Homestead High School Library & Media Center

Fremont Union School District

Cupertino, California

The design team’s challenge was to add a new library to an existing high school campus. The building had to fit within the last available site on the campus: a site that was bordered by buildings on three sides, a vehicular drop-off area and main street, and a large heritage oak tree in the center. A planning committee comprised of high school administrators and teachers, as well as District level staff, was established to study and evaluate various planning options.

Along the street side, the building takes cues from the existing masonry buildings. The masonry walls maintain the scale and fenestration pattern of the street elevations of the existing buildings while glimpses of a clerestory window and suspended overhang suggest something very different beyond.

The building diagram is an L-shape plan, masonry structure, with a diagonal wall, steel and glass, connecting the two legs. The heavy masonry portions house the book stacks and support spaces while the light steel and glass space forms the main reading room.

The resulting design is the successful collaboration of the teachers, administrators and students.

Photography: Michael Bruk