USF School of Education

The University of San Francisco had just completed their Master Plan for the 52-acre campus when I joined SMWM in 1994. My responsibilities began with the programming phase that would allow the School of Education to relocate into an old high school building that was functioning as undergraduate classroom space.

This 42,000 square foot renovation project had several programmatic elements including the School of Education’s Deans office complex, 55 offices for 6 departments, student and faculty services. One critical challenge was to maintain the 23 undergraduate classrooms that would be shared by SOE students in the evenings and weekends. This large program had to be accommodated without triggering a full seismic upgrade. In addition, accessibility issues had to be addressed, including two new hydraulic elevators. Other significant improvements were new heating and ventilation systems, new lighting throughout, and the conversion of the old gymnasium into faculty lounge and office space.

The delicate steel trusses of the old gymnasium space were left exposed while restored clerestory windows fill the main volume with natural light. Tall offices flank either side of the main space and a new mezzanine serves as open workspace. A U-shaped bookcase hold the SOE reference library on one side and create a meeting space lined with banquet seating on the other.