Samueli Academy
The Samueli Academy is an incredible school changing the trajectory of many young lives and it’s really amazing to have been a part of it both personally and professionally.
Understanding what drives the need for change
In Orange County, a powerful vision was taking shape. Susan Samueli and Sandi Jackson recognized that foster youth and underserved community students deserved more than the traditional educational path—they needed a school designed specifically for their success. Through the Orangewood Foundation, they set out to create Samueli Academy, a 480-student charter high school that would offer these young people a transformative educational experience focused on STEM learning and real-world application.
The three-story, 30,000-square-foot campus in Santa Ana was designed as a vibrant urban village where learning could happen everywhere. But creating inspiring architecture was only part of the equation. The Academy's project-based STEM curriculum demanded learning environments that could adapt on the fly—spaces that could transform from traditional lecture halls to collaborative workshops to hands-on laboratories within minutes. The challenge was creating furniture solutions that would support this dynamic approach while serving students who needed both structure and flexibility to thrive.
How we brought the vision to life
Joe Lozowski, CEO of Tangram, had been deeply involved with the Orangewood Foundation for over a decade, serving as Co-Chair of the fundraising committee that made Samueli Academy possible. When construction was complete, Tangram's partnership with the school naturally evolved from fundraising to furnishing—a transition that ensured the interior design would reflect the same passion and purpose that drove the project's creation.
Tangram collaborated with Steelcase to develop an integrated furniture ecosystem that prioritized rapid reconfiguration and student collaboration. Each of the three floors received STEM labs and learning studios anchored by shared collaborative commons areas. The design team selected Node chairs and Verb tables specifically for their ability to transition quickly between configurations, allowing educators to shift from individual work to group projects seamlessly. In the Learning Commons, Turnstone Campfire pieces created family-style gathering spaces that encouraged natural collaboration. The most innovative solution came in the Virtual Enterprise classroom, where Tangram created an authentic office environment using collaborative tables with Divisio privacy screens and mobile pedestals that doubled as storage and additional seating—giving students real-world business experience in a space that looked and felt like a professional workplace.
2 professionals brought this vision to life
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