Description

Today kids are different, even 5 year olds have opinions. Both little kids and big kids are looking for meaningful changes that allow them to better utilise their facilities in a way that connects learning with the world as it is. As designers, we have a chance to connect architecture with learning. Today’s school design should reflect a powerful commitment to the potential for education reform, a kind of reform that allows for the appropriate connection between learner and teacher, between the individual and society. We need to provide facilities that link curriculum development with the community and balance comprehensive learning with personalised outcomes.

It is no longer acceptable to allow low risk, status quo designs for schools which result in standard facilities that are average in their appearance and average in their students’ academic achievements. New benchmarks based on innovative design approaches for primary schools are converging, supporting an impetus for change. While there is a lack of substantive research that links the actual cause and effects of changing designs on student outcomes, anecdotal evidence, by way of these benchmarks, is starting to demonstrate through examples how certain schools have successfully reshaped a specific learning community through design, thereby reducing the risks inherent in innovation and encouraging change.

At least four emerging trends can be recognised as contributing to the innovative school designs of tomorrow. Individually, these trends can act as incremental catalysts in the design of specific programme components that make up traditional elementary schools design; together they can also be viewed as components of a larger transformation.

The separate trends themselves, however, are worth individual consideration before we take a closer look at how they have jointly influenced the spatial relationships that are becoming more pervasive in 21st century schools:

• Ubiquitous technology

• Integrated break-out spaces and project rooms

• Specialised learning environments

• Multi-functional spaces that support schools as centres of community

Ubiquitous technology

Technology has changed the world. I believe it will continue to do so at an ever-increasing rate. Today’s 5- to 7 year olds are the fastest-growing segment of computer users. If you look only a few years ahead, their teenage siblings typically have five to six applications running at once on their computers, with either e-mail or instant messaging as their preferred methods of communication with friends, with blogs as their method for discerning truth, and websites around the world providing them with the “facts” they seek. While technology alone is not the answer to 21st century learning, an understanding of how it can appeal to a child’s frame of reference and capture their attention needs to be incorporated into the development of the building programme. As students become increasingly computer savvy, more schools are responding to the challenge of engagement by becoming media-rich.

As a result of this infusion of evolving technology, school designs must develop from plans and infrastructures that are flexible and adaptable to new models of instruction that can support students’ needs for access to maximum resources. It is sometimes difficult to remember that widespread use of computers and the availability of the World Wide Web are fairly recent occurrences. Initially, computers were added to established classrooms, taking up valuable real estate. As the cost of wireless laptops and PDAs have decreased, and as software programmes that are student and teacher friendly have been developed, the integration of technology into the elementary school classroom has fostered a change in the pedagogy of early education. Today’s elementary school student can be involved in everything from word processing to concept mapping, drawing and animation to scientific research. Learning is hands-on and project-based. In response to this change in pedagogy, a much wider variety of spaces and configurations are emerging as the norm. Schools today need to be more flexible than the traditional double-loaded corridors of uniform classrooms of the past.

Integrated break-out spaces and project rooms

First and foremost among the changes in 21st century learning environments are spaces that enhance and embrace an individual student’s ability to learn both on- and offline. Elementary school should be a time when children are nurtured and encouraged to explore. They should be allowed to proceed at their own paces, consistent with their own ‘intelligence.’ Technology has given instructors the tools to allow this to happen. Physical learning environments need to be adapted to further enable and encourage this shift.

Dedicated spaces within classrooms and dedicated computer labs are being replaced with the opportunities to change the entire classroom or parts of it into ‘labs’ through wireless technology and PDAs. Online or computer-based learning tools for small group instruction can also be provided in break-out spaces to meet these needs. The ability to instruct a few children or individuals on similar topics, at different paces and in different ways, allows for the customisation of each student’s personal profile.

Break-out spaces can also be places that support project-based learning, where informal interaction foc­uses on group interactions versus just the individual. More and more, break-out spaces are developing into scalable environments that nurture both individual students and small-group work with an emphasis on collaborative work and the recognition of the need to accommodate multiple learning styles.

