USGBC Los Angeles recently hosted their 9th Annual Green Gala and Los Angeles USD’s Sonia Sotomayor Learning Academies was recognized with a Sustainability in Innovation Award. The award acknowledges built projects in Los Angeles County that demonstrate innovation in one or more categories: sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality and innovation in design.
Sonia Sotomayor Learning Academies was recognized in the sustainable site category for its community-focused redevelopment initiative alongside the historic Pacific Railway line and the Los Angeles River. The campus reinvigorates the former industrial park, transforming this East Los Angeles neighborhood and alleviating overcrowding at three existing area schools within the district. The 24-acre campus accommodates up to 2,295 students with 85 classrooms and multiple educational buildings, including The Los Angeles River School sub-campus Small Learning Community whose mission is to graduate young adults who are ready to be builders and stewards of ecologically sustainable and socially just communities.
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Close collaboration between HMC, EPT Design and Breen Engineering was crucial to implementing the vegetated swales and detention basins to treat storm water, and to balance cut and fill. Another challenge the project team overcame was implementing a new plant palette—plants were selected based on their suitability for the Los Angeles River ecosystem, their potential wildlife habitat, educational opportunities and their resilience. This specialized plant palette was a huge departure for Los Angeles USD, which typically used a plant palette aimed at resilience and the tendency not to attract wildlife. Creative strategies were implemented to prolong plant life in the challenging environment of a school campus, including placing boulders or seat walls where students otherwise might walk through planters, and keeping planters tucked away from pedestrian corridors.
Eera Babtiwale. Kyle Peterson, Chris Taylor, Eric Carbonnier, Adrienne Luce and Stacey Hooper attended the Green Gala to accept the award for HMC. Congrats to the entire project team who contributed to this successful project!
