Stonegate Elementary - Revealed

SoCal78_IHB

SoCal78_IHB

New member
The campus of Stonegate Elementary was unveiled on Wednesdsay for an open house tour to incoming students and parents. I brought along my camera to take pictures for my IHB'ers!



<img src="http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b9d725b3127ccef85dd699b7df00000040O08BbN3LZs3ag9vPhg/cC/f=0/ps=50/r=0/rx=720/ry=480/" alt="" />



<img src="http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b9d725b3127ccef85c284e973b00000040O08BbN3LZs3ag9vPhg/cC/f=0/ps=50/r=0/rx=720/ry=480/" alt="" />

A model of the school. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of the school's entrance... which surprisingly(?) faces Portola Parkway.



<img src="http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b9d725b3127ccef85dd12af7f700000040O08BbN3LZs3ag9vPhg/cC/f=0/ps=50/r=0/rx=720/ry=480/" alt="" />

Inside: The school was made to be "green". The classrooms are equipped with some unusual skylights. The shapes help to amplify the light so that less electricity is needed to illuminate the classrooms. The classrooms also have some cool electronic hand-held devices (I don't remember what they are called.) They are like what you would see on a TV show where a game show audience votes by punching in their vote. When the students are asked a multiple-choice question, they push the button that matches their answer. Their vote is transmitted and all votes are displayed at the front of the class.



<img src="http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b9d725b3127ccef85c3305d7e500000040O18BbN3LZs3ag9vPhg/cC/f=0/ps=50/r=1/rx=720/ry=480/" alt="" />

Cedar was used in various locations, both on the ceiling and the walls as seen below.



<img src="http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b9d725b3127ccef85df36df7a100000040O08BbN3LZs3ag9vPhg/cC/f=0/ps=50/r=0/rx=550/ry=400/" alt="" />

... continued in the next post....
 
...continued...



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All of the classrooms are lined with a wall of windows.



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This is the computer lab next to the library, all of which is an open concept area.



<img src="http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b9d725b3127ccef85d66bfb7a100000040O08BbN3LZs3ag9vPhg/cC/f=0/ps=50/r=0/rx=720/ry=480/" alt="" />

It seemed as though the hallways were lined with rows and rows of computers. There is no shortage of computers at this school!



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They pointed out to us, the rounded sofits and other characteristics of the building's design.



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This is the inside of the multi-purpose room. It's a pretty large area. One side's wall has sliding doors that open up that side completely to the outside courtyard.



<img src="http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b9d725b3127ccef85dd5a6f77900000040O08BbN3LZs3ag9vPhg/cC/f=0/ps=50/r=0/rx=720/ry=480/" alt="" />

One thing that stood out to me... is that this campus seems to have walls and fences that few of the other Irvine schools have. This playground area is enclosed and protected from the parking lot on the other side, unlike some of the other campuses.
 
... continued...



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Bicycle parking area.



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The lunch benches have these metal plates fixed to them so that kids will not abuse them for skateboarding.



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The lunch area is covered by something which only offers partial shade. I took this picture because I was thinking that BK could have come up with a better design. :) He would not make kids eat lunch outside at noon when the sun is directly above them on a hot southern California day with barely any protection.



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The school has already added portables. I believe they said these will be used for before / after school care.



... And this concludes our tour of Stonegate Elementary. :)
 
Thanks for posting this! I was planning to attend, and last min. out of town business trip ruined my plan. We are planning to enroll my son at StoneGate's first grade next Sep.
 
Is this the school with the backside that can be seen from a major street (cannot remember the name of it) across a large open field? If so, somebody told me that there are insufficient trees/brush on the back side and the playground will be a nightmare during Santa Anas.
 
[quote author="Sunshine" date=1252147160]Is this the school with the backside that can be seen from a major street (cannot remember the name of it) across a large open field? If so, somebody told me that there are insufficient trees/brush on the back side and the playground will be a nightmare during Santa Anas.</blockquote>


You are correct. The rear of the school faces Irvine Blvd. and the front faces Portola Parkway. Yes, the Santa Ana winds were discussed during the tour.
 
The housing marketing window is off Irvine Blvd. It will directly relate to the Woodbury edge like Woodbury East across the street carrying some similar monuments. The idea is not to route vehicular traffic through the neighborhood of Stonegate but to have its independence along Portola and have auto drop-off along both edges of the school. So far all Irvine Primary schools have traffic congestion when drop off is limited to just one edge. This prototype is an improvement over the traditional set up.
 