Interior windows and openings can further allow for effective break-out spaces in the nooks and crannies of circulation that were previously perceived as unusable spaces. These spaces have become secondary instructional areas by allowing an instructor to maintain supervision over more than one area at a time.

Specialised learning environments

Most elementary schools’ specialised learning environments consist of media centres, gymnasiums, art and music classrooms. Sometimes included are science centres and outdoor learning places. With an ever increasing need for facilities and a finite pool of resources, there is a tendency to make as many of the public spaces as multi-functional as possible; however, specialized learning environments all have specific programme functions that must be met in order to be successful. It is important to remember that it is often hard to excel if the list of priorities is too broad.

These are the spaces that should be thought of as the ‘jewels in the crown’, serving as places of wonder for kids. Let it be said that kids today are wired differently. It is not enough to say, ‘If it was good enough for me,’ thus implying that change is not required. There are too many children that are still not graduating from secondary schools. How can design make a difference?

Specialised learning places are opportunities to provide the places and the mechanisms that engage every student. Each student may enter school from a different starting place than their respective peers. These are the kinds of places that can equalise, that should allow for every student to find their specific area of interest. These are the places for invention, places for reflection, also places to just blow off steam.

Rather than locating them in one central area, these spaces should be considered transitional zones that can serve as semi-public places. Locating these transitional zones throughout a school provides equal accessibility to all, while also connecting both the more public areas of a school and the front doors to the classroom environment.

Multi-functional spaces

In addition to specialised learning environments, there is a need for group gathering spaces that are flexible and allow for many different types of configurations. Both the size and the proportions of multi-functional rooms need to accommodate furnishings that can be easily adjusted on a day-to-day, if not a function-by-function basis. This does not mean that the spaces should be lacking in character; rather, these kinds of spaces need ‘signals’ as to how the rooms should and can be configured. Careful consideration of furniture, acoustics, sound systems and lighting are also very important in designing these kinds of rooms.

Having reviewed these four emerging trends, let us now study how these individual trends have started to affect the spatial relationships of the components that make up a traditional elementary school’s space programme. This will allow us to synthesise and suggest new design paradigms for classrooms, specialised learning environments and places for public gathering. As in any building design, there needs to be a balance between perceiving the whole and breaking the whole down into precincts that are easily understood and negotiated. One has to look at designing from both the inside out and from the outside in, all for a variety of users:

• First and foremost, the students. Even this group of users comprises multiple sub-groups in elementary

school. The difference between pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten (4-5 year olds), second and

third graders (7-8 year olds), and the ‘big guys’ in fourth and fifth grades (9-10 year olds) all need

to be considered.

• The administration and the faculty

• The parents

• The community at large. After all, in most communities, this is the constituency that ultimately votes to fund the construction of schools.

Inside out

Designing from the inside out, one must first consider the student. The domain of the student is, of course, the classroom. The classroom should feel different than the more public areas of the school. It should be a student space. This does not mean that it should feel childish, but rather scaled to their developmental needs. The evolution of instructional spaces continues to change, particularly in terms of how these spaces are configured. While many elementary schools still feature the traditional double-loaded corridor, there are variations on this theme. The most common approach allows for either enlarged corridors with media-rich breakout spaces that can be shared by a cluster of classrooms, or an E or H shaped configuration that allows for secondary circulation to classroom clusters and shared facilities. This results in neighbourhoods that are grade specific and scaled to an environment that is very child-friendly.

The alternative basic configuration is the single-loaded corridor which provides a direct relation between the classrooms, in the centre to both the outdoors on one side and to the indoor public spaces on the other side. This type of configuration allows for the public and students to progress from the community as represented by the context outside to a classroom focus which is more on the individual. It also incorporates circulation areas into interior public spaces resulting in an open, commodious feel.

Another consideration to be taken into account in classroom design is the dramatic range in ages. Pre-K students live in a much different world than fifth-graders. The elementary school should act as a learning tool that allows younger students to grow and transition as they move from grade to grade. Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten classrooms are often located in their own precincts with dedicated bus/parent drop-off and pick-up areas. Travel distances to other activities such as the gym or the library should be kept to a minimum.

