Connecting Students

Murrieta Mesa High’s design emphasizes mutual space

By Robert Carlsen

Buddy Gessel, AIA, LEED AP, associate at San Diego-based NTDStichler Architecture, says the key element of the new Murrieta Mesa High School in Murrieta is “connectivity.”

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Gessel says that after Murrieta Valley Unified School District and focus group meetings, the designers were determined to make use of departmental classrooms, a single common gathering space on the campus, opportunities for connection with the community, learning/career centers and instructional spaces within student areas.
“The school should be open, available, visible and accessible to students and visitors,” Gessel adds.

The $130 million high school is being built by EDGE Development Inc. of Temecula, the district’s construction manager, and will be completed in August 2009. It sits on 62 acres and will feature 10 buildings, including 82 classrooms, with a total of 250,000 sq ft.

Athletic facilities will include a stadium, pool complex, athletic fields including varsity and junior varsity baseball and softball fields, tennis courts, basketball courts, sand volleyball courts and handball courts.

District spokesperson Karen Parris says funding to build the school came from two bonds -- Measure K in November 2002 and Measure E in June 2006. Measure E, a $120 million bond measure, will fully fund Murrieta Mesa High School and provide funding for numerous other major school improvement projects throughout the district over the next 10 years.

Other district projects underway include McElhinney Middle School and Lisa J. Mails Elementary. The architect for these schools is WLC Architects of Rancho Cocamonga.
Murrieta Mesa High will initially open for ninth and 10th graders, with further enrollment phased in. Capacity is for 2,200 students. 

Gessel says a highlight of the design the common space, which “serves as the organizing force uniting the campus as a single composition. This is accomplished by creating a large amphitheater in concept, but by breaking it down into smaller areas, the space becomes more usable to the students.”

Murrieta Mesa is a Collaborative for High Performance School,
which is a state of California program, Gessel adds. Features include bettering
the energy code by 27 percent, recycled content, construction waste management and high-quality indoor air.
Gessel says the high school ranks as one of his more successful projects to date. “Faculty, student and community involvement throughout the entire planning and design process ensured that the school will be delivered that meets everyone’s expectations,” he says.

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