12 classrooms with 1 level
Area: 80,982 sq. ft.
Volume: 209,162 cu. ft.
This school was designed to accommodate both conventional and team teaching methods. The team teaching method requires interchangeable spaces of varying sizes that can accommodate from two to seventy students and thus enjoy the greatest flexibility. Therefore, the basic spatial unit of this school is the two-classroom unit. A partition made of movable panels with a blackboard built in,' itself realizes a first division of this unit in two smaller teaching units. In addition, other hinged panels can be rotated along the walls to provide further subdivisions and allow students to work individually or to participate in group lectures or "seminars".
One of the features of this plan is the shape of the classrooms which results in the creation of two additional multi-use teaching spaces in an area comparable to that which would be occupied by corridors serving rectangular classrooms. The reclaimed space can be used for small group activities, art instruction, or for the permanent science museums mentioned in the Parent Report. Studies undertaken with Ford Foundation funds indicate that five-sided classrooms are preferable, both acoustically and in terms of better accommodating seated children. Since television is one of the primary tools of team teaching, this pentagonal shape accommodates a large number of child viewers while maintaining recommended viewing angles.
We have provided buffer spaces between the classroom units as storage space to keep teaching materials in an easily accessible location, as well as to use as offices for the teaching teams to prepare their lessons or hold conferences.
Architecturally, the classroom units were developed as separate spatial units on the scale of a residence to facilitate the child's transition from home to school. It has been found that the child is more responsive to instruction in an environment that is familiar to him.
The school will be built using the slab-on-grade method. The roof support is provided by the concrete column raised on the surface of the recess receiving the partition walls and by the side walls of the classrooms. These supports are connected by a concrete lintel on which the roof structure made of large exposed wood planks rests. The portions of the exterior walls requiring infill are constructed of composite asbestos-cement panels with corrugated asbestos board exterior sheathing, all assembled using the National Research Council recommended "rain-screen" method of waterproofing. Asbestos cement shingles will be used on the sloped portions of the roof.
Natural lighting is provided by two windows in each individual classroom in addition to the glass skylight. Television receivers will be placed under the lower part of the roof where there is the least possibility of glare. The blackboards are individually lit by a line of fluorescent tubes, while general lighting is provided by incandescent fixtures suspended from the ceiling which will better imitate the qualities of lighting that exist in the home environment.
(From competitor's text)
(Unofficial automated translation)
Pros
- Compact design
- Good distribution of elements.
- Well-designed hierarchy of spaces.
- Good layout of entrances and circulation.
- Presence of secondary cores to be recommended.
- One of the few projects demonstrating a thorough study of the spatial character of classrooms.
- The proposed solution allows the combination of activities between classes.
- Valid research on the audio-visual plan and interior equipment.
- A project that lends itself to expansion possibilities.
Cons
- Due to the layout of the plan, the orientation of some classes is somewhat arbitrary.
- Capricious and complicated treatment of the roofs
- Natural lighting in the corridors leaves something to be desired.
(From jury report)
(Unofficial automated translation)
8 scanned / 8 viewable
- Book excerpt
- Book excerpt
- Book excerpt
- Book excerpt
- Perspective
- Site Plan
- Plan
- PDF presentation
