As lead architect, DLR Group鈥檚 scope includes a new two-story classroom building and a single-story academy building, along with a restored track and field area that adds a new field building and a renewed facility to replace the baseball field. | Photo Credit: DLR Group
What You Need to Know:听
- DLR Group released renderings and a modernization plan to replace听roughly 30%听of Palisades Charter High School classrooms lost in the Palisades Fire one year ago.听
- The plan includes a new two-story classroom building, a single-story academy building, and restored athletics facilities, with interim spaces planned to keep programs running during construction.听
- Los Angeles Unified School District expects a partial campus return in January, with major construction slated to begin in late 2026 and full occupancy听anticipated听in 2028.听
- Design priorities include expanded career technical education space, indoor-outdoor learning areas, and wildfire-resiliency strategies spanning site planning, materials, and indoor air quality protections.听
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LOS ANGELES 鈥� DLR Group has unveiled a rebuild and modernization plan for Palisades Charter High School, releasing new campus renderings on the one-year anniversary of the Palisades Fire that destroyed about 30% of the school鈥檚 classroom space.听
Working with Los Angeles Unified School District and community stakeholders, the design team said the effort is intended to return students and staff to permanent facilities while adding flexible learning environments and resiliency features shaped by wildfire risk.听
As lead architect, DLR Group鈥檚 scope includes a new two-story classroom building and a single-story academy building, along with a restored track and field area that adds a new field building and a renewed facility to replace the baseball field. The firm said construction sequencing will incorporate strategically placed spaces to support on-campus programs while work is underway.听
Los Angeles Unified plans a partial campus return this month, using remediated surviving buildings and modular interim classrooms. New-building construction is expected to begin in late 2026, with full occupancy of the reimagined campus听anticipated听in 2028.听
Programmatically, the team is using the rebuild to address spaces lost in the fire and update learning environments. With career technical education areas impacted, the two-story building is planned to centralize film, media, engineering, and maker spaces. DLR Group said the CTE suite is designed to support acoustic needs, advanced filming capability and indoor-outdoor flexibility. The plan also adds collaborative and gathering areas intended to serve the broader campus.听
The design concept emphasizes interwoven indoor-outdoor circulation and gathering spaces, extending learning beyond traditional classrooms.听DLR听Group said the approach draws inspiration from the campus setting between coastal cliffs and a canyon. Planned features include learning stairs; ground-floor science, engineering, and maker spaces connected to outdoor learning zones; and stacked classroom configurations paired with adjacent teacher collaboration areas. Outdoor plazas, rain gardens, and amphitheater-like spaces are intended to support layered moments of learning and gathering.听
Fire resiliency measures are embedded in both site planning and building systems, according to the release. Landscape strategies include native, fire-adapted plantings, terraced slopes, shaded fuel break areas, and a maintained 30-foot defensible zone around new buildings that听avoids听woody plants and bark mulch while using fire-resistant ground covers. Stormwater features are designed to serve as fire breaks while providing rainwater collection.听
On the building side, DLR Group said the design specifies Class A roofing and non-combustible cladding, including metal panel systems and brick veneer to align with existing campus architecture. To support indoor air quality during wildfire events, the buildings are designed to shift to a protective mode, with sealed economizers, reduced roof penetrations and rooftop mechanical strategies intended to limit smoke intrusion. Rooftop solar panels are planned to provide power support during emergencies.听
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