![Amino South Los Angeles High by Brooks Scarpa](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2018/05/south-los-angeles-high-school-brooks-scarpa-architecture-yellow-california-usa_dezeen_hero-852x479.jpg)
Yellow metal walls wrap Animo South Los Angeles High School by Brooks + Scarpa
Architecture firm Brooks + Scarpa has reconstructed a high school in Los Angeles after it was destroyed by a fire, choosing a bright yellow finish for its aluminium facades.
![South Los Angeles High by Brooks Scarpa](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2018/05/south-los-angeles-high-school-brooks-scarpa-architecture-yellow-california-usa_dezeen_2364_col_15-852x568.jpg)
Animo South Los Angeles High School is wrapped in anodised-aluminium panels that all carry the same bold shade of yellow, making the complex dramatically stand out from its surroundings.
The school is located in the Westmont-West Athens neighbourhood, which has one of the highest crime rates in LA county, so city-based firm Brooks + Scarpa designed the building to be "visually open but entirely secured".
![South Los Angeles High by Brooks Scarpa](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2018/05/south-los-angeles-high-school-brooks-scarpa-architecture-yellow-california-usa_dezeen_2364_col_8-852x1277.jpg)
"Fair Housing and school busing have plagued the area since the early 1960s, where median family income is less than $35,000 per year and 25 per cent of the population lives below the poverty level," said Brooks + Scarpa. "The area was also a central trouble spot during the 1964 Watts and the 1992 Rodney King Riots."
![South Los Angeles High by Brooks Scarpa](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2018/05/south-los-angeles-high-school-brooks-scarpa-architecture-yellow-california-usa_dezeen_2364_col_3-852x568.jpg)
In 2014, a fire broke out and destroyed half of the school campus. Brooks + Scarpa therefore redesigned the new public charter high school as an addition to an existing campus from the 1950s, on "an extremely limited budget".
Rather than a property line or a security fence, the 20-foot-high (six-metre) yellow metal walls surround the school, and are designed to be bullet resistant.
![South Los Angeles High by Brooks Scarpa](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2018/05/south-los-angeles-high-school-brooks-scarpa-architecture-yellow-california-usa_dezeen_2364_col_26-852x568.jpg)
The perforated screens that surround the complex were chosen to create a sense of security and privacy, while also allowing light and air to pass through. They also form shaded outdoor walkways, which link classrooms together.
![South Los Angeles High by Brooks Scarpa](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2018/05/south-los-angeles-high-school-brooks-scarpa-architecture-yellow-california-usa_dezeen_2364_col_27-852x762.jpg)
"The use of cladding, fenestration, colour and transparency create a memorable sense of richness, providing a bright moment in an extremely tough inner-city community," the firm said.
The rectangular site is entered via a horseshoe-shaped courtyard that cuts into the plan, and provides access to the school's three single-storey buildings – totalling 18,000 square feet (1,672 square metres).
![South Los Angeles High by Brooks Scarpa](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2018/05/south-los-angeles-high-school-brooks-scarpa-architecture-yellow-california-usa_dezeen_2364_col_29-852x1278.jpg)
In a square-shaped volume to the right are offices and a reception area, a teacher workroom, and two classrooms. Two rectangular volumes, to the left and along the rear, contain classrooms and restrooms to accommodate 630 students.
![South Los Angeles High by Brooks Scarpa](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2018/05/south-los-angeles-high-school-brooks-scarpa-architecture-yellow-california-usa_dezeen_2364_col_21-852x568.jpg)
The layout shape is informed by a series of required clearances, such as an existing oil well on the site that was abandoned in the late 1970s.
Other projects by Brooks + Scarpa include a Seattle transit station covered in a blue metal strips and an white coloured art museum in Utah with an enormous wave-like design for a roof.
Photography is by Tara Wucjik unless stated otherwise.
Project credits:
Principal-in-charge: Lawrence Scarpa
Project team: Angela Brooks, Jeff Huber, Chinh Nguyen, Diane Thepkhounphithack, Micaela Danko, Eleftheria Stavridi, Arty Vartanyan, Fui Srivikorn
Associate architect: Arthur Fernandez and Michele Stanghetti of Franco + Associates
Landscape design: Brooks + Scarpa
Landscape architect: Wynne Landscape Design
Engineers: B&B Associates, Inc-Structural, Hyle Engineering, Geotechnologies Inc, Kipust Engineering
Environmental engineer: Environmental Audit Inc, Placeworks
Construction: Blackwell Construction Inc