C.W. Driver Companies, a premier California builder specializing in educational and community facilities, celebrated the completion of phase 1 of Malibu High School’s new campus. The development of the new two-story building consisted of the demolition and modernization of the former Juan Cabrillo Elementary School. As the new Malibu High School is located in a remote part of Malibu, C.W. Driver constructed a 70,000 sq. ft. interdisciplinary core building that caters to all learning needs while also drawing inspiration from its natural surroundings.
Phase 1 of Malibu High School’s new campus was constructed to be a connected learning space that can serve up to 600 students. To ensure all student needs are met, the building will provide the following features:
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Multipurpose spaces
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Project-based learning facilities
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Visual and performing arts classrooms
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Special education classrooms
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STEM classrooms
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A campus cafeteria, library, high school administrative office and additional services to support a student body of up to 600 students
“The development of Malibu High School’s new core building was a great opportunity to build an interdisciplinary learning environment for students to be able to excel in all subjects,” said Dave Amundson, project executive at C.W. Driver. “It helped us provide another wonderful learning facility for the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District’s needs, so they can focus on supporting their students.”
The construction of Malibu High School’s core building involved careful planning to ensure the project aligned with the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (USD)’s needs. To provide a centralized environment, C.W. Driver demolished nine previous buildings, marking a total of 38,853 square-feet of demolition.
Additionally, C.W. Driver implemented natural look in materials to leverage the campus’ natural surroundings while also maintaining sustainability as a priority. The team implemented 30 colored concrete walls with unique concrete mixes that used materials from the Santa Monica Mountains, among other surroundings. The incorporation of natural materials helped the project meet key sustainability metrics, including gaining California Title 24 certification, meeting Net Zero standards, abiding by the Collaborative for High Performance Schools policies, and implementing daylight modeling.
Aside from complying with building regulations and safety standards, C.W. Driver worked with project partners to ensure all key components of the project were put in place to minimize delays despite historic rainfall and two wildfires. This included implementing all 30 walls of the project in 30 days, covering material equipment with plastic, and graveling around the jobsite for access.
Additionally, the team strategically planned construction around a fully functioning school, which included coordinating equipment and material delivery trucks outside of learning hours and on routes that would not disturb the local neighborhood.
The introduction of Malibu High School’s new campus brings more accessibility to students who live in rural locations. As Malibu is a predominantly residential area, the incorporation of the new campus will help Santa Monica-Malibu USD’s growth as the district is looking to have a student body of at least 50% of students living within the school’s zip code and an additional 25% of students from surrounding areas.
“It was such a pleasure working with C.W. Driver to build a campus that suits all students’ needs while providing a hands-on learning experience in all subjects,” said Carey Upton, chief operations officer for Santa Monica-Malibu USD. “An interdisciplinary campus like this will be a stepping stone for future campuses as the learning experience continues to become more experiential.”
Key project partners on Malibu High School include Koning Eizenberg Architecture, NAC Architecture, Massetti Consulting, and Element Consulting.
Images Courtesy of: C.W. Driver
C.W. Driver’s robust work on the first phase of Malibu High School has earned the construction firm an award for Phase 2 of the project. It has already received the Award of Excellence / Project in Design from the 2024 CASH/AIA CA Leroy F. Greene Design & Planning Awards. Other projects C.W. Driver is working on for Santa Monica-Malibu USD include Roosevelt Elementary School’s TK/K New Classrooms & Library Project.
C.W. Driver Companies’ legacy of delivering transformative educational spaces includes projects such as the Palisades Charter High School transformation of the former Santa Monica Sears Building into a temporary high school campus, modernizations for Chino Valley USD at Ayala and Don Lugo High School, as well as ten elementary schools throughout the district; Long Beach USD – Polytechnic High School, CTE Classroom Building, Jordan High School Phase 5A, 5B & 6 and Poly High School; The Webb Schools – Gymnasium Renovation, Phase 1, Menifee Union SD – Sally Buselt Elementary School, Kathryn Newport Middle School Phase 2, Callie Kirkpatrick TK/K Modular Classroom, and Menifee Valley Middle School Reconstruction; San Diego USD’s La Jolla Elementary School, John Muir Language Academy, and Darnall Charter School Whole Site Modernizations, in addition to the new K-5 technology-oriented Nipaquay Elementary School, San Dieguito UHSD’s Torrey Pines High School, Aquatic Center and Athletic Facilities, Torrey Pines HS Modernization & New Digital Arts Building and Pacific Trails Middle School, Granada Hills Charter’s New TK-8 School Facility, Irvine USD’s New Solis Park K-8 School and Flintridge Preparatory School Bachmann Collaboration Building, and Brentwood School Saltair West Annex and Parking Garage.
About C.W. Driver Companies
Team photo identification from left to right (all members are part of C.W. Driver’s team except for Carey Upton who is part of Santa Monica-Malibu USD) Dave Amundson, project executive; Carey Upton, chief operations officer for Santa Monica-Malibu USD; Brent Hughes, COO; Brett Perkins, dir. of project development; Dan Martinez, sr. superintendent; Ryan Chiment, assistant project manager; and Robbie Reitz, sr. Project engineer.
Feature Image Courtesy of: C.W. Driver
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