LAB & LOUNGE

STUDENT UNIONKITCHENCOLLABORATION SPACETHINK TANKS & HUDDLE ROOMSOUTDOOR DECKS

CONNECTED LEARNING STUDIOS ENGINEERING HUDDLE SPACE COLLABORATION SPACE & THINK TANK STUDENT UNION

physical environment

The compact two acre sitedemanded intense programming forevery portion of the site to supportthe design, engineering, andtechnology curriculum. With space ata premium, multi-use exterior spacesserve a variety of activities:• small group study• outdoor classrooms• lab experimentation areas• studio-sized exhibit and display

whole school gatherings

The signature characteristic of thecampus is a tiered, vertical internalcourtyard that offers the school alarge space for assembly, events,recreation and social activities.

interspersed green space terraced exterior collaborative spaces vertical courtyard building community

physical environment

0’ 25’ 50’ 100’

With the surrounding context at only oneor two stories on average, the new highschool takes advantage of the views fromthe third floor out to the San FranciscoBay just two blocks from the project site.Located in a light industrial area, theschool becomes an opportunity toshowcase the innovative educationalprocess and interact with potentialindustry partners. Additional communityamenities influenced the physicalattributes as the community center,public library, walking trails and techcenters all contribute to the sustainableand innovative characteristics of theschool.

physical environment

Located a quarter mile from the southend of the San Francisco Bay, TIDEAcademy’s unique location providesopportunities to use communityamenities near the site to augmenthealth, fitness and wellness programs.The vertical campus celebrates ActiveDesign Strategies.

“Impressed with the level of enthusiasm, engagement, andrepresentation of various stakeholders, the District embraced this transparent vertical campus and is excited for the first class to arrive in 2019”

An outward-focused campus invitescommunity, business and institutionalpartnerships to drive technology-basededucation. In addition to programinnovation, it allows the school tobecome a member of the communityusing a variety of places outside of theschool campus.

With a site of nearly 44,000 square feet,the building is organized to maximizeviews to the bay. The program is stackedon three floors allowing abundant spacefor outdoor learning, while the L-shapeconfiguration allows direct access to anadjacent outdoor learning area fromevery interior space.

physical environment

The project has an optimistic approachto learning — facilitating education thathappens both inside and out of theclassroom with an architecture thatfosters creativity and collaboration. Thearchitecture is both a generator and areflection of this ‘learn everywhere’ethos. The Campus opens out to itshigh-tech neighborhood in an effort tocultivate learning opportunities for itsstudents.

Classroom spaces are carefully sited andcurated, creating a richness of programadjacencies. The design makes the mostof this tight site by skillfully weavingpathways and courtyards with interiorand exterior teaching spaces thatmaximize the opportunity for student,faculty, and community interaction. Thedesign of the TIDE Academy reflects ancollaborative spirit with these adjacenciesand is transparent to exhibit the learningwithin.

The ground floor studios, colabs, designand engineering labs all have directaccess to the outdoor learning spacewith a roll up door – allowing teams orprojects of any size to flow into theextended learning space. The secondand third floor learning studios andresearch lounge cantilever over the mainentry plaza to provide a clear andprotected point of entry. The glazed westfacade is protected by harsh low sun witha perforated aluminum scrim.

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results of the process & project

Matching the innovative curriculumapproach to learning, the team appliedan equally creative integrated designapproach to maximize the school’ssustainability. The building is organizedto promote daylighting and views. Alarge, perforated metal scrim shades thebuilding, protecting it from direct glareand reducing solar heat gains. Othersustainable initiatives include: a plantedgreen roof, solar tubes, resiliency andactive design strategies, high-efficiencyHVAC systems and native, drought-tolerant landscaping.

Innovative incentives to reduce theimpact on community traffic:• On-site vehicle parking permits• Preferential and/or free/reduced cost

parking for carpools• Adequate, secure bicycle parking• Organized school-wide walk and bike to

school day, week, etc.• Promotions and activities to incentivize

alternative modes of transportation (e.g.,competitions to see which grade levelavoids the most vehicle trips)

• Use of a web- or mobile-based applicationto connect students wishing to carpool

SiteNative and low water use landscapeAlternative TransportationElectrical Vehicle Charging StationsBio-RetentionCool SiteNight skyLED LightingOn-site soil reuse

BuildingEast-West Building Orientation and Self ShadingResiliency Strategies (Raised Site)Raised electrical rooms (MDF Room on Second Floor)Exterior Circulation and programmed spacesCross ventilationViewsGreen Roof with native speciesCool RoofActive DesignHigh performance glazingDaylighting

InteriorsLow emitting materialsFSC Wood ProductsRecyclable Materials

MEPLow Water Use fixturesRooftop Photovoltaic Panels?High Efficiency HVACEnergy Efficient LED lightingOccupancy sensorsDaylighting Controls

sustainable strategies

results of the process & project

The school at 150 Jefferson Drive isscheduled to open for the freshman classin the 2019-20 school year. Over thefollowing years, TIDE is expected toreach full enrollment at 400 students,with enrollment determined by lottery.

The design celebrates the innovation ofthe community while creating momentsthroughout campus for mentoring andaccess to the industries’ greatest talents:achieving the district’s goals to create atruly innovative technology engineeringand design Academy.

results of the process & project

Regarding the TIDE Academy, newlyhired Principal Mr. Kuliga said theprimary mission is to prepare all studentsfor college and career success, to create"a supportive school community thathelps all students reach their fullpotential, with individual attention in asmall environment" and deep learningthat is "personal, collaborative andauthentic." This is a seamless alignmentwith the educational setting.

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