Lemoore Naval Air Base, Richard J. Neutra School

Lemoore Naval Air Base, Richard J. Neutra School

At the center of the Lemoore Naval Air Station, Richard Neutra designed an elementary school that was ultimately named after him. Dedicated in 1962, thirty-seven years after Neutra had first imagined the use of a ring-form as a theoretical plan for a school and thirty years after he had constructed a model of this plan for a Museum of Modern Art exhibition on modern architecture, this school transformed a concept into a reality. Two arcs of nine classrooms extend from a core, containing the administration offices and a kitchen. At the center of these two semicircles was a multi-purpose room. Projecting in the opposite direction of the core, and towards the parking lot, are storage spaces and two kindergarten classrooms. In contrast to the idealized concept for the ring school, Neutra lowered costs by using rectilinear lines for the wedge-shaped classroom rather than creating a smooth, curving perimeter. This modification also permitted Neutra to add an additional wedge shape between each classroom that provided storage space and room for foot traffic in addition to serving as a sound barrier.

A wide hallway made of colored concrete formed the perimeter of the ring. Sliding glass doors in each classroom open onto the playground. These doors employ new non-glare glass technology that provided children with views of the outside while concealing activity within, something Neutra believed would prevent opportunities for classroom disruption by passing pranksters. The multi-purpose room was also designed to embrace the outdoors with folding doors and platforms that could be moved outside.

Adapted from Neutra – Complete Works by Barbara Lamprecht (Taschen, 2000), p. 395.