Eleanor Roosevelt Community
Learning Center
Location
Visalia
Sq. Ft.
10,115
Year Completed
2018
Construction Partner
Forcum Mackey
Located in Visalia, California, the Eleanor Roosevelt Community Learning Center is a charter school of the Tulare County Office of Education designed to assist families in homeschooling their children. Nestled among orchards and vineyards, the pastoral setting of the school inspired a simple and appropriate architectural character. The classroom and administration buildings are the newest addition to their campus, which includes a more than 100-year-old schoolhouse, now serving as a library for their extensive collection of resources, books, and multimedia.
During the design process, we made sure the new building exteriors did not overshadow the historical elements. The classroom building provides flexible space that can be used as one large room or two divided classrooms. Design features such as built-in benches and storage help keep the shared space organized.
The administration building is used by ERCLC staff and parents, who can network while their children are taking elective classes to augment their homeschool curriculum. To facilitate social and collaborative engagement, hallways were enlarged to allow opportunities for interaction, and open areas provide impromptu gathering space.