Fuji Kindergarten in Tachikawa, Tokyo, Japan is an excellent
example of an interactive and free learning environment designed by Tezuka
Architects. With the site for the school being in a highly populated and crowded
area, building mass space was limited especially for playing area. The solution
to solve the limited playing area was to create an oval shaped building and
provide roof access to use as extra playing surface.
The building has slides that go from the second level to the
ground level for the children to use and play on. There is also an elevator to
access the roof playing surface. There are a limited number of non-glazing
walls in the building which allow daylight into the building as well as to
provide views for the children to see outside when they are unable to be
outside. There are now walls that separate individual classrooms which allow
the children to move around freely inside the building. The lack of interior
walls could become an issue with sound transfer from room to room, especially
if one room is trying to have a quiet session. Three trees penetrate the
building through the roof to allow for shading on the roof play area. The
classrooms all have sliding glass that opens to the courtyard and they remain
open as often as the weather will allow.
With all of the openness to the building it could be
difficult to control the children from wandering when they shouldn’t be. The
use of natural and soft material can be less intimidating for the children
while attending school and relax them, making learning easier. This school is a prime example of learning
from experimenting and taking a hands on approach.
When
Students from Samuel Brighouse Elementary School in Richmond, British Columbia
were asked what they would like to see their new elementary school to look like
and to have surprisingly some were savvy enough to think to requesting things
such as natural ventilation, courtyard gardens, photo-sensitive lighting, solar
panels, recycling stations and more natural daylight.[1]
The Architecture firm of Perkins+Will was selected as the designers of the new
500 student Elementary school with the goal of creating a Healthy Learning
Environment. The design of the school is
mostly a one story building with a 2nd story over half of the main
corridor. Even though the first floor has class rooms on both sides of the
corridor, it still function somewhat like a single loaded corridor with the
Kindergarten classrooms having their own entrance and exits from directly
outside each classroom.
With the second story being only on one side along with
being open above the lower corridor it allows for natural daylight to light up
both the first and second story corridors. This also allows for every classroom
to be facing an exterior space to allow natural daylight into the rooms.
The use of warm and cool colors mixed throughout the
building and classrooms mixed with the natural and soft building materials
provide a more relaxed comfortable feeling and an environment more fit for
learning. The attention to acoustics to minimize noise throughout the
classrooms and building is an excellent way to help with concentration in the
classrooms. All of these factors can help to improve the overall building
health as well as those who occupy it.
The location of the Gymnasium in relation to the rest of the building
does not really seem right since it is entirely disconnected from academia, it
feels as though it would be a hassle to go to the gym for recess with having to
go outside in a cooler climate. The lack
of non-hard surface outdoor play area for direct access for the kindergarten
rooms seems a bit concerning for allow the children to run around. The overall
thought that went into the design of this school has shed new light on the way
schools should be considering in all new construction projects to provide the
best possible learning environment.
[1]
Drew, Robert. “Creating Healthy Indoor Learning Environments.” Journal of
Commerce. journalofcommerce.com June 2010.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment