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Case
Studies AIA
Amsterdam |
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Schools
of the Future: Teaching
and working methods at schools are being renewed
It
will be easier to achieve many of the facilities required already today or in
the future, if the current classroom-centered way of working is given up or
substantially reduced. Work
is done in small groups with or without a teacher either on the school's own
premises or outside, e.g. at enterprises, libraries, etc. Information is
searched from books, newspapers, periodicals, IT or AV sources, information
networks or by observation, and processed by IT tools. In order to make natural
science observations, work is done in laboratories or on the spot in nature.
Creative work is diversified in music, visual arts and handcrafts. Work is done
by traditional means as well as those means made possible by the new technology.
Pupils go in for diverse physical training and sports. Work is also done in big
groups: festivities, information events, stimulative lectures, panel
discussions, plays, exhibitions and performances are organized for the whole
school community.
A
physical place will still be needed where to gather, search information and
study - a place where one can bond and belong to. A place will be needed where
children and youth can meet their peers, associate with each other and take part
in things together. This is of vital importance for their social growth. What
kind of spaces will be needed in the school of the future? Certainly the same
kind of spaces as there are now: learning, discussion and groupwork spaces for
groups of different sizes - from auditoriums to small groupwork nooks. Workshops
will be needed for handcrafts, and special spaces and laboratories for learning
by experimenting and by carrying out various work tasks. Sufficient space is
needed for diverse study material in connection with the workspaces. Physical
training and sports require a space that also takes into account the needs of
the surrounding community. It is important that there is a space or place, a
square for the gathering of the whole school community. It must be possible to
use the space reserved for dining flexibly as a groupwork space and maybe also
as an all-day cafe. The meaning of the library as the information center of the
school is significant. It will be a centrally located place for information
gathering, with many terminals, multimedia workstations and connections with
foreign information networks. Teachers'
workspaces must no longer be isolated in a separate administration wing but
located in the middle of the learning spaces or in their immediate vicinity.
While participating in learning situations teachers themselves also learn,
experiment and observe. Several teachers may be present in the same learning
situation. The requirement of openness,
flexibility and variability
Openness,
transparency, variability and flexibility are the prime requirements placed on
school buildings of the future. Openness and transparency are part of the
school's operations, instruction and daily work but they are also prerequisites
for the physical environment of the school. Schools will no longer consist of
successive classrooms and connecting corridors; instead, the central space of a
school may be an open learning hall, information and resource center, library-mediatheque,
events square – the place can be called many names. Anyway, by nature it is a
flexible and variable space where pupils can independently search and produce
information, work individually or in groups. Part of the space may be reserved
for breaks and recreation. Near to the learning hall are spaces of the classes
connected to the learning hall even without a partition wall. There are several
examples of such schools in Finland; in the USA this type of school is fairly
common. The
spaces must enable flexible, versatile and variable use: instead of bearing
walls that hinder variability, the structural solutions should favor pillars,
light partition walls and wide spans. It must be possible to connect rooms with
each other by movable wall and door elements. Also the technical systems,
installations for heating, plumbing, ventilation, electricity and information
networks need to be flexible. Often the wiring of workstations consists of a
disordered bundle of cords and sockets. Maybe soon we will see school buildings
with the floor structure commonly used in office buildings: on top of the
suspended slab is a separate light installation floor under which all the
electric networks and cords run. The
spaces will be furnished with comfortable and pleasant furniture that enables
versatile use. Traditional furniture for schools has consisted of a combination
of a desk and bench. However, this concept is poorly suited for the modern way
of working at school. Office-type furniture with table groups that can be
combined and varied in many ways is better suited for the work environment. The
desk must allow a workstation to be placed on it, it must be possible to write,
draw and do arts and crafts on it – various requirements that sometimes
exclude each other, are set on the furniture. The learning space may also
resemble a living room with rocking chairs, couches and plants. The whole of the
building technology, lighting, air conditioning and waste management must create
a positive example of an environment based on sustainable development. Analogies
for the configuration of school buildings can be sought in the urban space
environment. The school may have a central events square or learning arena and
it may be built around an inner street or thoroughfare. The learning spaces are
located along an active inner street that provides contacts and encounters, and
the street may be connected to the larger pedestrian traffic network of the
community. The
”intelligent” house and technical systems This
could also be utilized in school education: the pupils could follow the
functioning, energy flows and technical systems of the building through the
school's open information network. This would illustrate the internal,
"hidden" functions of a complex modern building. The
school and surrounding community The
school must have a working and open connection with the surrounding world. The
school participates actively in the operations of its area of influence and
community. All community members may come to the school to search information,
to work and to pursue their hobbies. The school is a multipurpose and resource
center in which the municipal library, sports facilities, theater and music
rooms and other cultural service facilities should be placed. The school could
also utilize the premises of the enterprises in the neighborhood such as
workshops and laboratories. Maybe the school could also rent its facilities and
machinery to enterprises and for commercial purposes. School
spaces must enable equal access - the school must be open to all, the disabled,
mobility-impaired and the aged. The special education spaces should not be
isolated but placed immediately in conjunction with other education spaces. The majority of the school stock in Finland has already been built but dozens of new buildings still come into being every year. We face the challenge of implementing the idea of a versatile, open and variable school building in existing spaces. This is an issue to be discussed in conjunction with every project of renewing an old school. Case
Studies: Reino
Tapaninen |
