Maywood Center for Enriched Studies

Project Details

Project Description

The construction of Los Angeles United School District's Maywood Center for Enriched Studies (MaCES) relieves overcrowding at local schools and supports a return to a two-semester calendar for the first time in more than 30 years. The $78 million project is the last of 131 schools to be completed under the $20 billion construction program that LAUSD launched in 2000. “As a specialized magnet school, MaCES offers a rigorous instructional program for grades 6 through 12 that encourages cooperative learning, integrates project-based assignments, and emphasizes creative and critical thinking in all disciplines,” says DLR Group Principal Brett Hobza, AIA. DLR Group provided master planning, architecture, and interior design on the MaCES project.
The school’s site plan, which emulates a college campus, aims to instill pride in the students and encourages them to set their sights on higher education. A multi-colored stucco exterior is accented with glass and steel, and exterior-grade composite wood panels and screens adorn each building’s grand stair tower. Addressing the city of Maywood's need for neighborhood recreation and social gathering places, a 15,000-SF library; 12,600-SF multi-purpose building; a 36,000-SF gym, and a service yard are available to members of the community with secure, after-hours access. Additionally, a wellness center is open to students and the community. For students, the school’s design supports small learning communities (SLCs) across two academy buildings that house two SLCs of about 300 students each. The south side of the campus prominently showcases a 93,000-SF classroom building. Administrative offices, indoor dining and an outdoor lunch shelter, a dedicated classroom and a flexible classroom occupy the first floor of each 24,000-SF classroom building. The second and third floors house 10 general classrooms, a flexible science lab, and a chemistry lab. The north side of campus includes a 42,000-SF parking structure with 120 stalls on the ground level. The structure's rooftop features five full-size basketball courts and two large stairs that double as bleachers. A soccer/football stadium, jogging track, and instructional garden round out the remaining space on the north side of campus. Fifty percent of the classroom building and gymnasium roofs, as well as a portion of the parking structure, are designed for a future installation of photovoltaic arrays to power school facilities. The city of Maywood kicked off the 2017/2018 academic year with a ribbon cutting on September 23, 2017.