Jackson & McElhaney Architects
Alternative Learning Category
Capacity: 175 students
Size: 5,000 sq. feet, 30 acres

A 30-acre nature preserve and canyon, 28 miles northwest of Austin, Texas, expanded its community programs by building a new "wilderness classroom" and providing a meeting place for walking tours to a nearby waterfall and "live" grotto. The goal of the two agencies who partnered for the project was to foster respect and stewardship of the natural environment, provide environmental education and preserve this sanctuary well into the future.

Both the interior and exterior of the building instruct and shelter simultaneously. For example, the terrazzo floor patterns illustrate the interlocking presences of pi in the golden rectangle (used by ancient Greeks and Egyptians), the logarithmic curve, Fibonacci numbers and the growth form of an ancient ammonite sea creature.

"A great mission explored through excellent architecture. Too bad all of our educational buildings cannot have this clarity of purpose and directness of execution."

–Frank Locker

The Mawson Centre
Mawson Lakes, South Australia

Lend Lease Community Development, Lend Lease Communities
Alternative Learning Category
Capacity: 1,000+ students
Size: 355,520 sq. feet

Mawson Lakes, a new community near Adelaide, South Australia, integrates living, learning, working and play. The mixed-use development includes a variety of housing types, a primary school, library, university research center, restaurants and shops – all developed with ecologically sensitive water management and solar orientation. Access to a wide range of educational services through university, civic and business partnerships is the key to this model of sustainable development.

"This project shows that learning happens not only within classrooms but that the community itself is the ‘school.’ This richly layered development provides an integrated, mixed-use campus for living, learning, working and playing – it is truly the exemplification of a 21st-century community where the connections between individual elements is as important as the elements themselves."

–Prakash Nair

Alpine Prototype Middle Schools
Alpine, Utah, and Lehi, Utah

VCBO Architecture
Capacity: 1,500 students
Size: 187,500 sq. feet, 26-32 acres

PHOTO CREDIT: David Wakely

This project is particularly remarkable in that it provides all of the features of a traditional large district middle school – athletic program, media center, auditorium, cafeteria – in a state with one of the lowest per-student budgets and size allocations, without giving in at any stage to rigid solutions.

"This school is fun. While we could argue the merits of putting 1,500 middle students in one building, we can’t overlook the many positive qualities this submission’s planning and architecture offer. The houses, the open edges of the classrooms, the shared teacher planning areas, the collaborative centers instead of corridors, and the metaphorical math in the architecture of the commons are all noteworthy. This project does, however, exhibit the classic middle school tragic flaw: the ‘special’ learning areas, especially art and technology ed, are dissociated from core learning, thus limiting integrated learning programs."

–Frank Locker

"An outstanding project. If you have to house 1,500 middle schoolers, then this is the way to do it – break it all down, open it all up – I have my identity, my group and constant opportunity to collaborate with others."

–John Mayfield

"The collaboration area, reached from classrooms via glass, roll-up doors, provides flexible learning space. Organization of ‘houses’ provides more personal scale for students. Thoughtful, sensitive design shows that cost isn’t a critical variable regarding ultimate results."

–Victoria Bergsagel

PHOTO CREDIT : Tom Bonner

Berkeley High School
Berkeley, Calif.

ELS Architecture
Capacity: 3,000 students
Size: 86,250 sq. feet

Goals for a new school complex were defined in a series of workshops, including the idea that students needed ‘a third place’ other than home or classes, open day and night. A student union could reach out to all students for hanging out, studying, playing at the gym or having a dance, getting something to eat and library use. Internet access would be available from any space. Students could learn real-life skills by helping with food preparation or administration. Shared public use of facilities would be encouraged on weekends or after-hours.

"Given the constraints of a very large school in an urban context, this project provides some valuable ideas regarding the critical provision of informal, authentic ‘third places’ such as the student union for students that have been virtually ignored in today’s conventional school design."

–Jeff Lackney

High Tech High-Los Angeles
Los Angeles

Berliner & Associates Architecture
Capacity: 325 students
Size: 27,000 sq. feet, 1 acre

This school is the only Los Angeles Unified School District high school designed specifically to train students for the high-technology careers. Funded through a public-private partnership, the school is a combination of new construction and the complete renovation of two underused structures on an existing high school campus. Classrooms support a project-based curriculum and contain separate project rooms – glass-enclosed areas that facilitate small-group projects and provide space to store works-in-progress, eliminating the need for tear-down and set-up between classes.

"This design for project-based instruction shows how it was spatially conceived and makes evaluations on behavior changes. Internal spaces are very well integrated. Walking within the school’s spaces allows surprise, seeing something new going on. Good relationship between open and closed spaces."

–Mariza Alves

"The integration between internal and external learning spaces is very convincing and seems to offer students real environments where learning can occur outside the classroom setting."

