Heldman Learning Resource Center

Our concept for a new Heldman Learning Resource Center building and site development at West Los Angeles College draws on the rich and inspiring metaphors of the lantern and lighthouse. The proposal envisions a beacon at the heart of campus, providing light that illuminates and guides the way forward toward a bright future for individual students and the community as a whole.

In our design, the Heldman Learning Resource Center becomes a new landmark building and the central organizing element for the campus. Multiple connected terraces break down walls to create a dynamic, connected environment. The quad acts as a new destination for student life that unifies the campus network of movement and provides direct, universally accessible paths for all students at all terrace levels. The new Heldman Learning Resource Center design intuitively connects all entrance points, including public transit access.

The building and site plan design capture broad social and placemaking ideals, shaping a new dynamic campus center that reflects and reinforces the values of the campus community. These include the positive transformative potential of academic achievement, economic progress, environmental sustainability, accessibility, diversity and inclusivity.

Ultimately, the “lantern of learning” concept envisions a new anchor building and site plan that would become the defining element of the reimagined West Los Angeles College campus. The iconic architecture and more social public spaces of our design elevate learning and the school’s status as an essential community institution.