As students matriculate, their use of the school should expand, always allowing them to see more and more of the school and the activities that are offered at various grade levels. This allows students to be proud of where they have been and look forward to where they are going.

Outside in

When looking at the design from the outside in, one must consider the sequence from public to semi-public to private. Within the various areas of the school, there should be differentiation so that wayfinding can easily be achieved. Public zones should clearly feel like public zones. Student zones should clearly feel like student zones.

Starting at the front door, there is typically one point of access for the public during school hours with the administration located nearby. This provides both security and central access for students, faculty and parents alike. From this point, the community needs clear and direct access to the specific areas within the building that they are using. With more and more schools becoming true centres of community, the relationship of these spaces to the overall plan has changed to accommodate typical requirements for zone-able, secure 24-hour access.

Just as there are designs to accommodate the core curricula, there are two basic variations on how to arrange the public spaces. The public spaces typically consist of the gymnasium, the auditorium and the cafeteria. These spaces can be collocated into one multi-functional group, either at the perimeter of the school or as a central gathering space. If all of the public functions are central to the school with classroom spaces ringing the perimeter, issues such as service to the public spaces and off-hour use have to be carefully considered. However, this model can be particularly persuasive when the public ‘commons’ combines dining and group assembly in such a way to provide a true heart for the school.

In contrast, public functions can be located at key points around the perimeter. This can allow for separate off-hour use, such as access to a gymnasium/auditorium for local community use or the use of cafeterias or media centres for public town meetings.

Whether one designs from the inside out or the outside in, the biggest factors affecting spatial relationships in the design of any school can be the requirements related to the ratio of net to gross. Net represents the area of all spaces that are designed for specific functions. Gross is the area required to connect and service these functional spaces. Often this relationship is integrally linked to funding, where the perception is the lower the number, the more efficient the building, and therefore, the better. Most public schools in the United States will allow, on average, state funding for school construction typically in a range of 1.35 to 1.4 net to gross.

Contrary to this requirement is the potential inherent if lobbies, corridors and other circulation spaces become enlarged to support a variety of activities. This is particularly true in elementary schools where the changes from class to class are more limited in nature. Recent developments support new design approaches that make connecting spaces functional space. Rather than laying out the corridors, architects are designing connections as “learning pathways,” resulting in more usable spaces and a more efficient building. Whether one creatively labels space to be fundable, or whether one successfully argues that “learning pathways” provide for increased learning opportunities, the outcome will be the same.

Just as there are common characteristics among learning environments and how they are spatially configured, there must also be differences. Every institution should have distinguishing traits that are a direct reflection of the curriculum, context, student body and the community. As citizens of the 21st century, we must also recognise that the world at large is also changing. As globalisation continues, the discussion of what makes world-class facilities is an increasingly important topic.

• How can one learn from the projects that take risks, thereby creating outcomes that are better than average?

• How can one benefit from a more global dialogue?

• What are the common traits that lead to success?

• What are the regional differences that create context?

• How can we be sure that personalisation of learning environments is focused on students?

First and foremost, be sure you know your client, listen well, anticipate change and understand that no two students are alike. Allow a „loose fit“ so that a certain amount of adaptability over time is possible as curriculum requirements, programme and politics change occurs. This is crucial to the development of a value-based design appropriate for today‘s schools and adaptable to the needs of tomorrow.

Building systems (structural, mechanical, electrical) should also incorporate a sustainable approach to design. If the initial cost of a building represents less than 20% of the lifelong cost of the building, a “loose fit” should anticipate and allow for cost-effective renovations and adaptations over time. The interiors must balance traditional approaches to layout and materials that focus on durability, with design ideas and finishes that are adaptable to that they can accommodate changing students and communities long into the 21st century. To sum it up, one size, shape or spatial organisation no longer fits all.

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Originally published in: Mark Dudek, Schools and Kindergartens: A Design Manual, Birkhäuser, 2015.