Santa Monica
High School
Exploration Building
Santa Monica, CA
Set along the southern edge of campus, the Exploration Building and Gold Gym step down Prospect Hill, opening to views of the mountains and ocean. The landscape extends the planting and paving palette established at the Discovery Building, creating a cohesive network of outdoor spaces across this dense urban site.
A wide exterior stair navigates the campus’s steep grade, connecting the lower campus to the quad. Lawn panels and planted slopes animate each landing, creating a sequence of green terraces. The historic senior bench was reconstructed using original tiles, preserving this longstanding tradition. A wide sidewalk continues north, linking Prospect Hill to the rest of the campus.
To the west of the Exploration Building, paths descend to the Gold Gym entry and outdoor yoga rooms, which overlook new basketball courts adjacent to the football field. Below the amphitheater stair, Viking Way forms a wide pedestrian spine lined with Tipu trees. The walkway passes beneath the building and opens to the south side, where concrete seat walls, Dietes, and Purple Leaf Plum trees create small garden seating areas.
Prospect Hill serves as the campus quad—an open lawn with winding paths and sculpted berms framed by classroom buildings. Existing Stone Pines were preserved, and new Sycamores grown in the student-run nursery add future shade. A large amphitheater stair anchors the quad and leads to the rooftop learning terrace, while low planters soften building edges and support stormwater management.
Client
Santa Monica High School (SMMUSD)
Team
HED (Executive Architect)
Moore Ruble Yudell (Architect)
Size
4 acres
Photography
Jack Coyier