Precedent Studies

 

Spatial Planning Precedents

I’ve learned that it’s important to provide 3 key design elements when creating educational spaces: community, comfort, and choice. Studies have shown that our traditional ways of designing typical schools and classrooms limit the child’s education, their choice of how they want to learn, and even their well-being. This is why we must break away from these traditional spaces and look to design more unconventional spaces that allow students to make their own choices on how they want to learn, what type of setting they wanna be in, and allow programs to merge to help build a community within the school that as a result encourages socialization among peers and a sense of belonging. The South Harbour School (Fig. 37) is a great example of this where they’ve designed their architectural stairs to also be used as a means of collaboration by providing seating areas for reading. The Ecole Elementary School (Fig. 34) and Nordostamager School (Fig. 36) share a similar concept however expand the use of stairs and begin to blend into other spaces within their schools that not only provide seating but also storage spaces and play areas. Montessori & Willemspark School (Fig. 33) and Sundbu School (Fig. 35) do this as well but take it even further and begin connecting students vertically through openings past the first floor to create this immersive environment that all students would share and learn whether that's next to the library or even a rock-climbing space. All these features are great inspirations on what to consider when designing the spatial layout of the school.

Interior Precedents

When it comes to the interior I wanted to take the chance and look into what type of furniture, millwork, ceiling, floor, light fixtures, and stairs, positively influence the children's education and well-being. Some furniture examples are the Children's Centre Hotel Room (Fig. 38), Jesmond Primary School (Fig 39), and the King Solomon Elementary School (Fig. 41 & 40) where they provide a variety of options for colored seating's and even go as far to use walls for seating and tactile use whether that's for storage or rock climbing, Its great look into as it provides options for where students want to sit, allowing children make their own choices, improving their well-being and education. Other important aspects of the interior scene are its choice of materials such as the City Kids Education Center's usage of wood along their cabinetry, storage units, stairways with recessed handles, floors, and even furniture which can create this warm setting, providing comfort through it's simplicity from the natural warm hue from the wood. There are also Other materials to consider are gypsum wallboards, terrazzo floor tiles, acoustical tiled panels or wood baffles, or even painted plasterboard ceilings, all of which found throughout these precedents. Other interior elements to consider are lighting and biophilia, making sure to introduce biophilic elements to the interior space but also provide warm lighting as well as natural lighting such as skylights as found in Feldable School (Fig. 43).

Structural Precedents

Continuing from interior precedents, it's shown that wood is a great material to use to provide a more comfortable setting, it reinforces the idea of using wood as the structural component for the school with these precedents providing examples of how wood can prove to be a valuable asset to the construction and design. As shown throughout the precedents in this slide we can see the benefits of using wood as the structural component as its material allows beams, floor slabs, load-bearing walls, stairways, trusses, and columns to be visible in any space. Schilfweg School (Fig. 49) provides further points of use of wood as they designed many of their spaces such as their gymnasium through module timber construction which utilizes wood and wood-based products for structural support, offering circulatory solutions by allowing spaces to change over time with swappable walls, structural components with pre-fabricated walls making it also easier maintenance, creating a more affordable building after constructed. Southern Okanagan Secondary School also shows the capabilities of how timber construction can be designed to compliment the interior with patterned joists, columns with curved bracings, and elegant trusses. And while the cost may be higher than other construction materials, its return is higher and with the push for sustainability in New York City, building with wood is the way to go with its carbon-neutral properties.

Façade Precedents

When thinking about the design for the facade I think it's important to have it reflect what's inside the building and in this case, we'd want it to reflect the playful nature of the interior and environment. However, I think it's also important to have a balance of simplicity to complement the dynamic nature of the facade. Moments such as Shanghai Blue Bay Kindergarten's randomized window placement (Fig. 50) or Quzhou Kecheng Jiagong Kindergarten (Fig. 54) with their accent-colored window shade devices, provide very playful characteristics that catch the interest of the children. From Ewha Womans University (Fig. 51) to Early Childhood Development Center (Fig. 52) and Kincang Modern Pre-school, all share similar pattering with these staggered patterning along the curtain wall and facade panels that creates this friendly design, children would gravitate towards which is great as the more interested they're the more invested on their education will be. The École de l'Étincelle Elementary School (Fig. 53) is also a good choice for material use as the school uses wood slats for its facade which creates an interesting tactile design for children to interact with. All of these are great inspirations to influence the future facade design of the school.

Landscape Precedents

The landscape design is just as important as designing the building as the landscape complements our focus on community, education, and activity through its choice of plants, the design of the play areas, how informative the outdoor space could be, and the environmental scenery. With Howard Park (Fig. 56 & 57) we'll find a large playground filled with many obstacles to move around and play with the ground changing in elevation to create this dynamic interactive environment all while its design is inspired by the nearby water bank which is something to take note of for inspiration by water for design as we have the site located along the bay. A similar approach was also taken from the Kincang Modern Pre-school by manipulating its landscape to act as its playground. Another inspiration for the design by water is the Maritime Courtyard (Fig. 58 & 59) with its planters inspired by the motions of ocean waves, a great alternative way to represent water in design. However, when it comes to educational outdoor spaces, Torslandaskolan Elementary School (Fig. 60 & 61) is a great example of this with their landscape works with its environmental challenges of rain by designing a rain garden and designing the outdoor areas using rainwater as a playful and pedagogical element in learning about climate, ecology, biological diversity, and the importance of water in nature's cycle. Children gain knowledge about climate change and how water changes over time and affects our environment, something we can implement into the school landscape.