Murrieta Mesa High School, CASH School Profile January 2010
January 1, 2010
Murrieta Mesa High School Murrieta Valley Unified School District When Murrieta Valley Unified School District’s two comprehensive high schools ceased to be sufficient for their growing student population, the District turned to NTD Architecture to design their third high school with room for another 3,500. Opening its doors to students for the first time this past August, Murrieta Mesa High School has been readily embraced by students, faculty and the community at large. Named after its geographic location, Murrieta Mesa offers panoramic views of both the valley and the Santa Rosa Plateau. The picturesque, centralized and prominent site for the future high school dictated that it have a distinct identity and encourage connectivity with the surrounding community. Equally important was that the school be designed for superior energy performance to emit as small a carbon footprint as possible. In an effort to establish a relationship with the community, Murrieta Mesa doubles as a community resource center and is used for sports, performances, and educational events. Fronting the street are the school’s public-civic elements while classrooms and other educational facilities are kept closer to the campus core. The commons space is developed to accommodate multiple simultaneous student activities through the use of paving, landscaping, seating areas, sloped lawns and sculpted berms. Within this design is an open amphitheater, large enough to accommodate the entire student class, yet designed so that when not in use students may use the spaces for social or educational interaction. Access into the plaza and connections out to the larger community are found through entry courtyards and view corridors. The District’s high standards for Murrieta Mesa’s sustainability were met with a certified Collaborative for High Performance School that boasts an energy efficiency exceeding California’s Title 24 energy requirements by 29.4%. It has earned the maximum amount of incentive grants from Southern California Edison’s Savings By Design program – $150,000 – and also received an additional $500,000 from Proposition 1D funding for environmentally friendly projects. Factors contributing to the project’s energy efficiency surplus include an energy efficient building shell, high efficiency lighting and mechanical systems, daylighting, cool roofing, superior acoustics, a Variable Volume Temperature system, and low emitting materials. Heat islands are reduced through the use of shade and lightened impervious areas, and 75% of construction waste was recycled. A superior indoor environment provides thermal comfort to promote student productivity. Also shaping the future school’s design were City of Murrieta plans to run a new main roadway through the center of the project site. After re-positioning the road, it now only separates a small parcel from the main campus, maintaining a cohesive campus appearance and avoiding potential safety and site security issues. This small lot serves as the varsity softball field and includes parking. All other school functions are located on the main site. The planning of Murrieta Mesa consisted of District personnel, students, educators, community members, and the design team. Intensive focus group meetings were held to determine the key aspects of the design and program specifications. From this process, it was determined that connectivity, flexibility, campus identity, teacher planning areas, and learning centers were the most desired characteristics for the school. Each of these elements are present in the school’s final design. Murrieta Mesa offers students a unique curricula providing freshman and sophomore academies that are designed as a “school within a school” to group first and second year students with the same core group of teachers, allowing for project-based learning and integrated instructional activities. Academic programs for juniors and seniors are designed around college and career pathways that direct required coursework for various educational focuses including Liberal Studies/Education, Business, Culinary, Engineering, Medical, and Visual/Performing Arts. These programs allow students to explore their unique areas of interest as they pertain to their future career goals. Local college and business partnerships will afford students the opportunity to obtain internships and take co-enrollment classes that pertain to their areas of academic interest. Students of MMHS’ college and career pathways program will also be able to take college and career technical education courses online to further promote their success with post-secondary education and career opportunities. The collaborative and innovative design of Murrieta Mesa High School has created a learning environment that allows students to cultivate the desire for lifelong learning, increasing their potential to become contributing members of society upon graduation.
Publications
- NTD Architecture Acquires HBFL Architects, Strengthens Presence in California’s Central Coast July 26, 2010
- Murrieta Mesa High School, CASH School Profile January 2010 January 1, 2010
- Final Steel Beam on New San Bernardino Valley College Building Makes 260 Tons August 11, 2009
- Lancaster’s Newest Comprehensive High School Ready for Students August 11, 2009
- Construction Comes to a Close on Murrieta’s Newest High School July 29, 2009