3/4 review

Expression of the adaptable classroom at a larger scale
Identifying the different classrooms through materials
- the adaptable classroom, versus, lab/ studio classroom versus the special project rooms/ presentation rooms

Develop a building parti where the classrooms engage the outdoor space

Circulation
- differentiating between a corridor which connects versus a walkable gallery where students can gather, sit, view displayed work, or study. Narrow versus open

Planning
- Defining the open spaces on the site
- define 'the center' - creating an outdoor meeting point where ultimately people entering the site would use as a meeting point
- redefing the edges of the field so they are less orthagonal and thus becoming more inviting to the community and connected to the whole campus

Abstract

The objective it to create a community school which provides an opportunity for the disparate community groups to equally use the facilities. The school is thus conceived as a transformative institution which functions simultaneously as a school and civic cultural center. The school is transformative in its nature as it meets the needs of its various school and community users throughout the course of the day and the week. Currently the design is imagined as an integration of three systems: the natural landscape, the interconnected spaces of the classrooms, and the volumes housing the shared school and community resources. The classroom spaces are flexible such that they can be broken into smaller learning communities or expanded for larger group activities. The shared school and community volumes are broken into three focuses: the primary is the media center, followed by the fitness center and the performing and visual arts center. These shared programmatic volumes are to reach out to the community and activate the currently abandoned site. For example, the fitness volume could be open in the early morning to the community, then during the day it would be available to the students for physical education classes and finally in the evening open as a community health club. Currently the surrounding communities are isolated. The community school program is to ideally bring together the separated communities to create an enriched cultural environment for everyone.

Reactions to 1/4 Jury

That was tough!! I definitely wasn't as prepared as I could have been. I realized I should have practiced what I was going to say beforehand - I mean I wrote an outline but that wasn't enough.

So from my notes, the issues I wrote down are the following:
- establishing a hierarchy
- owning the initial gestures/ lines from the diagrams
- determining program within the site
- hard vs soft edges
- Defining: transformative and flexible and then putting them in the driver's seat as I further develop my initial parti ideas

Schedule

January

Complete site analysis & physical site model
Begin concept drawings of program issues
Explore possible locations of program on the site
The interaction of the two user groups
-circulation
-space transformation to accommodate program shifts

First Quarter
Refinement of concept drawings + models
Refining 3-D sketches of interior and/or exterior spaces
Update/ Add to written document


Midpoint
Plans + Sections + Elevations
Complete massing model
Preliminary renderings of interior spaces
Preliminary material selection
Update/ Add to written document


Third Quarter
Further refinement of Plans + Sections + Elevations
Further refinement of renderings for presentation
Finalize physical model
Update/ Add to written document

Sustainable learning

The design of the school building or buildings can serve as a tertiary educator to the students, faculty and the surrounding community. There are many opportunities for the integration of learning and various sustainable systems. The site will primarily determine the types of sustainable systems which will occur, but here are some options:
o The harvesting rainwater from roofs and site run-off, collected in cisterns with visible gauges, illustrating connections between rain and water supply
o Nurturing “kitchen gardens” adjacent to teaching kitchens and cafes
o The utilization of water-pumping wind mills from low points on the site to eco-ponds
o Harnessing solar collectors attached to light posts with gauges illustrating the kilowatt gains per hour based on weather patterns

Randall Fielding, Best Practice in Action: “Six Essential Elements that Define Educational Facility Design.” CEFPI Planner. December 2006. http://www.designshare.com/index.php/articles/six-essential-elements/ (accessed November 10, 2007

General Program Outline

Learning Centers / Studios
o De-emphasis on traditional classroom learning
o Meeting rooms +/- 800 sq ft
o Small break out rooms
o Outdoor Learning Spaces
o Project Rooms
 Student ran rooms
 Wet and dry lab
 +/- 1500 sq ft
-Commons
o Food court/ Cafe
o Indoor hangout
o Display space
o +/- 2500 sq ft
Media Center
- Technology/ info hub
- Space for individual learning
- +/- 4500 sq ft
-Fitness Center
o Basketball court
o Rock climbing wall
o Weight room
o Racquet ball
o +/- 10,000 sq ft
-School based health clinic
o +/- 800 sq ft
-Community Performance Center
o Student productions
o Outside performers
o Possibility of creating an indoor and outdoor stage
o +/- 10,000 sq ft
-Community field
o Outdoor recreation
o Sitting/reading
-Community Garden/ Gallery – Exhibition space/ TV Studio
o (This has not been entirely decided yet, I am hoping to get in contact with a community member for additional input on a specific program solution)
o Extends the operating hours of the facility beyond the normal school day
o Provides a diversity of users outside the immediate school community
o +/- 3,000 sq ft

The Classroom

School design has the opportunity to give form to these emerging educational concepts and it can all begin with redefining the idea of the classroom. On the pyramid of school spaces, the classroom is located at the top being that it is the pinnacle of where learning occurs. The classroom acts as symbol of an educational philosophy. Traditionally the classroom space is based on a pre-determined number of students who will all learn the same lesson at the same time by one person. This typical design infers that the learning takes place within a linear fashion coming from the instructor to the students. Thus, a 700 square - foot room with the teacher at the front of the room before the students who are seated in rows is the appropriate design for this learning environment. The original classroom- based school model makes sense that each classroom is located next to the other along a long double loaded corridor.



This diagram is a modification from the Traditional Classroom diagram from Design Patterns. http://www.designshare.com/index.php/design-patterns/traditional-classroom.


Current teaching pedagogies are moving away from the old paradigm to a more collaborative team teaching and student driven learning projects. Now, the old teacher to student ratio of 1:25 has evolved to the ratio of 4:100. This shift allows for a more sinuous and flexible learning environment. With the school existing as a conglomeration of amorphous spaces, each student is able to work and learn in his/her own manner within a group or individually. The diagram below demonstrates this idea as three different learning spaces are brought together; each of which is connected to a larger common space. This scheme allows for individual exploration of a variety of interests. The inherent flexibility of the interior and exterior space is supportive to the changing programs and functions.






This diagram is a modification from the Flexible Small Community. http://www.designshare.com/index.php/articles/six-essential-elements/