ARCHITECT HELPS KIDS LEARN BY DESIGNING.

Byline: Kevin F. Sherry Daily News Staff Writer

A class of 23 would-be architects drew schematics for the renovation of their elementary school Thursday.

The pupils, all members of Vicki Morris' sixth-grade class at Cypress Elementary School in Thousand Oaks, tried their hand at maximizing space in their school's main office building.

``I'm really hopeful that they'll come up with a solution for us,'' said Principal Kristine White.

The students were aided with their designs by Robert Talmadge, a land planner who is working on the 2,300-acre Dos Vientos Ranch housing project, which will be built adjacent to the 23-year-old school. The class was surprised to learn that Talmadge started working on the project 13 years ago - before any of them were born.

Thursday's work began with a tour of the main offices.

``You always have to go see where you're working on things,'' Talmadge told them.

The students sought to expand the space that houses the reception area, principal's office, health center, teachers lounge, three bathrooms, and various storage and office spaces.

The hexagonal building features tight walking space and odd-shaped work areas. The tiny health center fits just one chair and one bed.

Students talked about adding windows and knocking down walls to make room for the features they wanted to add.

``I was thinking (White) could have her own bathroom,'' said pupil Robyn Ruda.

But then Ruda realized that other people might want to use the bathroom, so she added an additional door that could be accessed from a hallway.

Most students wanted to expand the cramped reception area.

``A lot of people are usually in there,'' said Cory Franklin.

In the next three years, the school expects to double in size to around 700 students, White said.

``We'll be using every nook and cranny,'' she said.

School officials had hoped that money from Measure Q, a $97 million bond issue that voters defeated last month, would pay for remodeling, White said. Now the school will pick one or two kids' designs and pass them along to a planner, should Cypress ever find the money to renovate, she said.

The sixth-graders diagramed new walls and work spaces on paper, an important step in the planning process, Talmadge said.

``You have to put everything on paper before you build it,'' he said. ``Even a simple little drawing like we're working on today becomes reality.''

The hands-on lesson is a great way to have students apply their class lessons to real situations, White said.

``Anything that links to the real world boosts that motivation,'' she said. ``It helps give them an idea of their power and creativity.''

The students have studied Greek and Egyptian architecture, so the Thursday exercise was a good extension of the lessons, said Morris, who has taught at Cypress for 18 years.

``Part of the plan may actually be done,'' Morris said. ``They actually feel like they are part of the plan.''

In the coming months, other Cypress classes will benefit from Dos Vientos experts. An ecologist plans to visit the school to take students on a tour of the project's wetlands.

The different occupations help students find ``an area of strength that maybe they weren't aware of,'' White said.

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2 Photos

PHOTO (1) Architect Robert Talmadge helps pupils at Cypress Elementary School in Thousand Oaks work on redesigning campus offices.

(2) As part of a lesson on architecture, sixth-graders drafted plans to increase space in Cypress Elementary School offices.

Gus Ruelas/Daily News