Ulysses S. Grant High School

The existing historic facility of Ulysses S. Grant High School, located in the Valley Glen neighborhood of Los Angeles, has been redesigned to undergo a complete modernization with the addition of three new buildings. The IBI design team sought to incorporate the District mission into the design “to create a safe and healthy high performance facility of enduring quality, sustainability and efficiency that enhances the learning environment for District students and employees.”

With the existing facilities and the central quad as the organizing element, primary design aspects were based upon culture, community, and historical significance of the campus. The central quad, identified as the ‘heart’ of the school, became the focus of the design with all spaces inside and outside the facility organized around it.

The developed design is a combination of new and modernized facilities for the school, which reorganizes the campus to provide a cohesive and safe educational environment. The new 43,775 sq. ft., two-story science and art building features covered walkways, a bridge, elevator and stairs to create a new portal between new and existing buildings. The 36,400 sq. ft. building framing the courtyard will house the new library which will serve as the learning hub to the campus. The new 7,716 sq. ft. building for maintenance, operations and horticulture has been located at the northwest side of the site, surrounded by outdoor learning stations and a demonstration educational garden and by service yard on the south.