619-684-8800
Project Description
Young Eun Abulencia, Master of Architecture, 2008
Logan Memorial Educational Campus is a 241,000-square-foot, community-based educational campus in San Diego’s historic Logan Heights neighborhood. Serving students from transitional kindergarten through grade 12, the campus reimagines an existing K–8 school while introducing a new child development center and the community’s first neighborhood high school. The project transforms a familiar school into a comprehensive, walkable learning environment that honors Logan Heights’ cultural identity while creating new opportunities for students, families, and the broader community.
The campus emerged from a collaborative planning process. When the potential closure of Logan Elementary and Memorial Middle School initially generated significant community concern, neighborhood stakeholders advocated strongly for preserving the school’s cultural legacy. Through an open and transparent master-planning process, educators, families, and community members worked with the design team to evaluate existing conditions, land uses, circulation, enrollment projections, budget, and educational goals. The resulting plan retained the TK–8 program, added a high school, and established a true neighborhood campus.
Architecture is simple, bold, and influenced by Mexican modernism, creating a contemporary identity rooted in place. A central campus paseo connects the different learning communities and organizes inviting, easily supervised outdoor spaces. Classroom villages and shared collaboration areas support flexible, hands-on learning, while the traditional library is transformed into a learning commons where students gather, collaborate, socialize, and showcase their work. Montessori principles place the whole student at the center of learning, supporting social, emotional, intellectual, and physical development.
The new high school introduces career-focused learning pathways in health sciences and design engineering. Maker spaces, design labs, 3D printers, laser cutters, and fabrication equipment allow students to move from discovery and research to prototyping and making. A central tiered collaboration space connects the pathways and provides a social and presentation hub for students.
Beyond academics, the campus functions as a neighborhood resource. A child development center, preschool, wellness center, health clinic, community rooms, and shared use of the nearby library and community center extend the campus’ role into the community. A locally informed art master plan incorporates murals, signage, and ornamental metalwork, while eight large-scale exterior panels express the school’s core values: community, compassion, creativity, growth, leadership, collaboration, inspiration, and innovation.
Environmental performance is integral to the design. The project incorporates natural ventilation and daylighting, efficient water and energy systems, recycled materials, improved indoor air quality, and acoustical strategies that support learning. More than 55,000 square feet of photovoltaic panels support the goal of net-zero energy use, while the adaptive reuse of three existing buildings reduces the campus’ carbon footprint.
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About the Alumni
Young began her professional career in San Diego as a molecular biologist in the local biotech community. After five years in the lab, she pursued a master’s degree at NewSchool of Architecture & Design, where she discovered a passion for addressing real-world challenges through practical, sustainable, and beautiful design solutions.
After graduation, Young joined Roesling, Nakamura and Terada (RNT) during the height of the 2008 recession. Her work encompassed a diverse range of public projects, including higher education, fire stations, child development centers, and a national park visitor center. At RNT, she developed a strong foundation in architectural practice, collaborating with public agencies and developing thoughtful solutions to complex challenges. She also became a first-time mother and, after six years with RNT, took a two-year parental sabbatical starting in 2014.
Young returned to the profession in 2016, joining BakerNowicki Design Studio (BNDS), which was acquired by DLR Group in 2021. Over the past decade with BNDS and DLR Group, she has focused on K-12 education and embraced opportunities to create transformative learning environments. Each project has deepened her appreciation for responsible design and meaningful community collaboration. Young is grateful to have found a profession that offers continual opportunities to positively impact the daily lives of students, educators, families, and the communities they serve.
