Mater Dei High School is one of California’s oldest and most competitive Catholic high schools.  The school, located in Santa Ana, was established in 1950 with just over 100 students. It now has close to 2,200 and is one of the largest Catholic schools in the nation. Mater Dei prides themselves on excellent academics, athletics and their beautiful campus. However, after over 65 years and countless students passing through, the faculty decided that the school was in need of some aesthetic upgrades.

Over the past several years, Tangram has worked on many projects with Mater Dei to revamp the campus. Most recently was the redesign of their Athletic Center, completed in 2016.  For the Athletic Center, Tangram provided new Steelcase Answer workstations to replace the bulky, outdated desks that previously existed in the space.  The new workstations were smaller than the old ones, but much more functional and, additionally, the downsize made room for other collaborative spaces as well.  The team also added a large lounge area with Coalesse sofas and chairs for the athletes to gather and socialize in between class or practice.

Collaboration is always necessary in any project, however, with the Athletic Center, it was absolutely the key to success. The teamwork between three of Tangram’s divisions, Flooring, Technology, and Furniture to conquer the design challenges throughout the space was imperative. The flooring team framed additional walls, ran electrical and lighting and sourced and installed all new Shaw carpeting. Tangram Technology was brought in to run cabling throughout the area. The furniture team specified and sourced all the necessary pieces to revitalize the space.  The result is a beautifully designed hub where students, parents and coaches alike can meet comfortably.