Bentley School Gymnasium

Location: Lafayette, CA
Owner: Bentley School
Completion: May 2003

The Gymnasium’s sweeping roof is the signature design element of the school’s first design phase. The aluminum roof appears to float over a ribbon of windows. It cantilevers to provide shelter for outdoor seating at the adjacent sports field, and wraps back down to the scale of the campus interior along the central green. By raising the level of the gym floor, we created a natural seating beam along the edge of the sports field. The 16,000 square foot building includes pull-out bleachers for more than 500 spectators. Offices and locker rooms form a sound buffer between the gym floor and freeway, and a partial basement below the locker rooms houses building services and storage.

Awards + Publications
East Bay AIA Design Awards Program - Merit Award for Architecture, Bentley School Gymnasium. Lafayette, CA.

Architectural Record, "The architects carve an expansive school project out of a challenging site". Bentley Upper School Gymnasium. Lafayette, CA.
Architecture of the San Francisco Bay: A History & Guide by Mitchell Schwarzer, 2007 © William Stout Publishers. The Sierra p. 148 and Bentley School Gymnasium p. 158.