The Old School: Live / Work Lofts, Adaptive Reuse, 2001
Size: 13,000 s.f., 11 Dwelling Units
Location: Historic Mission San Jose District, Fremont, California
The scope of this historic remodel was not simply to restore the Old School as an historic city resource, but rather rehabilitate it for a new use as Live / Work studios, thus preserving its existence. In order for this adaptive reuse to be economically viable, improvements and minor building additions were necessary.
The approach to the building modifications was dependent on the elevation of the building and its site orientation. In general the front was unaltered. The sides have one story additions appended to them, while the rear of the building was expanded by in-filling the "H" shape of the existing building plan. The concept of the building addition was to expand it in a straightforward manner, as if the school had expanded years ago. The new use of the building required multiple entry points at grade level for access to the Live/Work studios. In order to achieve this, a network of entry garden courts was constructed around the perimeter of the building. These courts are shaped by garden walls, all proportionally integrated with the existing building and constructed from common building materials from the period of the original construction of the school.
