Democratic School

Narratives

Architect Narrative

The Democrat School

The Democrat School is a twelve year grade school, starting at the age of six years old up to eighteen years old and includes matriculation exams. The school is located in the heart of an orchard, as part of an agriculture farm in the eastern side of the city.

Democracy is everywhere. Each individual student get special attention and an emphasis is put on Personality rather than Technologies. The is a Parliament - the heart of the school. The decisions are made by students and staff who have equal votes. The openness of ideas is reflected in the openness of the design. Volumes, open and closed spaces, a variety of areas, hierarchy of size, scale and flexibility were the means to achieve this atmosphere. The school is environmentally friendly, with wooden roof construction and natural materials.

The student can choose his study program but must stick to his choice for a while at least. This is one way of teaching the meaning of responsibility and commitment. Maitenance work in the school is the responsibility of students and staff together.

The main principles in the architectural approach were maximum flexibility, a close relationship between indoor and outdoor spaces, and the creation of alternative study areas beyond the classroom.

The school is based on a modular system (2.4*2.4 meter grid) of big spaces around an open patio. Along the patio runs an open colonnade serving as an intermediate area between the indoor and outdoors. In the heart of the patio a pergola is designed as an outdoor classroom. The indoor areas vary in size and can be modified and divided with modular partitions and changed easily. The height of the building, with its sloping roof, enables the creation of a gallery as an extra space indoors. The indoor area is very different from a regular school and studying takes place in Subject Centres with multi-aged student groups.

The school has been operational for four years. Last summer the third wing was completed. The school is focusing on special subjects such as Drama, Music, Dancing, Art, Cooking and Communication. The parents are very much involved in the school life, take part in activities and support the school also with financial donations. The school is connected to the community, but students come from farther away as well.

The Democrat School is a big success, with many applicants. The staff is devoted to its ideals and lives the school life until late in the afternoon. The Democrat School is one of a few in the world designed as such from the very beginning. In most such places existing buildings were modified to suit the new system.

The Democrat School is an excellent example of the ideological apporoach in Education and Architecture.