Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) celebrated a significant milestone with the grand opening of their new gymnasium at Thomas Jefferson Senior High School in Los Angeles. The HMC design team joined our construction partners, elected officials, district leadership, faculty, staff, and students to celebrate with a ribbon-cutting celebration.
Thomas Jefferson High School’s heritage spans more than 100 years and is a tremendous source of pride for its student body, faculty, and the community. The gymnasium is one piece of a $275-million campus modernization which also includes demolition of old buildings and portables, new classroom buildings, specialty classrooms, and lunch pavilion. The project aims to honor the campus heritage, value its community, and empower today’s students while setting its eyes to the future and inspiring generations to come.
The architectural language of the new two-story gymnasium adds a fresh and modern flowing expression to the campus that is still familiar and contextual to the existing streamline modern campus aesthetic. Horizontal banding, soft edges, strong shadow lines, selective use of finish materials and color, ribbon windows, and flat roofs characterize the Streamline Modern movement, ensuring that while identifiably modern in design and forward thinking, the new building feels at home within the existing campus context and character of Jefferson High school. Located at Compton Avenue, the new gymnasium creates a new entry point for the campus. Sustainable design features are integrated throughout the project, including building system enhancements that support healthier learning environments through improved indoor environmental quality and access to natural daylight, recognizing the important role light and quality of light play in student learning and well-being. Additional site-based sustainability strategies, including water-wise planting, provide meaningful opportunities for environmental education while promoting long-term stewardship of natural resources.
More than just a place for play, the gymnasium is an investment in Los Angeles students. School leaders described the facility as a place that will shape lives. From the moment they walk in, students are inspired and know this is a space where they can rise and reach their full potential.