–Peter Jamieson

Assisi Catholic College
Queensland, Australia

Bertoldi Architect Pty. Ltd.
Growing to become a P-12 educational facility in 2009
Capacity: 1,440 max.
Size: 35,833 sq. feet, 27.9 acres

Of particular significance is the unique connection of traditional specialist subject disciplines in the middle years. These are consolidated into one building – the Middle Years Technology Centre. In MYTEC, the instructional areas, design technology, art studio, food technology, science laboratory, digital media, and two portfolio development rooms are in effect "alcoves for learning." These are clustered around and open onto a centrally located shared common area.

"Constructivist learning as the basis of a P-12 program, and a ‘hands-on’ learning center as the first phase of construction. And in a Catholic school, to boot. This educational attitude should be a role model for schools around the world! The facility is a role model as well: the spilling out of learning spaces into the ‘market’ offers the hope of integration of curriculum."

–Frank Locker

"A project that will be built by phases – right now it concerns a technology centre that is conceived and designed to stimulate a co-operative learning across the different subjects, with flexibility. The resulting architecture, with its learning street or covered market, has a real character and makes a feeling of learning an easy and enjoyable activity."

–Rodolfo Almeida

Greenman Elementary School
Aurora, Ill.

Design Architect: Architecture for Education Inc.
Architect of Record: Cordogan Clark & Associates Inc.
Pre K-5
Capacity: 700 students
Size: 63,000 sq. feet, 4.1 acres

Greenman Elementary is a partnership between the school district and a local private university. It houses district elementary school students and teachers, as well as the university’s Center for Science and Mathematics Methods program. A school-within-a-school organization is developed in a "finger plan." Every two classrooms share an adjoining resource/project area, and every classroom contains a learning wall, bay windows and a private bathroom. The walls between the rooms contain large windows, allowing the hallways to serve as learning spaces. The interior windows give teachers in classrooms the ability to monitor groups of students working in adjacent project areas and hallways.

"The use of varying materials, colors, and geometric shapes bring a rich texture to the spaces. Classroom lavatories for which the students have responsibility is a grand idea."

–Susan Wolff

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Grades: 7-12
Capacity: 330 students
Size: 31,000 square feet
Acreage: 8 acres
Lead Architect: Ewers Architecture pc

This middle school and high school campus, set at the base of a distinctive mountain formation, provides the students with a unique environment to learn both social skills as well as classroom basics.

The middle school (grades 7 – 9) is an Erdkinder school, which means literally "children of the earth." This is a farm school where the students raise crops and livestock as well as learn in the classroom. The concept here is that during this age, students are under a lot of pressure from society—so they must leave society and go find themselves on the farm, to discover their true nature and talents. The architecture of the Erdkinder school reinforces these ideas by using an agrarian motif to make the students and teachers feel like they are truly on a farm.

The High School (grades 10-12) is a more independent learning environment. Once the students have graduated from the Erdkinder school, they are ready to leave the farm and re-enter society. The High School fosters a sense of independence and encourages students to reach beyond their familiar settings, even beyond the campus. The architecture reinforces this independence with an open student plaza, central commons, large auditorium for student performances, and a student-run coffee shop.

The use of engineered metal buildings shortened the construction time in addition to saving money. Through the inclusion of advanced daylighting techniques, environmentally sensitive materials and systems, and high levels of insulation, this school will be comfortable, safe and efficient for many years.

Djidi Djidi Aboriginal School
Picton, Australia

Grades: K-7
Capacity: 250 students
Size: 35,900 square feet
Acreage: 7 acres
Lead Architect: Edgar Idle Wade Architects

"An important response to the need to include all learners in the planning—indigenous, non-indigenous, children and adults."

-John Mayfield

Djidi Djidi Aboriginal School provides a caring, supportive environment for all children, particularly indigenous children. It caters to individual learning styles, sets high standards and has a strong belief that all children can learn. The school believes in and fosters tolerance, diversity and working collaboratively. The promotion of Aboriginal culture in assisting Aboriginal children to accept and value themselves and their culture is central to the learning program.

The Cultural Centre is the heart of the school—a focus for art, music, indigenous language—a community meeting place with food, water and a fire pit. An artistic "Tree of Life" incorporates student-designed mosaics using native flora-and-fauna themes. water features and a native ‘bush tucker’ garden connect the school to the Earth.

The school’s front office counter is in a boomerang shape with two heights. The ends are child height so small children can be seen and heard across the counter.

The teaching areas have incorporated high bandwidth information and communications technology enabling computers and media to be integrated into all lessons, including wireless access to the external covered areas.

