“Back to School” season is upon us, full of wonder and excitement! It’s the gift of a fresh start, and with it brings #NewBeginnings, #NewFriends, and #NewExperiences. Cheers to this season, and all the possibilities ahead. We are hopeful you will leave a #PositiveLastingImpact everywhere you go. Happy #BacktoSchool!
With the passage of Measure GG in 2018, The Sunnyvale School District was empowered to continue with its vision to transform their school learning environments in an impactful and meaningful way. A vision that began with a massive reconfiguration of Bishop Elementary School continues with a major multi-phase project for Ellis Elementary School.
This week, Aediseans visited the Ellis Elementary School Modernization Project and toured the construction site for Phase 1, a new 2-story classroom building, which is scheduled to be completed in the Spring of 2023. It will have a total of 22 classrooms, will be adjacent to a new, central campus courtyard, and feature wide open walkways, large windows for natural light, and HVAC units for each classroom.
Phase 1 of the multi-phased modernization project is just the beginning of this campus transformation, and subsequent phases will begin immediately after the completion of this one. The project has been phased to minimize disruption to the school while maximizing the transformation. The school will receive a new Multipurpose Building with an outdoor covered lunch seating area, a new Library, additional kindergarten classrooms, new fencing around the entire campus, and re-envisioned pick-up/drop-off areas to ease congestion on the campus and surrounding neighborhood. The entire campus modernization is expected to be complete by 2025.
Great care was taken with Sunnyvale School District and Sausal Corporation to ensure this project remains on schedule and ultimately delivers the programmatic requirements Ellis Elementary needs. We are honored to be making a #PositiveLastingImpact for this wonderful school.
The 29th Annual CCFC Conference in Sacramento was the place to be this week. Sessions and speakers focused on our ever-evolving business of community college facilities planning, including presentations on the burgeoning student housing movement, as well as impending building code, funding, and legislative changes. Aedis’ John Diffenderfer, Joe Vela, AIA, Michelle Netzley, Kaitlin Bailey, and Eve-Marie Olimpo joined other professionals and community college representatives in a collective effort to stay prepared for the future, and plan how we can work together to leave a #PositiveLastingImpact.
The San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin has partnered with Aedis to modernize their annex facility, The Lotus Center. Founded in San Jose’s Japantown in 1912, the SJBCB has celebrated truth, mindfulness, and generosity for over a hundred years, and for decades the building across the street from the iconic traditionally-styled temple has been a community asset, offering childcare services and classroom/gathering spaces. Having outgrown the space, Aedis worked with the SJBCB community to design a new, 2-story, Lotus Center campus using #CrossLaminatedTimber.
The new facility will be larger, more versatile, and provide meeting and gathering spaces for an array of community organizations. Most notably, the preschool and childcare areas are getting enlarged and will be enclosed, safe, and infused with the biophilic benefits that CLT offers. The much-needed play structure, courtyard, and functional drop-off/pick-up areas will bring added value and enjoyment, leaving a #PositiveLastingImpact, for years to come.
“This new facility will bring us into the 21st century with all its modern capabilities, while at the same time provide a more traditional “Japanese” flavor in its architectural design to more closely match our beautiful temple directly across the street.” – Steve Onishi, President, San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin