UCLA Experimental and Training School

UCLA Experimental and Training School

At the northwest edge of the UCLA campus, on an idyllic site surrounded by oak trees that overlooks a ravine with a creek, Neutra and Alexander fashioned UCLA’s Experimental and Training School. The space included a nursery, kindergarten, and elementary school as well as a research and training center for teachers. Classrooms were experimentally arranged in two different modes; one, a “fingerplan” arrangement, fanned rooms out around a curved corridor and between courts, while the other clustered four classrooms around a central, skylit hall. All classrooms were spaciously designed to accommodate student groups and observers. Within the space, moveable furniture and equipment also allowed for their easy conversion. Each classroom had ready access to the outdoors through sliding doors, and other features, including wide overhangs and cross ventilation, eased this transition. Adjacent to the classrooms, other spaces were dedicated to work and preparation. Although partially demolished, a group of simple, single story brick buildings remain at the site, preserving the architects’ intent today.

Adapted from Neutra – Complete Works by Barbara Lamprecht (Taschen, 2000), p. 349.