Piedmont High School STEAM Building

Piedmont, CA

Focusing on a Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) curriculum, the Piedmont STEAM Building provides flexible spaces for interactive and cooperative collaboration. STEAM is an active learning environment: itself, a tool for teaching students about energy production and use, daylighting strategies, mechanical systems, and resource/materials conservation. The building’s key strategies focus on a highly efficient radiant floor heating and cooling system, a night flush system, and rooftop and light shelf photovoltaic systems. STEAM’s program includes four computer labs, six science labs, an engineering lab, two art classrooms, seven standard classrooms, and breakout spaces.

Indoor/outdoor classrooms and makerspaces with roll-up doors allow for flexible learning and capture maximum daylight and ventilation.

Project Specs

Location: Piedmont, CA

Client/Owner: Piedmont Unified School District

Size: 42,705 square feet

Sustainability: ZNE Designed

Photographer: David Wakely

Project Team

General Contractor: Overaa Construction

Structural: H.D. Rueb Structural Engineers

Civil: Bellecci & Associates

Mechanical/Electrical/Plumbing: Introba

Acoustics: Salter

Landscape: Cupples Keller Designs

Design Awards

2023 Merit Award, Best Educational Project –
Gold Nugget Design Awards, PCBC

The design goal for the 42,705 square-foot STEAM Building was to create a new future-ready classroom building that complements the campus’s 1920s historic vernacular along the community-facing main entry while also reflecting a contemporary and modern expression of function and sustainability.

“HKIT preserved the Spanish architecture while incorporating 21st century building systems to produce a Zero Net Energy building. They incorporated input from our community, teachers, and staff, and I’m thrilled with their process and their designs. We are now a giant step closer to modernizing labs and infrastructure to support robust STEAM education now and in the future.”

Randy Booker, Former Superintendent