Mariano Castro Elementary School
Replacement Campus
Housed on the same site as an existing Spanish-English Dual Immersion school, the original Mariano Castro Elementary School campus was rundown and not adequately sized for the growing school. By modernizing the existing buildings for the Dual Immersion school, their now unnecessary portables could be removed and replaced with a new 450-student Mariano Castro campus.
By remaining on the shared site, both schools could share the reconfigured and expanded outdoor play areas, as well as the newly constructed library and gymnasium/multi-purpose room. However, it was vital to the staff at both schools to maintain separate senses of identity. This importance to remain as two distinct schools fundamentally impacted the final campus design, and led to an independent campus entry/student drop-off area and separate administration buildings for each school on opposite sides of the site.
To use the limited acreage available the most effectively, the new Mariano Castro campus is composed mainly of two-story construction featuring large, bright windows. Buildings are clean and contemporary, complementing the modern design aesthetic of the Silicon Valley area.
