LPA Lands Education Work
Talk about a learning curve.
Five years ago, Irvine-based architecture firm LPA Inc. had never designed a school. Today, the firm has done a hundred of them.
About 50% of LPA’s business now is in education, and its client list is a sampling of Southern California schools,the University of California, Irvine, Chapman University, Sage Hill High School and the Anaheim, Orange and Rancho Santiago Community College districts.
“We saw a need (for schools) and thought it was a good fit,” said Dan Heinfeld, senior principal and president of LPA.
School work has translated into added revenue at a time when other types of design work are slowing.
LPA saw revenue for the year ended June 30 hit $30 million in Orange County billings, up from $24.5 million a year ago. Counting a second office in Roseville, companywide revenue was $33.2 million in the most recent period.
The firm has 47 architects and 169 overall employees. About 25 of the firm’s workers are in Roseville, where LPA says a school building boom also is under way.
Heinfeld said his interest in the school sector was piqued by the passage of bond issues for education.
The growth of charter schools, too, suggested potential.
In 1995, the firm landed its first school contract, for Canyon Rim Elementary School in the Orange Unified School District.
LPA staffers had to familiarize themselves with the requirements of the educational sector,no small task, they say.
Heinfeld said there are specific rules and regulations governing schools that don’t apply to other public buildings, with the state government regulating everything from classroom size to parameters for libraries and multipurpose space.
“The envelope is already defined for schools,” Heinfeld said, “so you have to stretch yourselves more to provide a creative environment.”
That led LPA to develop standard blueprints for Canyon Rim that met state standards but still could be adapted to suit the needs of other schools.
Those blueprints allowed project managers to devote more time to creative aspects.
Last year, a contract for a new high school in the Lynwood Unified School District became LPA’s 100th school design project.
Along the way, LPA designers say they have learned some lessons.
Educators, for one, want all the bells and whistles, regardless of the school’s location or budget.
“They simply want the school to be a good place for learning,” Heinfeld said.
And that goes beyond the four walls.
Heinfeld said LPA incorporates landscape, interior design and even furniture into its school designs.
For one Palm Springs school, outdoor courtyards for various educational areas were created.
For another,the Mendez Fundamental Intermediate School in Santa Ana,the parking structure was woven into the school design. Low-maintenance landscaping helped maximize outdoor space.
“It’s a holistic approach,” Heinfeld said.
Still, he said, the first project was the most challenging, even though the firm already had done public facilities such as the Mission Viejo library and Anaheim Downtown Community Center.
“Building credibility (in the sector) and experience was very important,” he said.
There are competitors to be reckoned with, too.
Among OC architects, GKK Corp., Carrier Johnson and Langdon Wilson,all in Irvine,-count schools among their notable projects.
Heinfeld was reluctant to quantify the firm’s success rate in bidding on educational facilities, but said the firm is “pleased with our ability to secure new work.”
LPA officials say they get referrals from both school districts and the Coalition for Adequate School Housing, an industry organization of educators and architects.
LPA, founded as Leason Pomeroy & Associates in 1965, goes way back.
In the late 1970s, the firm landed the contract for the West Coast expansion of payroll processor Automatic Data Processing Inc. The result was landmark commercial buildings in La Palma and Santa Clara at a time when those areas were still new to commercial development.
In the mid-1980s, LPA turned to public works when it won the contract for the expansion of John Wayne Airport.
At about the same time, The Irvine Company tapped LPA to design Tustin Market Place.
During the early 1990s downturn, the firm might not have survived without retail and public sector work, Heinfeld said.
But these days, it may be too late for others firms to jump into the educational sector.
“The decision-makers aren’t big risk-takers and they want to use proven entities,” he said. When we started, there wasn’t a lot going on (in school construction). That allowed time for plan development. Now, the need is so great, speed is what counts.” n