Edisto Beach Interpretive Center
Edisto Beach, S.C., United States

Grades: varies
Capacity: 100 students
Size: 7,600 square feet
Acreage: 2 acres
Lead Architect: Liollio Architecture

The Interpretive Center is a public teaching laboratory – a demonstration of how the built environment can exhibit greater sensitivity to a natural context. The project is a joint venture between South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism, and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. They combined resources and planning efforts to:

• Instill respect and understanding of the plants and animals indigenous to Edisto.
• Promote responsible stewardship for the environment (sidewalks prevent run-off; recycled materials).
• Encourage students to view the environment as a classroom, providing ongoing and authentic learning experiences.
• Promote inquiry and allow for the examination of students’ thoughts and ideas about the environment.

Set in a heavily wooded site adjacent to a salt marsh and river, the siting considers protection of the natural vegetation, careful integration of roads, preservation of natural features, orientation to views, and respect of 150′ buffers off the creeks and creek inlets. Orientation also evaluated wind and solar angles of the site and the use of xeriscaping.

Passive environmental design incorporates heavy overhangs for glass shading, high ceilings for heat collection and dissipation, low-return air grills to the mechanical systems, and corporation of cross ventilation where applicable.

Materials incorporated into the design include general wood framing (renewable resources); synthetic wood plank siding; energy-efficient glazing (thermal pane); minimal finishes (i.e., concrete flooring); wood products derived from certified sources; and natural fiber carpets and batt insulation.

Building systems integrate high ‘R’ values in the thermal envelope; low-energy use appliances; a cistern for rain water capture (for use in toilet facilities); economizer cycle (fresh air) for HVAC system; moisture control; natural day lighting where applicable; and use of sensor systems for lighting, high-energy light fixtures, dimmers and timers.

The building employees a geothermal closed-loop heating and cooling system.

The project manual required an overall reduction in construction hazardous waste of 60 percent, as well as on-site recycling and composting programs. The general contractor setup a construction waste management program, which recycled categories of construction waste. This was of prime concern, not only for the protection of the immediate environment, but because of the reality that over 70 percent of all landfill debris is generated by construction.

Keane Children’s Center/Charlestown
Boys & Girls Club
Charlestown, Mass., United States

Grades: K-6
Capacity: 550 students
Size: 28,500 square feet
Acreage: 1,328 acres
Lead Architect: The Architectural Team Inc.

"Very attractive solution to preservation and renovation of a historic building; spaces for after school education and for different age groups are provided. The internal decoration is modern and ‘romantic’ – good human scale."

-Rodolfo Almeida

Renovation of this historic 1917 building required preservation of key elements, while implementing a radically reconfigured layout to accommodate an increase in membership and an evolving curriculum. Furthermore, the building required accessibility at all levels, including the main entry, which was located seven feet above sidewalk grade off of an elevated courtyard.

The renovated facility combines a historic restoration with contemporary, "playful" elements that support the program areas, generate excitement, and encourage participation in the different programs. Specific color selections were made to reflect the different program areas. Traditional greens and burgundy were used in the study areas to enhance the historic wood finishes, while vibrant and bold primary colors burst in the arts and gaming areas.

Access to the Education Center, including the education room, discovery room and library, was relocated. The Center is now one open space, with half-walls and columns defining spaces for different age groups.

The performing arts space and connected Music Center have a unique multi-level design achieved by infilling an abandoned indoor pool. Having no fixed seating, this flexible space can be used for dance, drama and yoga and a variety of other programs. Vacant locker rooms were turned into a new Music Center and recording studio. The ceramics room and darkroom, previously in separate rooms, are now adjacent to each other in the art space.

The extensive use of interior glazing allows members to see what activities are taking place without having to enter the space. Interior glazing also enhances the visibility for staff members.

Using carpet squares that allow for replacement of small sections, if necessary, controls noise levels in the recreation areas. To provide maximum durability, products with lower life-cycle costs were selected.

The exterior courtyard was reconfigured to create a handicapped-accessible ramp to the main entry. Historic architectural elements, including stone bollards, replica light fixtures and a replica of the original stone entry plaque were reintroduced into the courtyard.

Victoria School
Singapore

Grades: 1-4
Capacity: 1,680 students
Size: 354,133 square feet
Acreage: 9 acres
Lead Architect: CPG Consultants Pte Ltd.

This urban school was conceived as a "school within a garden."

The project is designed around an Eco-Street, which forms the central artery of the linear plan, which relates to the metaphor of a learning journey. The boundaries between building and landscape are blurred, with linkways and footpaths weaving through the lush greenery, revealing a tapestry of nature enriched by student activity and interaction within an "outdoor classroom." The Eco-Street assumes the important roles of social and learning space.

Functionally, the Eco-Street takes the form of a central green lung that provides relief space between blocks, where students can linger amidst natural surroundings to rejuvenate their minds and help them learn better.

The flora and fauna provide not only visual and experiential benefits but, in tandem with the school’s emphasis on integrating nature into the curriculum, they form a stage set for outdoor learning driven by research and exploration. A departure from the confines of a classroom, this informal setting encourages spontaneity and increases interaction with the environment. Outdoor spaces are no longer considered secondary, but integrated to become the very heart of the school.

