Broshim School

Narratives

Architect Narrative

Elementary School for Hyperactive children.

Creating an atmosphere of freedom calmness and informality are essential to these restless children that cannot function in a rigid or formal system. Every component of the building should cortribute to this aim.

The plan is informal, free and almost casual, providing immediate contact with interior and exterior courts to let the pupils relax outdoors whenever they feel an urge to do so.

The classroms wing is designed as a small village of octagonal pavilions with tiled roofs and wooden cielings, while the workshops wing is rational and rectangular represnting work and duty.

The octagonal form of the classrooms was chosen to encompass semi circular seating in a packagable geometry. Other seating arrangements are also enabled, using appropriate furniture as shown in the plans. The octagonal shape is developed in 3d by providing each classroom with a little wooden dome to complete a cozy little learning capsule.

Control of the children behaviour and the need for stressless and free atmosphere, though seemingly contradictory, are both achieved by the central location of the management, the ample sightlines towards most parts of the school and the split level section between the workshops wing and the rest of the building. The headmaster can watch most of the school either from his room, or from the adjacent entrance lobby, from which she have sight lines to the workshops wing and even to the end of the gym.

Exposed bricks with exposed concrete elements, tiles and wood are the main building materials.
Tiles and wood were selected to create homely atmosphere mainly in the classrooms pavillions.
While the message of a tiled roof and a wooden ceiling is simple and unmistakable the choice of exposed brickwork needs explanation. We believe that understanding the creation process increases the identification with the outcome. Therefore, exposed brickwork and exposed concrete which convey its building process by its mere sight suit perfectly to our goals

Educator Narrative

Elementary School for Hyperactive children.

Our school main objective is to enable hyperactive children complete their elementary education despite their restlessness and concentration problems.Our educational efforts should be supported by an appropriate surounding,namely a suitable building.
In the thorough planning process we have involved all the staff, each defining his professional demands and ideas on paper and in meetings with the architects.
The new school was preceded by a “temporary” building that served us for almost 20 years. Our experience from the old building helped us a lot to define our new demands.
The main goal was to create a peaceful, soothing atmosphere to help these restless children to concentrate. They will concentrate only if they feel at home in their social, educational and physical enviroment.
But a peaceful and cozy surounding is not enough. The children’s endless energy should find an immidiate outlet. The natural place to drain their overflow of energy and emotion is out of the building, in the courtyard. Our old school, though shabby, was one story high with strong connection to the courtyard. We asked the architects to keep the new building close to the ground with immidiate exit from the learning spaces to the court.
Pleasant, free and homely enviroment is not enough. These
children must have an open eye watching them. The planners role is to achive enough control without spoiling the atmosphere. The plan should avoid too many alleys and keep the whole building visually integrated.