American Lakes
Elementary School

Natomas Unified School District
Natomas, California

Campus-wide Modernization
& Library Renovation / Addition
800 K-5 Students\
Square Footage of Project: 43,413 s.f.

Planning Process: The planning process initially began with two distinct components; the library addition /administration redesign portion and a general building modernization for the balance of the campus. During the course of the modernization construction various structural and other problems were discovered in the existing buildings, requiring immediate attention. The resulting added modernization scope in effect became a modified “design-build” project. With a focused effort by the district and the professionals involved this was completed in six months time, extending the original project duration only one month.

Learning Environment: The “new” American Lakes Elementary School now includes thirty-two updated classrooms, a revised learning resource center and cafeteria, a new computer lab, and a severely disabled classroom. The SDC includes an office and support facilities which allows the district to retain programs in the district, instead of outsourcing them to the County Office of Education.

Design: The addition of the library to the frontage of the campus incorporated a completely redesigned administration building while completely revising the vehicular and pedestrian circulation to this area. The addition of an isolated bus drop-off area along with the redesigned parking lot allow for a safer and more organized access to the school site.

Community Environment: It is the intention of the school district to allow the library space to be utilized by the local community as a meeting place.

Physical Environment: The revised face of the school allows easier access to the school classrooms and the central plaza, the focal point of the school. A major focus of the modernization was to repair long standing roof and durability problems inherent in the original design of the campus. A new overhang element and concrete curb were added to the perimeter of the classroom buildings along with an entire new roofing system. The school grounds have been made fully ADA-accessible as well.

Sustainability: The revised design for the school incorporated significant light elements, including “Solatube” adjustable skylights, as well as windows in at least one wall of each classroom. This has given each classroom a large increase in window area from the original design increasing the natural light into the classroom spaces. The project also incorporated CHPS standards adopted by the District as a part of the revised modernization; the CHPS point total for this modernization is 37.