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Child sitting on grass and reading a book in front of a colorful school building under a blue sky

Adams Elementary School & San Diego Global Visions Academy

San Diego Unified School District

One campus, two schools, and two distinct identities. The John Adams Elementary School campus in San Diego presented obrARCHITECTURE, A Lionakis Company, with an uncommon design challenge: transforming a shared site into separate, coherent environments for Adams Elementary and San Diego Global Vision Academy (SDGVA) without losing the cohesion that makes a shared campus function.

The solution unfolds across more than 35,000 square feet of new construction. SDGVA received a new two-story classroom building for K-5 students alongside a lunch court and food serving kiosk. Adams Elementary gained a single-story eight-classroom early learning complex for preschool and kindergarten. At the center of it all, a redesigned quad knits the two schools together, with preschool and kindergarten playgrounds, outdoor instruction areas, and gardening spaces that give young learners room to explore while keeping the campus connected.
Child sitting on grass and reading a book in front of a colorful school building under a blue sky
Children playing and resting in a modern school courtyard with colorful buildings and a playground under a blue sky
Children climbing a concrete playground wall with colorful holds and painted ground shapes
Modern angular white building with a large black diagonal facade under a clear blue sky, with parked cars nearby

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