Two Los Angeles-area school projects by Berliner Architects have been recognized by the Westside Urban Forum’s annual Design Awards. 

The Culver City-based studio was honored for its designs of an after-school community center and a new charter school campus in the city’s Crenshaw neighborhood. 

Schools and related community organizations have been looking to architects more and more for community-centered designs that have taken on a newfound importance during the pandemic era. 

Berliner’s Merit Award-winning design for a non-profit called the Heart of Los Angeles (HOLA) Arts and Recreation Center arranged 46 prefabricated shipping containers into a hangar-style pavilion space that will eventually house an LA Philharmonic’s Youth Orchestra program. The project was noted for its ability to integrate the 31,000-square-foot complex of classrooms, offices, and ensemble areas into the adjacent Lafayette Park. 

The plan for the new Stella Middle Charter Academy was cited for its ability to “use the property as a collaborative place for the community and the school” inherent in the 500-student facility. The Stella is the latest in a line of collaborative projects between the firm and Bright Star Schools, an LA-based organization offering tuition-free charter options. 

“These two school-related projects for underserved neighborhoods are possibly the most gratifying the firm has completed in our 25-year history,” founder Richard Berliner said in a statement. 

The firm has been recognized before extensively for its K-12 projects, recently receiving an AIA/OC citation award for its design of the Magnolia Science Academy in Santa Ana.