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Heinavaara
School Floor Plan | Photos | AIA Amsterdam Home The
school, located in the small municipality of Kiihtelysvaara in Eastern Finland,
commenced its operations in fall 1999. The school houses pre-school education
(5-6-year-olds), year-classes 1-6 of basic education (7-12-year-olds) and a
special education group. The school has some 175 pupils, eight teachers and a
couple of teacher's aids. The school building was designed by Cuningham Group
Architects from Minnesota, USA, an architectural firm specialized in schools
based on an open learning environment and in timber construction. An essential part of the planning process for the
school building consisted of interviews with future pupils, parents and
teachers, and the continuous collaboration of the designers and experts. Before
the actual planning of the school the designers familiarized themselves with the
local culture and tradition of timber construction. The principles and starting
points for the design included flexibility, variability, versatility and
homeliness. The core of the Heinävaara School building consists
of an open central hall, a large learning vista. Around it are located the
so-called homebases for each age group with a workstation for each pupil. Near
the homebase are closed small-group spaces and classrooms for art and crafts
subjects. The central hall contains facilities for groupwork, individual
working, knowledge acquisition and ADP, as well as comfortable nooks for
relaxation. Gross area = 2,400 m2 (= 25,820 sq ft) Reino
Tapaninen |