The synergy between building and environment comes alive in the perforated sunscreens with murals of renowned figures that become a historical narrative of the school. Walls are no longer silent backdrops but come alive as dynamic canvases. Even ceiling areas that are commonly down played are used to advantage by creating constellation patterns with panels and lights of different shapes and colors.

Learning spaces are designed not as isolated rooms but in relation to surrounding environment, allowing flexibility and adaptability for spillover activities. This layering of spaces reflects a climate-responsive approach where the school is conceived as a total environment.

West Point Junior High School
West Point, Utah, United States

Grades: 7-9
Capacity: 1,250 students
Size: 152,000 square feet
Acreage: 24 acres
Lead Architect: VCBO Architecture LLC

This junior high school has been created for communities of learners to work cooperatively in a variety of settings—from large group spaces to small conference rooms. It allows teachers to collaborate and to pool their talents toward the single goal of exceptional education for all students.

Classrooms are arranged into three grade-level specific, double-lobed academic learning centers, or "houses," surrounding a central collaboration space. These houses provide a highly flexible, open and extremely visible environment for group collaboration, fostering critical student/student and student/teacher relationships. Conference rooms and faculty planning offices, toilet rooms, and lockers make up a house, promoting a cohesive environment in which students may live and learn.

Individuals enter the building and move immediately into the jewel of the complex, a "glass box" that provides a striking setting for students and visitors to gather, eat, socialize, and watch performances and presentations.

Building as a Learning Tool (BLT) opportunities abound. Etched on the glass curtain wall at the building entrance, visitors read "welcome" messages in over 80 languages. The curved bridge that connects the upper level wings bears the Fibonacci series, prime numbers and the digits of pi.

The four classical elements of earth, wind, water and fire, provide identities, color schemes, and way finding for the learning centers.

"Off-the-grid" windmill power can be used to operate tools, and the building electrical meter readout in the tech lab illustrates the amount of electricity the building uses daily. Outside in the courtyard and visible from the main gathering space, students have the opportunity to study native plant life.

State-of-the-art materials and technology make this school a safe, warm, yet vibrant setting for learning.

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An urban setting did not prevent designers from emphasizing the importance of the environment on education. Landscaping, which includes student plantings, native plants, a community garden, and a large plaza is used as a teaching device. Play areas are organized on different terraces, following the hillside. Large windows and balconies are used to connect the classrooms, which are perched high on a hill, to the surrounding community. Special education teachers report that the calming effects of views and light have dramatically increased the attention span of students afflicted with ADD. The student body’s standardized test scores also have increased by 38 percentile points one year after move-in.

Both the program and design of the school were developed in an intensive series of workshops with an active group of parents, teachers, administrators, neighbors, and students. Meetings took place every month through the design process and, less frequently, through the construction process.

As a result, the school was designed to serve as a community center, a neighborhood gathering place, and an emergency relief shelter. Outdoor common spaces, playgrounds, and plaza are used by the community.

An encouraged neighbor remarked how “the courtyard is functioning as a community square for the neighborhood.” Even the building’s design aesthetic creates a focal point but fits the scale of the neighborhood through the use of massing, materials, finishes, and colors.

Interior spaces were designed for maximum flexibility. Rooms on the upper level have the option of adding loft mezzanines that create spatial relationships not provided by standard classroom design. Ground-level classrooms have outdoor patios and a trellis for small, peer-teaching groups. Free-form corridors, following the hillside contours, have nodes for break-out spaces.

Fox Run/Mother Teresa School, Sylvan Lake, Alberta, Ontario, Canada
Group 2 Architecture Engineering Interior Design

The Fox Run/Mother Teresa School is a multi-campus facility, incorporating a public school, a Catholic school, and a substantial community component. Through the cooperative efforts of these three partners, substantial enhancements were achieved, providing more program opportunities than traditional, individual facilities would have been able to achieve.

One of the most notable parts of the project is the extensive amount of collaboration during the design process. Three design committees met three times per week during the design stage while two additional committees focused on jurisdictional goals and objectives. One joint steering committee was responsible for maintaining balance between stakeholders, a process that involved co-design workshops with school administrators, staff, students, and board members. These workshops used small group sessions to brainstorm design priorities, which were presented and prioritized by all participants.

The final design includes a gym for community use, as well as a community office and conference room. Classrooms are oriented in groups, creating break-out areas that act as a buffer between student gathering spaces and the learning environment-a setup that provides opportunities for team teaching and collaborative student initiatives.

Silverado Middle School, Roseville, Calif.
Perkins & Will

The Silverado Middle School planning process was a collaborative effort involving a taskforce of teachers, students, parents, administrators, business leaders, and community representatives. Members met with the architectural design team for the better part of a year, helping to create a building that itself is a teaching tool. Exposed structures in the classrooms demonstrate how roof trusses support weight. Slots in classroom walls allow students to see how conduits tie systems together. Labels on exterior plumbing allow students to trace the path of water, waste, and natural gas through a building. A glass-walled elevator allows students to observe the application of hydraulics.

