Public & Community Architecture
The architecture of a School needs to support the process of learning. The buildings & environment must facilitate a multi-disciplinary way of learning where no experience is isolated from the learning process. Space should be linked to pedagogy.
NOWarchitecture believes that an enlightened approach to education and school facility design motivates and develops assured and confident citizens. For positive change, the educational method must defend and extend the potential of children, teachers and parents. New educational philosophy must assist the individual to achieve full personal potential, personal confidence, self esteem and emotional maturity.
Design excellence counts. Good indoor air quality, ventilation, temperature, lighting and acoustics produce notable positive learning outcomes. Building quality, age, spatial configuration, and aesthetics also have a significant affect. Research by US education scholar Mark Schneider concludes that, “Decisions about school facilities, once translated into brick-and-mortar, affect the daily performance of the generations of teachers and students who use them” and also that “many studies link the effects of building quality to academic achievement [and] to student behaviour.”
Design for sustainability supports the educational process on multiple levels. It provides the environmental conditions and personal comfort to produce positive outcomes, it reduces the impact on our planet and transforms the school’s very buildings and spaces into a resource for learning and environmental experience.
NOWarchitecture understand that there needs to be a shift in design philosophy for Educational Building.
The traditional school has been based on a more regimented, uniform method of teaching which encourages competitiveness, with success often measured through comparison to your colleague. This strategy implies self-satisfaction through a perception of superiority and conversely, to others the imbued sense of failure can be debilitating.
Today we have access to a vast amount of information, new skills are required, new careers that are yet to be defined will challenge today’s students in their adulthood. While looking back and respecting history is an honour and privilege, looking forward with courage, vision and faith is vital for continuing growth and relevance.
Rational, uniform planning is not the answer, but neither is an unfocussed or haphazard approach. The best results will be a manifestation of:
- the aspirations of the School and its mission
- a logical framework and planning
- excellent environmental performance
- be infused with elements of surprise and delight
