Garfield Elementary School, SFUSD

Garfield Elementary School is a four-story stepped building perched on Telegraph Hill below the historic Coit Tower in San Francisco. The site’s rich history included school structures dating back to 1868. The school as we found it was designed in the 1970s by Esherick Homesey Dodge and Davis Architects.

Responding to programmatic needs, LDP reconfigured interior spaces and renovated the entire interior and exterior of the building and site, including a central stair that became the heart of circulation. Interior finishes included red colors for this Cantonese Dual Language immersion school to symbolize success & happiness.

The design captured additional area to create outdoor learning environments with the Green School Yard program, integrating landscape into the learning experience. Reconfiguring of interior spaces allowed for flexible indoor-outdoor uses at both the cafeteria and library spaces.