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MATER DEI HIGH SCHOOL
SANTA ANA, CALIFORNIA
In designing two new buildings for Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, California, The Austin Company’s designers sought to reflect Mater Dei’s principle of maintaining a “heightened sense of spirituality” in the campus’ built environment. The new Borchard Library and Academic Services Complex and LeVecke Student Activities Center incorporate concrete masonry block as a featured material, tying with the school’s heritage facilities and school colors. Concrete masonry block was used on column plinths, stairways, garden walls, planter boxes, as well as interiors of the Multipurpose Room and Library. A local block manufacturer donated the concrete masonry block units, which included both split face and standard blocks. The CMUs provided not only an aesthetic design response, but also acoustical and security buffers from the nearby major city streets.
The Academic Complex features a curved garden wall visible through the library windows, displaying the school name on the prominent street corner. This garden area creates a quiet separation and allows natural light into the space. Concrete masonry pilasters rise to the second floor level leading the eye skyward. The LeVecke Center supports a multipurpose room formed by concrete masonry block bearing walls. The exterior dining canopy slopes up, capturing the presence of the nearby chapel and giving the plaza an open feeling, despite its limited area.
Overall, concrete masonry block provides a strong architectural foundation, reflective of the educational and spiritual ideals of the school.
ARCHITECT
AND
STRUCTURAL ENGINEER:
The Austin Company
6410
Oak Canyon
Irvine, CA 92618
John
R. Harrington
Vice President &
General Manager
Kenric
B. Stone
Vice President &
Manager of Operations
Raj
K. Gopalan
Senior Vice President &
Manager of Engineering
Steven
D. Lovell
Project Manager
Tom
L. Parco, A.I.A.
Chief Architect
Gregory
S. Clamp, A.I.A.
Director of Design
Daniel
K. Brooking
Designer/Project Architect
OWNER:
The
Roman Catholic Diocese
of Orange
