In a firm that worked for just out of school, a fellow architect related a term I never heard before in reference to educational facilities . . . “prisons for learning”. To be sure too many of the the schools I have worked on fit that moniker. Windowless institutions of painted concrete block with featureless and endless corridors. No sense of place and no ability for a visitor to orient oneself and way-find. As a substitute teacher I have experienced same from the inside. Easy to get lost in the corridors and difficult to find ones way around.
To be fair, this is certainly a generalization. I have worked on a few schools that were distinctive and comfortable places to teach and learn. Most notably is the award winning Boston Harbor Elementary School in Olympia Washington. I have also taught in a few school as well that hit all bases on Vitruvius’s Firmness, Commodity and Delight. Some of which were designed by former college classmates or by former co-workers.
But again, many schools are worked out in plan like a puzzle, working out spatial relationships without any thought about how they may be experienced from the inside, then walls extruded up, a roof slapped on and then, there you have it, a ‘prison for living’. Also schools are added onto many times over the period of decades, growing larger and even more undifferentiated from the inside.
In smaller school districts, all grade levels my be integrated into one single facility with portions allocated for elementary, middle, junior and high school. Maintaining a distinct identity may be a challenge. Developing strategies that more define the identities of the schools certainly would foster a greater feeling of community within the individual schools and make way-finding within the complex immeasurably easier.
And windows . . . an awareness of the outside. Trends in design change through the years. I remember the high school I first attended in Illinois. It was built in the early 60’s, well before the energy crisis. It was a very humane school. All classrooms had big operable windows along an exterior wall. The classrooms looked out on open grass play-fields bordered by woods. Even the interior classrooms fronted on landscaped courtyards. Quite idyllic. Plenty of natural daylight. Moving to Kansas between my second and third year in high school I found my self attending a newer, post energy crisis school. No windows . . . grim. I found when my attention wandered in this school, I would nod off . . . in the former school, I would stare out the window . . . and daydream . . . for a very short time . . . then my attention would drift back to class. Things go full circle, they built new high school adjacent to the old, windowless one. It had windows . . .
Joyful.
I had the honor of subbing in both. The newer school was so much more pleasant.
This is not intended to by an in-depth look into the benefits of daylight in schools, but a few links might be of interest:
Velux Skylights – Why is daylighting so important in schools?
Wendel – Daylighting in Educational Settings
The Effects of Daylighting in the classroom
So?
Where does this leave us?
In existing schools cost effective solutions my include use of paint and graphics to differentiate different wings of schools. For example three different shades of paint, the darkest for the main corridors that lead somehow and and lighter for tributaries. Naming corridors like streets with a similar hierarchy, highway, avenue, road, court . . . with evocative names that help reinforce a sense of place. I’ll admit its lame, but in a facility where all grades are under the same roof . . . The High Road, The Middle Road and Elementary Ave. (thought I’d say The Low Road? I was tempted but refrained) And in such schools discrete paint schemes for each wing and grade classification. And with respect to wayfinding ‘you are here’ durable maps such as you might find at nature trails. Incorporating points of the compass as well, may help. At exists labeling them for their compass orientation and any street they might empty onto would be a help. Such schemes may also be incorporated into floor and ceiling finishes.
Additional strategies may include retrofitting windows or skylights. In many ways a tough sell as it does not create more usable space or a usable reconfiguration of existing space. Also skylights have a bad reputation with respect to maintenance and leaks. Though if properly detailed, specified and installed they should perform very well. Skylights installed over major corridor intersections, at commons, at exits and over and in front of major congregate spaces such as media centers theaters (in front of) and administrative centers will aid in orientation, well being and learning.
At major intersections, placing a ‘monument’ of some sort, be it a street sign, a bit of sculpture (the school mascot) or a lamp pole, for example would help greatly in wayfinding and developing a greater sense of place. I subbed in a school that really in most respects was rather nice. The interior had a nicer level of finish and the floorplan was reasonably well laid out and rational. However, there was not enough differentiation for one to step out of the classroom immediately where one was. A ‘monument’ of some sort in the main lobby would have saved that issue.
This is vital not just for the above stated reasons, but also from a life safety standpoint. Meeting the building codes represents a minimum standard. They may not addresses the totality of life safety issues, especially from a perceptual and experiential standpoint. Building codes require exits to the exterior, or to a protected zone of a building. Exiting is based upon a number of parameters such as type of occupancy and number of occupants. (number of occupants related to occupancy type). A plan layout may conform to code, but it may not have enough discernible order, as noted before to know where one is in reference to the nearest, or safest means of egress. Moreover, in a panic situation will one rely more on their own sense of direction to find the exit they know about, or the one that is marked by exit signage. This can be an issue when smoke hovers in the upper part of a room or corridor, obscuring exit signage. Building codes are moving to requiring floor level exit signage, primarily in residential occupancies.
As noted previously, floor finishes can help tremendously. Different floor finishes may identify a corridor as east-west vs north-south. Or the same basic finish with pattern variations. The primary corridor may stand out with a more decorative finish, same for the most ‘defining’ intersections’. This can be mirrored by ceiling finishes, cost effectively using the the traditional 2×4 grid. Primary corridors marked by an upgrade in pattern/texture or scoring that replicates a 2×2 grid. The creative options are endless.
In existing schools maintenance is an ongoing issue. There are times when the schools are shut down over the summer when it is time to repaint, repair and upgrade. One may look ahead to and consider theses issues pro-actively and make use of funds already budgeted.
In new schools one is not nearly so constrained in applying the the ideas and principles noted above. At some point in time it comes down t the gifting and abilities of the designer laying out the plan and generating design concepts. A gifted designer will layout a school with a greater and more rational level of order, intentionality and humanity. In keeping with the noted principles corridor width laid out, not to the minimum width required only by code or for circulation (usually the same width throughout) but according to order of significance. The primary corridors being a little wider and grander. Primary corridors with ceiling treatment well beyond retrofit with coffers, arches, etc. There is an impressive variety of materials and products on the market that leverage and expand creative options in a cost effective way.
There is much yet that I can say about this subject, but I’ll leave this as it is . . . for now. I’ll try doing some sketching in the next week or so as the adage ‘ a picture is worth a thousand words’ is so very apt.