[quote author="bkshopr" date=1252148457]The housing marketing window is off Irvine Blvd. It will directly relate to the Woodbury edge like Woodbury East across the street carrying some similar monuments. The idea is not to route vehicular traffic through the neighborhood of Stonegate but to have <strong>its independence along Portola </strong>and have auto drop-off along both edges of the school. So far all Irvine Primary schools have traffic congestion when drop off is limited to just one edge. This prototype is an improvement over the traditional set up.</blockquote>


There is no access from Portola. I guess that is why I find it strange that it faces Portola, (To clarify, the street in front of the entrance in that picture of the model is not Portola Parkway. It is an interior street.) Drivers have to enter from Sand Cyn. or Irvine Blvd. and drive well into the neighborhood to reach the school. So, I don't know who will use the front entrance if everyone accesses the school from the sides...?
 
Im kind of surprised about things like the skylights. Because Im not sure that there has ever been a skylight that didn't leak and that considering the solar gain from August until October those rooms are going to be like the 9th circle of hell.
 
[quote author="SoCal78" date=1252149410][quote author="bkshopr" date=1252148457]The housing marketing window is off Irvine Blvd. It will directly relate to the Woodbury edge like Woodbury East across the street carrying some similar monuments. The idea is not to route vehicular traffic through the neighborhood of Stonegate but to have <strong>its independence along Portola </strong>and have auto drop-off along both edges of the school. So far all Irvine Primary schools have traffic congestion when drop off is limited to just one edge. This prototype is an improvement over the traditional set up.</blockquote>


There is no access from Portola. I guess that is why I find it strange that it faces Portola, (To clarify, the street in front of the entrance in that picture of the model is not Portola Parkway. It is an interior street.) Drivers have to enter from Sand Cyn. or Irvine Blvd. and drive well into the neighborhood to reach the school. So, I don't know who will use the front entrance if everyone accesses the school from the sides...?</blockquote>


City of Irvine would not allow an entrance off Portola because it is a high speed zone and no car would be allowed to park or stop along this road. There will a deceleration lane for making a right turn to one of the two side streets perpendicular to Portola where traffic is calmer and safer to drop off the kids. The school site in Stonegate is not deep enough to allow for a parking lot at the foreground of the Portola entrance and rarely City would allow driveways off a 50 mph zone road. The school is assigned a Portola address and at the very least there should be a token front door facing that street.
 
[quote author="bkshopr" date=1252148457]The school is assigned a Portola address and at the very least there should be a token front door facing that street.</blockquote>


Portola Pkwy address? The address is 100 Honors, along a street perpindicular to Portola Pkwy.
 
[quote author="somedayowner" date=1252229847][quote author="bkshopr" date=1252148457]The school is assigned a Portola address and at the very least there should be a token front door facing that street.</blockquote>


Portola Pkwy address? The address is 100 Honors, along a street perpindicular to Portola Pkwy.</blockquote>


Then why is there a front door facing Portola? The design is very confusing then.
 
Unfortunately this site is so new, the streets do not appear on satellite images / aerial views so I tried doing a screen shot from a document posted online to give you an idea. If you compare this to the model in my first post, the model would appear upside down. On the address's namesake, Honors, that is the side with a parking lot, lunch tables, bike rack, cafeteria entrance, and a side entrance into the building. The "front" door faces in the direction of Portola Parkway, on the street called "Encore".



<img src="http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b9d724b3127ccef85ef5c10e5e00000040O08BbN3LZs3ag9vPhg/cC/f=0/ps=50/r=0/rx=720/ry=480/" alt="" />
 
Now I understand. I thought the school is adjacent to Portola but it is actually inside the community. Thank you for posting the map and now I am totally clear. Is there an access from Portola? The map does not show ant street. It is then very weired to come in from Irvine Blvd to the back side of the school?
 
My PowerPoint skills are very rusty. I attempted to add some labels to the pic of the model in case anyone missed the open house and wants to know where to find things.



<img src="http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b9d724b3127ccef85e79c70e1e00000040O08BbN3LZs3ag9vPhg/cC/f=0/ps=50/r=0/rx=720/ry=480/" alt="" />
 
[quote author="bkshopr" date=1252237918]Now I understand. I thought the school is adjacent to Portola but it is actually inside the community. Thank you for posting the map and now I am totally clear. Is there an access from Portola? The map does not show ant street. It is then very weired to come in from Irvine Blvd to the back side of the school?</blockquote>


You are absolutely right. There is no access from Portola Parkway. The street is currently lined with a fence and I see no connecting streets poured for future use.
 
Socal is right. This school has the wrong orientation as a result from poor site planning. The front door is really a back door.
 
Bk, do you think maybe they plan to put the more expensive homes on the north side (it's only a guess) and want to have the side that presents the best curb appeal facing that direction because of it? Just a thought.
 
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