In these tough times making good school design decisions has never been more difficult or more important. To find out how some of the nation’s top architects and administrators are coping with these challenges attend Architectural Record’s Schools of the 21st Century Symposium. It will be held Friday, April 9th, at the Hyatt McCormick Place in Chicago, the day before the NSBA Conference. The event is free of charge and is being presented with the support of McGraw-Hill Education and the American Architectural Foundation.
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Physical and Emotional Comfort
Thinking about physical and emotional comfort as a component of learning provided us with a wonderful lens for considering how to manipulate the qualities of space in schools and to maximize their effectiveness as places to learn. We found that the student entries provided a range of places that were stimulating, inviting, exciting, often highly personal, but fostered both creativity and academic rigor.
Team members from left: Graham Stroh, American Architectural Foundation; Laura Wernick, AIA, HMFH Architects; Beret Dickson, University of Maryland; Carol Ross Barney, FAIA, Ross Barney Architects. Transition and gathering spaces (top) using thematic motifs enhancing school identity help break down the isolation kids can feel. Flexibility is important in study spaces (middle) to accommodate a multitude of learning styles and project types.
Drawings: © Mario Torroella, AIA, and Colin Dockrill, AIGA, HMFH Architects
We also noted that the students say that transition, study, and gathering spaces have become more important as places to learn, so we explored how variables like lighting, acoustics, size, and shape can be enhanced to help us design supportive, and ultimately, more “comfortable” space. A few themes emerged. We know students want to feel safe and secure within the learning environment, and several things help accomplish that: provide a clear and controlled school entrance, roomy corridors, and clear visual connections throughout the building. We found a strong school identity can also help students feel connected to their community and ease isolation they may feel. This can be achieved by introducing landmarks and thematic motifs throughout a building. Finally, we learned that flexibility within study and gathering spaces is paramount. While one student might need a quiet, isolated place for individual study, the same student might find comfort in a project-based learning space that is loud and stimulating. Giving students a greater sense of control over their space may also contribute to giving a them sense of comfort. This means making schools less institutional: provide more open space, plenty of areas where student work can be displayed, and individual study areas that students can personalize by being able to move partitions and furniture.