Palo Alto High School Classroom and Media Arts Center

Palo Alto, CA

Architect - Deems Lewis McKinley

Murphy Burr Curry, Inc. provided structural engineering services for two buildings on this high school campus: The Media Arts Center and a new classroom building. Both two-story structures are steel-framed with concrete slab over metal deck at the floors and the roof. The lateral system consists of braced frames and moment frames.

The Media Arts Center features clerestory windows and a centrally located atrium, with the roof approximately 8' above the main building roof. There are moment frames at this level to resist the lateral forces and increase sunlight infiltration at the clerestory. The main entrance consists of a large glass storefront and canopy supported on tube steel cantilevered from the main structure. Multiple canopies, covered walkways and sunshades grace the exterior of the building.

The classroom building houses classrooms and study areas and features three skylights, as well as the clerestory windows at the stepped roofs. Three moment frames at the large entry allow for spacious openings along the entrance façade.