Representatives from Saratoga Union School District and HMC Architects of San Jose will receive an award of excellence for the renovation and expansion of historic Saratoga Elementary School, the oldest continually operating school on one site in California.

The award is jointly sponsored by the Coalition for Adequate School Housing and the American Institute of Architects California Council. Lee Salin, with HMC Architects, said the mission of the 2005 Leroy F. Greene Design Awards Program is to acknowledge projects that enhance educational programs through exceptional architecture and program implementation in the design of public school facilities.

Projects are judged on criteria such as the nature and impact of the planning process, how the project reflects the district's educational program, design concept and quality, how it responds to the surrounding community and how it relates to the physical environment.

"We're so proud," Saratoga Elementary Principal Marybarbara Zorio said. "This school is the pride of the city and the community. The people who live here now, the current parents, students and teachers are very proud of what goes on inside the school and out."

Work on the school, managed by Turner Construction, took place from February 1998 through September 2001, and Zorio said HMC Architects designed the school with children in mind.

"They had patience. They had understanding. They understood what life is like inside a building. The inside of the school is a learning environment that works for kids and the adults who work with the kids," she said.

Zorio said the outside of the school is architecturally and aesthetically appealing while blending in with its historical setting. Selected school projects for this award are honored each year in four different categories: newly built construction, modernization and reconstruction, project-in-design and specialized facility. There are three levels of achievement--merit, honor and excellence. Saratoga Elementary School earned an excellence award in the modernization and reconstruction category.

The school's main building, built in 1922, has been designated as a historic landmark by the city of Saratoga. Zorio said the community takes pride in the historic significance of the site and the educational strength of the school's curriculum.

HMC Architects collaborated with the school's site facilities planning committee, now retired Saratoga Union School District Superintendent Mary Gardner, the school board, the Saratoga City Council and the Saratoga Heritage Preservation Commission on the modernization project, with four main goals: to support the district's educational mission, fully modernize the existing buildings, resolve universal access challenges and add 16 new classrooms and a multi-purpose building.

"All of our new classrooms now feature such learning tools as teaching walls, breakout learning corners and computer stations," Zorio said. "Every classroom is networked to the school library and other resources."

The community's strong desire to respect and complement the historic structure, school site and surrounding neighborhood determined the architectural character and layout of the new buildings, according to HMC Architects. The main entrance to the school, which has the most historic fabric, was renovated and returned to use in welcoming daily visitors.

"Saratoga Elementary School was a significant project that dealt with more issues than we typically encounter when we work on modernization and expansion projects," said Lee Salin, who is also a parent in the Saratoga school district. "There was a lot of community involvement."

Project challenges included increasing parking, improving drop-off safety, upgrading the playfield drainage, addressing the presence of large non-native eucalyptus trees on the site and responding to neighborhood traffic patterns. In addition, Salin said they had to deal with removing and replacing the historic main building's foundation while the building remained in place.

The project was funded by Measure D, passed by Saratoga voters in June 1997 at a cost of $12.48 million, including $2.1 million for the historic foundation upgrade. Lane Weiss, Saratoga Union School District's current superintendent, said in a state where facilities and funding are a challenge, bond funds made the renovation project and this award possible. The official presentation of the award to representatives from the school district and HMC Architects will occur March 2 in Sacramento.