Educationally, the project is a manifestation of the district’s efforts to address the emotional and psychological challenges of adolescence by supporting the transition from self-contained primary classrooms to departmentalized programs. To this end, special spaces were designed for student mediation of conflicts, counseling services, and health services, as well as community police services. An open studio approach to classroom design involves 13 operable walls that can be opened to create multiple oversized learning spaces.

Courtyards also are important to the school’s educational philosophy. Currently, the school operates one grade level per courtyard, allowing each grade to remain in its respective courtyard throughout the day. Designing classroom buildings around usable courtyard spaces encourages outdoor lessons and allow for changes in the educational programs. The school itself is situated adjacent to a city park, allowing the school to double as a community center.

Bedford Middle School, Westport, Conn.
Jeter, Cook & Jepson Architects

The Bedford Middle school is sited on a previously undeveloped parcel linking the existing high school with an established public park. New walking trails and additional athletic facilities turned the once-isolated facilities into a neighborhood and town-wide resource. The school’s commons area serves as a public forum for community meetings and the auditorium, media center, and gymnasium all are designed for after-hours use. A parent/community room near the main entry provides a home within the school for various groups during the school day.

The school is designed to support communities of collaborative learners, with all subject and support areas- academic teams, art, music, athletics, and administration-clustered around the commons. The commons itself contains the media center, cafeteria, and access to an outdoor courtyard. Each academic team is self-contained, with a team area linking the science labs, classrooms, and restrooms. Team areas are linked vertically with the team below and have windows looking into the classrooms as well as to the outdoors.

The layout also provides passive security; the entire main hallway system is visible from almost any part of the commons and administrative functions are decentralized with a staffed office at each entry.

The school’s design and site plan were worked on in more than 100 individual and group workshops, made up of neighbors, parents, elected officials, faculty, and staff. Students and faculty from the existing middle school assisted in the creation and testing of a team area “mock-up,” helping to evaluate the size and configuration of that aspect of the school. Every material, system, and space in the school was reviewed for efficiency and adaptability.

The review process resulted in a project that was more than $3 million under initial estimates with additional energy rebates of more than $200,000.

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The story that created the Reece Community School in Tasmania is no less inspiring than the learning environment it promotes. An arsonist’s fire wiped away decades of school history – history the small town in which it sits could ill-afford to lose. As residents rallied to build anew, the community succeeded in creating a new kind of fire, one characterized by the spirit of resilience and openness to accepting change. The ideas incorporated in this new facility have spread to other Tasmanian schools.

Edward Kirkbride said the "floorplans begin to demonstrate real flexibility and program integration, as opposed to 20th century ‘bells & cells.’"Eloquent in his praise, Jeff Lackney added, "Here is a ‘new country school"that is explicitly project-based, emphasizing the social dimensions of learning and is successful in creating very articulated places for both. Principal learning areas with personal workstations for 10 students provide a unique opportunity for students to take ownership of their school." Lackney continues by saying, "this project is a real attempt to integrate education with architecture using a collaborative process as a catalyst to rethink curriculum development, professional learning, and community. Building seven (floorplan, left), with simple rectangular bays, exemplifies the flexible workshop. Imagine having the ability to recreate the classroom environment whenever appropriate to fit any desired instructional strategy – that is building seven."

Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School, Richmond, Va.,
High School, BCWH Inc.

"This is an excellent example of building modernization and educational excellence," said Bill DeJong – and many reviewers agreed. "The student commons becomes the center of the school and works like a flexible and informal cyber-café," said Roldolfo Almeida. And, Anne Taylor added, "Excellent programming process." She noted that the school created a planning department to work on this project and she liked the self-direction and teamwork. She also liked how architects shadowed students. Senior architecture students designed the furniture for this project after taking a fieldtrip to Steelcase Inc.

The high school was built in 1937 in a working- class African-American neighborhood. Hard work, bold leadership, and character were the touchstones of the school’s identity. Declining enrollment forced the school’s closing in 1989, and it soon greatly suffered from vandalism. Underneath the peeling paint and damaged materials, however, a firm and substantial structure remained, waiting to be reclaimed and restored to its former glory.

The school is a regional high school that draws gifted students who are selected from 13 area school districts. The educational program is that of a comprehensive high school with a challenging curriculum focused on government and international studies.

Riverside Learning Center, Riverside, Calif.,
Other Grade Configurations, HMC Architects

This facility is designed to be a simple, flexible rectangle, a blank canvas to be transformed by both the teacher and the students. Classroom studios are grouped into learning villages with distinct educational themes for multiple age groups. These villages are linked through a "neural network" of primary and secondary pedestrian pathways designed to encourage curiosity and invite investigation by the students. A child’s path through the campus is intentionally indirect, meandering and filled with the opportunity for discovery. The school is an innovative partnership of public and private agencies, with joint-use educational and multicultural community facilities.

