Central Los Angeles Area High School 9 for the Visual and Performing Arts

In direct vicinity of the downtown Los Angeles cultural corridor with the recently finished Disney Concert Hall, the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Cathedral Our Lady of Angels the Los Angeles Unified School District is planning High School 9 as LAUSD’s new flagship high school project with emphasis in the Visual and Performing Arts. As such the school campus will include four academies for education in music, dance, theater arts and visual arts, and a theater for 1,000 visitors which can be open to the public.
COOP HIMMELB{L}AU’s design proposal envisions a tower as a symbol for the arts in the city and a sign for the positive development of the arts, education and our society. As an extension of the public lobby the tower, which on its top provides a conference room, event space and exhibition space with a view across the entire city of LA, will encourage students to have a positive outlook into the future. The tower’s sculpture is completed with a spiral ramp in form of a 9 and two billboards, which are both signage and information interface for the school. {In the design approved by LAUSD for execution the tower will not be accessible.}
The crystaline public lobby, with uses as theater lobby or exhibition area - creates the public face of the school towards downtown Los Angeles, while a representational school entrance via a grand open staircase addresses the community.
Inside the campus the library in form of a cone is given importance as the ’’Space of Knowledge’’ and is the focal point of the central courtyard. Circular windows give the otherwise very utilitarian school buildings a distinct expression and - in strategic positions - reveal its inner life to the passer-by.