College Track Los Angeles / info >

College Track partnered with the i.am.angel Foundation to build this student resource center in Boyle Heights, a struggling neighborhood east of downtown Los Angeles. The 6,200 s.f. center is housed within a restored Masonic Hall that now serves as a satellite city hall and community center, and offers a free after-school tutoring program to a population of up to 500 high school students.

Our design objective for the space was to create a flexible and stimulating learning environment that would help inspire students to achieve their goal of attending college. A series of multipurpose workshops, offices, support spaces and a small library surround a central tutoring room that is open to the existing structure above. Built-in desk kiosks made from Baltic birch plywood feature laser-etched campus plans of six different colleges and universities. A break room and adjacent kitchenette share views of the downtown skyline and provide informal breakout space. Colorful furniture reinforces a College Track identity that is modern, vibrant and welcoming.