"A beautiful building ensemble and a good program. An important one," commented reviewer Mariza Weber Alves. John Mayfield added that, "There are strong new ideas here, which I think are very significant." They include: the studio, a place that’s not an end of a process but the beginning; the learning village, which is a collection of living and learning spaces; and the main street, a celebration space.

Wildwood Secondary Campus, Los Angeles, Calif.,
Other Grade Configurations, SPF: architects

The layout of the project encourages student interaction on all levels. At the senior level, students are encouraged to work and conduct independent study within the community. At a societal level, the street orientation organizes gathering spaces to allow student participation with the outside community.

The bow truss structure began as the organizing framework for the design of the project. Space was found in the center upper portion of each truss bay and was utilized for student portfolio storage, lounge spaces, and art studios. These loft spaces are connected via stairs and landings, which, in turn, connect to the different curriculum areas below.

Mariza Weber Alves notes that this design resulted in a considerable improvement of the existing space. And Jeff Lackney suggests the project is "an honest attempt to address several problems in our culture at once: the deteriorating student culture in American high schools and the deteriorating urban environment. The school stays small at 400 students with four neighborhoods creating the potential for a tight community." Lackney continues by saying, "beyond the problem of school culture, this project takes an interdisciplinary, holistic curricular approach in an attempt to integrate once unconnected subjects. The use of natural materials such as wood creates a comfortable and warm environment."

Cesar E. Chavez Education Center, Oakland, Calif.,
Elementary School VBN Architects

When completed, this project will serve pre-school students and those in grades K-5, as well as parents and community members of all ages. It embraces the diversity of its surrounding urban community by creating a true neighborhood center, offering educational and childcare programs and providing much-needed recreational and joint/dedicated community-use spaces.

The core of this 600-student public elementary school is the 25 classrooms that serve as regular instructional, special education, and resource rooms – each with outdoor learning patios or shared decks. The two-story facility has two fully day-lit wings that form two small schools.

Here’s what John Mayfield had to say about the center, "I think this is a strong project with a number of important ideas about what a school can be and therefore what a building should enable. In particular, the ideas that have taken my attention are school as a focus for community – adding value by sharing and joint use." He also notes the attempt to engage the parents and the community with a community resource center, library media center, an information kiosk, and a community meeting room.

TakingITGlobal, Toronto, Canada,
Alternative Learning Environment, Randall Fielding and Prakash Nair

Reviewers liked the fact that this is a unique project dreamed up by students for students. This project is very much a product of what teens want and care about. Mariza Weber Alves comments that, "TakingITGlobal’s strength lies in its founders’ initiative and the commitment of its users. It’s a laudable attempt to supply a learning space outside the traditional ones."

TakingITGlobal (TIG) was initiated and founded by two young Canadians, Jennifer Corriero and Mike Furdyk. Corriero has been featured in TIME magazine as one of the leaders for Canada’s Next Generation and Furdyk was one of Teen People’s "10 teens that will change the world"(2000). The organization they built is designed to inspire young people to create positive social change. It does so by providing them with places to learn, work, and make important contributions to their communities in a relaxed, yet functional environment. Youth have access to information, connections, resources, and the knowledge that they are valued citizens of the world.

The founders have started one experimental center in Toronto and hope to spur the development of hundreds of such centers worldwide, making the idea of TIG centers as ubiquitous as the corner Starbucks.

Noble High School, North Berwick, Maine,
High School, Harriman Associates

"Excellent project with very good program relationships," said Bill DeJong of this high school that uses a project-based, interdisciplinary approach, with teams consisting of a math, science, English, and social studies teacher working within learning communities of no more than 100 students. All classes are heterogeneous because there is no tracking, and traditional departmental structures have been dissolved.

In order to create smaller, more personal and less anonymous environments, 15 "schools within a school" were created. Each learning community includes a large multipurpose room that functions much like a living room, where the 100 students and four teachers can meet and where students can present their work to one another. The town square just inside the entrance is the crossroads of the school, with ample places to sit, to see, and be seen.

Jeff Lackney thought this project needed to be recognized because it "integrates educational reform into design and is clearly designed for the learning process." Edward Kirkbride thought that this is an, "outstanding, tightly designed, ‘breaking ranks’ and community-friendly plan that demonstrates applied theory." He also noted the very warm and welcome use of spaces and materials. "It’s a great place to ‘hang’ and learn with your friends," he concluded.

Learning Laboratory for Complex Systems, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
Cambridge, Mass.,
Higher Education, Cambridge Seven Associates Inc.

