Casa Blanca Elementary Opens Its Doors

A Landmark in Educational Design and Structural Engineering for Riverside

This fall, the Riverside community witnessed a moment that’s been decades in the making with the official opening of the new Casa Blanca Elementary School. This is a project that T&B Engineering, Inc. is proud to have supported through expert structural engineering services. Completed just in time for the 2025–2026 school year, the new campus is more than just a modern educational facility, it marks the long-awaited return of a deeply valued neighborhood institution.

The original Casa Blanca Elementary School closed in 1967 during district desegregation efforts. For nearly six decades, the community has waited for a local school to once again stand in its place. Its reopening represents not only progress, but a restoration of community pride, identity, and history.

The new campus features six thoughtfully designed buildings arranged around landscaped courtyards and open-air learning spaces. The architectural design emphasizes both form and function, with three elevated second-floor terraces that encourage outdoor instruction, fresh air, and flexible learning environments for students. These areas are not only visually striking but purpose-driven. They support collaboration, creativity, and student wellness in a setting built for 21st-century education.

From a structural engineering perspective, the project reflects the balance of efficiency, resilience, and long-term durability that defines T&B Engineering’s work. All campus buildings are wood-framed, providing a sustainable and cost-effective structure that also allows for flexibility in architectural layout and ease of construction. The roof systems utilize plywood web I-joists, allowing for long spans with minimal depth. This type of structure is ideal for open, light-filled classrooms and seamless integration of building systems.

Lateral stability across the campus is achieved through plywood shearwalls which were designed by T&B’s structural engineers to meet California’s stringent seismic safety standards. Some of the campus’s most distinctive architectural features, the clock tower and vertical circulation elements, are supported by steel-framed towers, combining architectural elegance with robust structural performance for the second-floor terraces and stair towers.

Bringing a project of this scale and significance to life required collaboration, communication, and commitment. T&B Engineering extends a thanks to GO Architects for their visionary, community-centered design, and to Tilden-Coil Construction for their outstanding craftsmanship and attention to detail. This partnership was able to create a school that will serve generations of Riverside students to come.

At T&B Engineering, Inc., our team of experienced structural engineers delivers innovative and reliable structural engineering solutions for educational, civic, commercial, and industrial projects across California.

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