Shitara Middle School

Narratives

Architect Narrative

Planning Principles:
1. Enhance Learning
This secondly school is located on a town of abundant nature between hills. This school was designed as a school with learning environment suitable to 21st century in the time of integration from 3 secondary schools to one for decrease of student numbers. School consists of two classes per each grade and total six classes from 7th to 9th grade. The capacity of this school building is 240 students. @
1) The dramaturgy of attending and leaving school
The school life begin and finish by passing through the gate where is formed as a piloti of judo space. After this, students are welcomed by clock tower and seven towers on the roof like townscape of San Gimignano in Italy. When students enter the entrance hall, the morning sun from top light of tower catches the students. If they might have a trouble of health, family and friend, they could visit and consult easily the principal or health room fronting the hall.
2) The zoning on the developing personality and sociality
(1) Public Zone|School common consists of cafeteria, library, corridor and court in the central area, is used mainly for education of the sense on the sociality (communication by means of lunch, assembly and interchange etc.) and open to the community. @
(2) Semi-Public Zone|This zone consists of laboratories, is used for education of practical group work and open to the community. The each laboratory has a preparing room and one or two showcases fronting the corridor for giving the student the interest on the subject.
(3) Semi-private Zone|This zone consists of three grade commons and each grade common has multi-purpose room and court where are used for group work and informal education in the inside and outside. The floor of court is made of wood for practical work and comfortableness. The partition between multi-purpose room and corridor is movable and is opened in the case of mixed grade education and exhibition etc.
(4) Private-Zone|This zone consists of classrooms and is used for the subjects of general education and for education (class meeting etc.) on the respect for personality.
3) Grade Unit
The each grade unit consists of one grade common and two classrooms. Each classroom has wood terrace and louver on the south side and court on the north side for the refreshment during the recess time.
2, School as a center of community
This school has open area and non-open area to the community and open area has two exclusive entrances and halls where are located at school common and gymnasium, and have information counters. The open area consists of above public zone and semi-public zone, and semi-private and private zone are locked at the time of the open to the community.
3, Sustainable building
(1) The many woods and paper cloth etc are used as the materials of this building, and those are capable of re-use and going back to the nature.
(2) This building has the equipment for the photovoltaic power generation by solar panel (maximum 10 kw/h) and for the floor heating by midnight electric power in the time zone with the remainder of electric power.
(3) The natural lighting is used at many places in this building by the peaked roof, top light and high sidelight, and is controlled by the louver in front of classroom at summer season. The classroom has natural lighting from south and north (court side), it gives the good condition to the classroom beside ventilation.