The goal of the program is to create an innovative and highly effective educational framework for educating the next generation of engineering leaders. Varied and flexible spaces are created for a variety of learning modes:

• Conceive space allows students to envision new systems, understand user needs, and develop concepts. It emphasizes reflection, reinforces interaction, and allows easy access to the library/resource center.
• Design space supports cooperative digitally supported design, allowing students to design and understand interaction. It also provides central and team breakout rooms, and is in proximity to workshop space, reinforcing connection.
• Implement space allows students to build systems and includes mechanical, electronic, and specialty fabrication. It is visible to students and visitors and includes software engineering and integration.
• Operate space offers students opportunities to operate their experiments and projects, and simulate operations of real systems.

Echoing the views of other reviewers, Anne Taylor said she liked this project because it represents "technology teaching for the real world. Educational goals are very sound." She also noted how the facility is sensitive to student needs and learning styles. "Architecture functionally and aesthetically supports what is going on. Very up to date."

Cedar Valley Community School, Lynnwood, Wash.,
Other Grade Configurations, Mahlum Architects

Gayle Everly, principal of Cedar Valley noted, "Our school must provide a place where a divergent population can come together, celebrate and share in activities that strengthen bonds, and form positive relationships between the school and the surrounding community." The program for the school was developed through a series interactive charrettes held at the existing school to bring the teachers, students, parents, and members of the community into the design process.

The building’s two-story design engages an existing hillside, providing on-grade access to each floor. This arrangement addresses the need for flexibility and helps accommodate students in a variety of age ranges. Circulation is ‘slip-stacked’ to allow a visual connection between the floors. Prakash Nair liked the fact that "all classrooms enjoy eastern light and a visual connection to adjacent park." He also noted that "the activity areas are configured to allow both structured and unstructured learning opportunities outside the normal flow of traffic. The building is configured without formal corridors."

Klébergsskóli, Reykjavík, Iceland,
Elementary School, arkitektur.is

Klébergsskóli is a 200-student elementary school located on the northern outskirts of Reykjavík, Iceland. The climate is harsh and the eastern winds can be very powerful at times. The buildings and the landscaping form a barrier against the wind, protecting the outdoor areas while taking advantage of the breathtaking views and close proximity to the shoreline.

The interior of the new addition is light and open to the outside, making use of large, glazed areas. This school is a true community facility; its library, auditorium, and specialized classrooms – such as for woodworking and art – are designed so they can be closed off from the rest of the school and opened to the public. John Mayfield spoke for many other reviewers when he said, "This [school] as the heart of the community, with a range of facilities clearly designated as community use as much as they are for childrens’ use, is very important. It goes to the idea of the learning community. It is an idea that is powerful enough to redefine the role and functions of the public school, which may not now be first or foremost for children but for all the learners, including the community." He concludes by saying, "This is an idea we need to expose for consideration."

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This design truly facilitates and supports collaborative, project-based learning and illustrates the value of learning commons, studios, using the building as a learning tool, and relationships among learners and teachers, reports Susan J. Wolff.

The school’s key feature is the replacement of classroom and laboratories with "learning commons" and "learning studios," according to the project’s architects. Home-base workstations exist within learning commons that provide personal desk and storage stations for 50 students. Students organize their areas to meet social or study group needs.

The primary learning spaces are the learning commons, which comprise three zones corresponding to year level, each subdivided into home groups.

The learning studios contain specialist services and facilities enabling students to undertake practical work and experiments that support activities in the learning commons. Operable walls and partial walls between learning commons allow flexibility.

Merit Award
Henry Park Primary School
Singapore, CPG Consultants Pte Ltd.

The review team felt this project provided a number of creative solutions to problems associated with an overwhelmingly large, 2,000-student school for young children.

Henry Sanoff remarked that there are many interesting child-centered features to make this large school appear small. And Susan J. Wolff commented that size might not be as much of an issue in a culture where ground space is at a premium and they have to build up and house more learners than what may be desirable. She applauded the attention paid to socialization, personalization, self-directed learning, and the green spaces.

Merit Award
Canchias School
Comayagua, Honduras, Schools for the Children of the World

The region within which Canchias School is located has suffered, and still suffers, from devastating destruction caused by a variety of natural disasters. Complicating problems, Honduras recently lost more than two-thirds of its schools during a recent hurricane.

This project demonstrates the value of using an inclusive community participation process to integrate facility planning and education to create a much-improved educational setting. For instance, during community interviews, the architect found that many older children did not go to school because they were required to watch their younger siblings while parents worked the fields. By including a pre-K/kindergarten classroom in the new school, the architect found that attendance increased by nearly 50 percent.

It is a great example of how a project should be the result of dedicating time and sharing experiences and cooperation. Educators from North America participated in a teacher workshop with the school’s teachers, exchanging ideas on how to make the classrooms more effective learning environments. In addition, North American high school students and architecture students from Honduran universities were included on the design team, adding valuable cultural and local design insights that have continued to improve sensitivity to local values.

