Studio One Eleven's Campus Green Unifies Orange County School of the Arts with 1.2-Acre Park and 13 Buildings
Campus Green, a project by the Long Beach architecture firm Studio One Eleven, has been finalized for the Orange County School of the Arts (OCSA) in Santa Ana, California. Launched in 2011, this initiative encompasses 13 buildings and a 1.2-acre park within a 350,000-square-foot area, incorporating classrooms, conservatories, and performance spaces. The design features a transparent fence, repurposed shipping containers, and a mural of a piano keyboard painted by students, seamlessly integrating the school with the surrounding city. An outdoor staircase links the cafeteria to an open field, while the $6.5 million project was made possible through private donations. Spearheaded by Michael Bonn and Kirk Keller, it highlights urban porosity and student agency, presenting a unique grade school model in Southern California.
Key facts
- Studio One Eleven designed Campus Green for the Orange County School of the Arts (OCSA) in downtown Santa Ana, California.
- The project began in 2011 and encompasses a 1.2-acre park and roughly 350,000 square feet of interior space across 13 buildings.
- OCSA serves approximately 2,300 students in grades 7 to 12.
- The $6.5 million project was funded by private donations from alumni and parents, facilitated by the charter school system.
- The design includes a central green space, a grand outdoor staircase, a transparent fence, shipping containers repurposed as outdoor rooms, and a student-painted piano keyboard mural.
- A 1950s office building was transformed into the Humanities Tower, housing classrooms and an open-plan student lounge.
- Michael Bonn is a partner and design director at Studio One Eleven; Kirk Keller is a principal at the firm.
- The campus design contrasts with the postwar Southern California model of enclosed, fenced school campuses.
Entities
Artists
- Michael Bonn
- Kirk Keller
- Shane Reiner-Roth
Institutions
- Studio One Eleven
- Orange County School of the Arts
- Coop Himmelblau
- Central Los Angeles High School No. 9
- University of Southern California
- University of California, Los Angeles
- Architectural Digest
- Architectural Record
- KCET
- Thresholds Journal
Locations
- Santa Ana
- California
- United States
- Long Beach
- Orange County
- Los Angeles
- Sycamore Street