Transforming a former parking lot into a vibrant campus commons while advancing a multi-phase vision for the future of OCSA.

The Orange County School of the Arts (OCSA) Campus Green is the centerpiece of a transformative effort to create a true “campus heart” for this uniquely urban institution. Serving approximately 2,300 students across a collection of adaptively reused buildings along Santa Ana’s Main Street arts corridor, the project transformed a former asphalt parking lot into a vibrant commons for learning, gathering, dining, and performance.

The Campus Green is part of a broader, multi-phase partnership between Studio One Eleven and OCSA that has included campus planning, interior renovations, street activation improvements, façade restoration, student spaces, and academic facilities. Together, these projects have helped unify and strengthen the identity of OCSA’s dispersed urban campus.

The Green features expansive turf areas, shade structures, seating and dining spaces, public art, repurposed shipping containers, a food kiosk, and an iconic bleacher stair connecting the open space to the second-floor cafeteria and terrace above. An underutilized space beneath the Humanities Tower was enclosed and transformed into a student lounge and study hall that opens directly onto the Green, further activating campus life.

To build momentum and test programming, temporary shade structures, seating, and containerized trees were introduced before construction, allowing students and faculty to reclaim the space and shape its future use. Sustainability strategies—including drought-tolerant landscaping, approximately 35 new trees, onsite stormwater infiltration, and a significant reduction in impervious surface area—create a cooler, greener campus environment.

Today, the Campus Green serves as OCSA’s shared outdoor living room, bringing together students, faculty, and visitors in a flexible space that supports creativity, collaboration, and community.