Merit Award
The Center School
Seattle, Washington Educational Architecture/Bassetti Architects

Steve Dubinsky

This project, set in a historic building in the heart of a city neighborhood mixed with cultural buildings and cultural activities, presents an excellent solution to a difficult construction problem-how to reuse urban facilities. Spaces for learning and socialization are clearly expressed and the most attractive thing about this project, according to one reviewer, is that it does not even resemble what you expect to be school; it is really city life that’s found its expression here.

Merit Award
Oak Valley Aboriginal School
South Australia, Department of Administrative and Information Services

This project displays good interaction of learning and community spaces in a small building in a remote rural area. The building responds well to local culture and climatic situation; flexible spaces with different furniture layouts and a lot of verandahs integrate with the outdoors. Built with simple techniques and materials; the project displays modest, non-pretentious contemporary architecture.

There was detailed, indeed tortuous, consultation every step of the way and the desires of the children and the community were paramount, according to the architects. If the community doesn’t feel this school has met their requirements they just don’t use it. They go off into the bush a few kilometers and sit down on their tarpaulin and just abandon the school. The school is more than a place where children learn. It is a bridge between two cultures that are very different. It is a refuge, a place where people sleep and eat and shower and sit on the ground and talk.

Merit Award
Lev Hasharon Elementary School
Raanana, Israel, Simon and Gideon Powsner

Bill Ainsworth liked the village approach to this design-the fragmentation of elements and their affect upon building scale.

Susan J. Wolff also liked the village effect, specifically how the children’s village is located among the orchards, and how the design seems to belong to children, not the adults.

And, Randall Fielding commented on the cluster furniture plan that illustrates three octagonal classrooms and a separate lecture room for each cluster. Different furniture configurations for each classroom demonstrate a good understanding of various learning modalities. A teacher collaboration area is included in each cluster.

Merit Award
Learndirect
South Yorkshire, United Kingdom, Ufi Ltd.

This project is not a school but a system to support lifelong learning using technology, often in retail settings. Learndirect takes the idea of a Cyber café and incorporates the details needed to make it a meaningful educational experience.

The project makes it very appealing for any learner to enter and start studying at his/her own rhythm. The project includes nicely designed furniture, suited for different learning situations, and attractive bright colors. The facility shows how important it is to organize technology into a variety of learning settings through furnishing that supports different learning styles-something that has been missing in technology space planning.

Merit Award
Griffiths Primary School
Singapore, CPG Consultants Pte Ltd.

Here is a very creative reuse of an existing, outdated facility-of which we have several thousand in the USA that flounder because of a lack of creative thinking. The resulting spaces are vastly improved. Despite its tight urban site, this school has managed to create some quality green spaces and outdoor learning areas. The end result is a building that has been reclaimed and not only looks new but feels new. Henry Sanoff thought it an excellent attempt at humanizing and de-institutionalizing a very large elementary school.

Merit Award – Reviewer category
The Metropolitan Regional Career and Technical Center
Providence, Rhode Island, Concordia LLC, with Steven Bingler, review team member

A promising model of how to create campuses of small schools is how Jeff Lackney described the integrated design process for The Metropolitan Regional Career and Technical Center (MET). Prakash Nair noted that the MET is a case study "valuable as much for the process used to create the school as the school itself."

MET staff and students, community stakeholders, and design professionals envisioned a physical learning environment that will distribute six to eight small schools of 100-125 students over several downtown and South Providence sites.

Currently, four small schools exist as individual, standalone buildings on a campus that also includes community use facilities for fitness, theatre and production, a community health center, bookstore, dining areas, offices, and flexible "outreach labs" where students can create and operate their own businesses.

The philosophy guiding the MET is to educate one student at a time through real-world learning and community engagement, both in school through group work and in the greater community through meaningful internships and projects. The results are a sense of belonging for students. Inside the school, spaces are designed to support the students’ real-world work outside of school. There are quiet, comfortable places for independent research and reflection; bright, active rooms for project and group work; and warm, welcoming spaces for family and community involvement.

Merit Award – Reviewer category
Surkis Elementary School
Kfar Saba Israel, Gavriela Nussbaum Architects

Surkis Elementary illustrates a good use of the "house" concept-also referred to as a "pod,’ or "cluster" concept-to organize space. Three clusters each contain six classrooms with foldable acoustic partitions opening to a common area; this central area houses a variety of learning centers that allow for interaction between different age groups. Opening and closing these partitions can create spaces of varying sizes or one large space. Each house has its own color, also reflected in the furniture.

This project leverages multiple design principles in creating rich learning settings throughout the school, according to Jeff Lackney, who adds that communal space, shared by six classrooms and two age groups, is a good example of "thick space," space filled with overlapping activities from study centers, computers, and exhibitions.

The post Merit Awards appeared first on 91视频.

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