The new science center was the first phase in a multi-pronged modernization program to revitalize El Modena High School. The science center is a welcoming, two-story structure at the heart of the campus. It houses twelve flexible, state-of-the-art general-purpose chemistry labs, a pair of multi-purpose classrooms, and a medically fragile suite. The main entrance takes the form of a two-story ‘front porch’ – a shaded outdoor gathering place at the heart of the new facility. Clad in green-gray cement fiberboard, the palette and texture of the building form a complementary backdrop to the lawn and mature trees of the quadrangle.