TINA CHEE LANDSCAPE STUDIO

SEED LA, THE SEED SCHOOL OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY

Developed as part of the Community Development Commission of Los Angeles County’s (LACDC) Vermont Manchester Transit Priority Project site, SEED LA is part of a larger transformation of a site that had been vacant for over two decades due to civil unrest into a vibrant, mixed-use community with affordable housing, retail, and the SEED LA school. SEED LA will offer some 400 resilient youth the opportunity to engage in top-tier education and training for future jobs in the STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math), transportation, and infrastructure industries. The 113,000 square foot campus and boarding school will include 200 dormitories, 21 administrator units, 24 classrooms, social services space, cafeteria, gymnasium, offices and a reading room, as well as landscaped courtyards and roof top sports field. The entry courtyard welcomes students and visitors and is the main hub of the campus connecting the ground floor classrooms and gymnasium to the central second level courtyard and dining hall. A second ground floor courtyard located between classrooms serves as a break out space between classes. The figural arrangement of the grass mounds create small gathering areas for student discussions and a place to engage with nature under the canopy of shade trees. The second level courtyard is the main outdoor space for the campus before and after classes. The planter forms create informal areas for students to dine, sit and gather. A sports field located on the third level creates a place for physical play. The planting will be primarily native and irrigated with only grey water from the surrounding residential units.