Project
Summary

When the need for a new school in El Segundo arose the school board, PTA, teachers, and school administrators organized group trips to tour a number of schools. After their visits the combined opinion of the group was to hire Flewelling & Moody to design what would become the Center Street Elementary School. Community participation continued to be integral in the planning stage of the project and local groups of teachers and parents were consulted on what they wanted in the new school. Everything was designed around the curriculum, the architectural attitude being that the contemporary school can be designed to serve as a teaching instrument. All rooms were left clear and flexible with movable furnishings. Large windows were decided upon to give the children a feeling of freedom and closeness to the outdoors. Center Street’s principal, Ernest Swihart, stated about this design, “I have found, together with my teachers, that the indoor-outdoor type of school we have is a wonderful teaching aid. Children have less tensions, there is less noise and disturbance, and the movement from outdoors to indoors is not so disturbing either mentally or physically. The safety factor is much better– the school can be completely cleared in less than a minute.” Finally, an uncommon feature integrated into the classrooms was the addition of more tackboards. Instead of walls entirely covered by blackboards, space was provided for displaying children’s work, reflecting the increased emphasis on hands-on activities in the curriculum.