Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Silicon Valley Debuts New Elementary School

  • By Matt Jones
  • 10/25/21

A new elementary school recently opened in Foster City, Calif., as part of the San Mateo-Foster City School District (SMFCSD). Beach Park Elementary School lies in the Silicon Valley area, about halfway between San Jose and San Francisco, Calif. The district partnered with design firm HMC Architects and general contracting firm C. Overaa & Co. The facility has a capacity of 420 students and was funded through the Measure X bond measure. The bond was passed by voters in 2016 and set aside $148 million to address overcrowding issues in schools.

According to a press release, the school features amenities like classroom clusters with shared indoor and outdoor collaboration areas; a flexible Library/Media Center featuring small group instructional rooms, learning nooks and quiet areas; a multipurpose building with a kitchen and server; flexible furniture placed throughout the building; and accent colors of terracotta, blue and green that represent the school’s vision. It also has 17 individual classrooms, an administration building and an outdoor play area.

As of February 2021, the facility’s budget was an estimated $80 million.

“The school is designed for flexibility and embraces NextGen learning modalities,” said Marko Blagojevic, managing principal of the HMC San Jose studio. “The design team developed classroom clusters, learning nodes and indoor and outdoor collaboration areas in order to heighten indoor-outdoor spatial relationships, flexible learning environments and shared collaboration spaces. It is incredibly rewarding to see excited students and teachers engage in such a setting and take ownership of their environment.”

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Preparing for the Next Era of Healthcare Education, Innovation

    Across the country, public universities and community colleges are accelerating investments in healthcare education facilities as part of a broader strategy to address workforce shortages, modernize outdated infrastructure, and expand clinical training capacity. These projects, which are often located at the center of campus health and science districts, are no longer limited to traditional classrooms.

  • Spaces4Learning Trends & Predictions for Educational Facilities in 2026: Part I

    We asked, you answered, and the results are in! Last year, we put out a call for submissions to collect our readership’s opinion on trends and predictions for K–12 and higher education facilities in 2026.

  • Houston-Area High School Breaks Ground on 117,000SF Multi-Use Facility

    North Shore Senior High School, part of Galena Park ISD in Houston, Texas, recently broke ground on a new multi-use facility for student extracurriculars, according to a news release. The North Shore Multi-Use Facility will include dedicated practice and training space for the school’s athletics and fine arts programs.

  • Photo credit: Elkus Manfredi Architects

    University of Virginia Selects Design-Build Team for New Residential Complex

    The University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Va., recently announced that it has selected a design-build team for a new upper-class residential development on campus, according to a news release. Capstone Development Partners—in partnership with Elkus Manfredi Architects and the Hoar Construction/Hourigan construction team—will move forward with the three-building, 310,000-square-foot housing facility.