The modernization of the King-Chavez Primary Arts and Athletics Academy transformed an aging elementary school into a vibrant, colorful, and engaging outdoor campus where students are encouraged to explore, learn, and play. The project included the redesign of the 5.5-acre elementary school campus and the accompanying field shared between the San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) and the City of San Diego. Located within the culturally diverse and traditionally underserved Stockton community, the campus was reimagined with the design ethos of "Play Everywhere" blending the school's infrastructure and play. The design team, led by local landscape architecture firm Schmidt Design Group, worked closely with the school district and the city to craft a modernized campus and athletic field design that best meets their collective vision, goals, and needs.

Creating "Play Everywhere"
The existing campus predominantly comprised portable classrooms and incremental building additions, creating a space that felt temporary and ungrounded. It lacked an identity, limited opportunities for structured or free play, and offered poor sightlines for supervising staff. At their initial site visit, the design team noted how students sprawled across the campus, creating their own pockets of recreation rather than gathering in the designated play area located at the southern end of the joint-use field. The result was an energetic and boisterous experience, teeming with potential waiting to be harnessed.

Inspired by the creativity, ingenuity, and energy observed in the students that day, the team developed the "Play Everywhere" design concept that aimed at embracing the way students already used their space while reshaping the campus into one designed with them in mind.

Accordingly, the goal of the exterior design was to craft flexible-use areas for outdoor gathering featuring a tapestry of vibrant and engaging colors that highlight recreational nodes throughout the various exterior spaces. While some aspects of the original school remain, most of the central campus was modernized to achieve this goal. The project included removing portable classrooms, adding a new two-story building, expanding the existing staff parking lot, including street trees along Island Avenue, and creating a central open-space courtyard, educational garden, playground, and a range of hardcourt games.

The two primary campus recreation spaces are diversely activated. The central courtyard features a flexible synthetic turf gathering space with picnic tables shaded by overhead sails to provide respite during the warmer months. Spaces for games such as four-square, tether ball, and Gaga Ball are abundant. The larger, primary play area remains adjacent to the joint-use field and has been updated to feature basketball courts and game spaces including wall-ball, tether ball, hopscotch, and four square, as well as a prominent play structure. The structure is designed to accommodate two age groups, encouraging interaction and bonding between students of all ages and allowing the space to challenge them as they grow. The joint-use field was transitioned from a ballfield with a backstop to a youth-sized regulation synthetic turf soccer field to better align with the needs of the community.

 

A School of a Different Color
Color plays an essential role in the school design, both to draw students into the play zones and to create a cohesive design that establishes King-Chavez Primary Arts and Athletics Academy as a vibrant place of learning and joy. From the moment visitors step on campus, the whimsical ground plane sets the tone for the experience. The team was enthusiastic about the use of colored paving within the campus to compliment the new buildings and reinforce the design theme. However, integral colored concrete can be cost prohibitive and lack the desired depth of color. To address these realities, the team used an economical asphalt topcoat alternative.

The use of StreetBond allowed the team to create a dynamic environment while meeting the budgetary goals of the project. Its application was a first for a San Diego Unified School District campus. Vibrant blues and yellows stand out in exciting pops of color complemented by warm neutrals that invoke the hues of San Diego's natural soils. The color palette is further reinforced in the play structure, connecting the play equipment to the paving colors and surrounding site. Piloting the product, this inventive material use has allowed the King-Chavez campus to set the standard for cost-effective yet transformative site design.

Sustainable Strategies
Expansive asphalt school yards are prone to significant heat gain, with the potential to adversely impact students and their ability to learn. The coating not only creates a vibrant campus, but is also a solar-reflective coating proven to mitigate heat gain. Studies have shown that the coating system can reduce surface temperatures by up to 10 degrees Fahrenheit on sunny days.

Carefully considered planting strategies offered the site design a sense of movement and softness. Plant species and massings were selected - in part - for the color of their blooms to act as an extension of the paving and reinforce the overall campus mosaic. Drought tolerant and durable evergreen plants include species such as Pine Muhly (Muhlenbergia dubia), California Coffeeberry (Rhamnus californica 'Eve Case'), and Bottlebrush (Callistemon 'Little John'). Additional accent planting includes Fox Tail Agave (Agave attenuate), New Gold Lantana (Lantana camara 'New Gold), and a buffalo grass treatment in the fire lane access drive. Shade trees such as Australian Willow (Geijera parvifolia) and Pohutukawa (Metrosideros excelsea) were incorporated throughout campus in response to the organic patterning, creating comfortable places for students to find the respite of shade on a warm day. In addition to offering shelter from the sun for students, the trees reduce the urban heat island effect of the surrounding impervious surfaces.

Raised planting beds enhance the school's educational curriculum, offering students a hands-on learning experience each year. As they sow seeds, care for the plants, and explore the science behind growth, students gain valuable insights into the natural world. These garden beds serve as a foundation for our future leaders to foster a deeper, meaningful connection with the environment.

Permeable Hydro Pavers were utilized in the parking lot to minimize the impervious surface, reduce storm water management needs, and encourage site infiltration and groundwater recharge.

The modernization of King-Chavez Primary Arts and Athletics Academy has resulted in a truly dynamic and visually compelling campus, showcasing what is possible when creativity and collaboration are embraced. The resulting facility is grounded in a sense of place, featuring a vibrant color palette, sustainable strategies, and a network of opportunities to "Play Everywhere."

TEAM LIST

Landscape Architect - Schmidt Design Group
Architect - ZTA Architects
General Contractor - Soltek
Geotechnical - Leighton Group
Civil Engineers - BWE
Mechanical/Plumbing - PMPE Consultants
Electrical Engineers - Turpin & Rattan Engineering
Structural Engineers - Miyamoto Engineering

As seen in LASN magazine, June 2025.

Filed Under:LASN JUNE 2025,SCHOOL & CAMPUS DESIGN,KING CHAVEZ PRIMARY ARTS AND ATHLETICS ACADEMY,SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA,SCHMIDT DESIGN GROUP, LASN