Leave our kids alone says the famous line from the Pink Floyd song. It addresses to the rigidity of a school structure which in the past took its references from the rigour of traditional schemes. However, Leave our kids alone is also a cry for freedom. In fact, for a long time school design was synonymous with inflexibility. Endless rows of identical classrooms. All contributing to creating places that seem to forget their true function, which is to nurture young minds.
Then Leave our kids alone is also a way of pointing out the dangers of control and uniformity.
Supervise and punish
As a matter of fact, the comparison of school buildings with places of detention is not entirely casual. The whole focus is on efficiency and surveillance. Purposes quite similar to those of prisons. As Michel Foucault observed in his essay ‘To Watch and Punish’, the practices of freedom and resistance, as a response to pervasive forms of control and surveillance, invite us to reconsider the role of the individual within these systems of power.
A change in school idea
What criteria do those in charge of designing schools, libraries, (and even hospitals and prisons) use today in these different types of buildings? They prioritise the management of large groups of people. They keep them tidy. What results is often dreary and anonymous. At most times lacking in animation and inspiration. Depriving people of individuality and creativity.
However, the world has changed. So has our understanding of childhood and adolescence. The society now sees children as individuals with unique needs and ways of learning. Thus, spaces also adapt to embrace imagination and enquiry in a freer approach.
Focused on participation
The evolving nature of education redefines the way we conceive learning environments. With today’s educational spaces quite different from those of the past.
In kindergartens and primary schools, the environment plays a key role in shaping a child’s experience. For young children, scale and sensory involvement are particularly important. Spaces that are too large and oppressive can create feelings of anxiety and discomfort. Whereas carefully sized places full of sensory richness inspire good humour and interest.
L’École de l’Étincelle
One interesting example is L’École de l’Étincelle in Chicoutimi, Canada. Designed by BGLA Architecture, it was built in 2023. The building reinvents the idea of the school. It offers child-friendly environments, and is divided into small pavilions reminiscent of a village gathered around a central courtyard.
The atmosphere is domestic and cosy. Just like home.
The building blends into the landscape and reflects the Nordic nature of the area. It is made entirely of locally sourced wood. In the interior, the functions are clearly delineated. It is an example of efficient use of energy. It features air heating systems and radiant floors.
Combining nature and learning
The general idea is that learning can take place anywhere. Not only in conventional classrooms. Transparent folding doors replace walls. It makes it possible to adapt to the activities that take place. By varying how and where learning takes place. Even outdoor spaces are transformed into learning environments. This is an informal approach that encourages interaction and exploration.
Nature and creativity
The MASS Design Group is collaborating with the Rwandan Institute for Conservation Agriculture (RICA) to design and build their new campus in Bugesera, Rwanda. The project was conceived and funded by the Howard G. Buffett Foundation and supported by the Rwandan government.
This design will be applied to the entire complex. The landscape, the dwellings, the academic space, the warehouses. Each building is dedicated to one of the six different agricultural enterprises involved (crop and livestock farming). The students will study during their three years at the institute.
Conservative farming
The student’s small farms and those of the surrounding landowners will be integrated into the structure. The campus will be independent in terms of energy and water supply. It will have its own solar farm and water purification system. Conservative agriculture is about the interconnection of health and ecology. Both animal and human. It adopts an interdisciplinary and experiential approach to learning. And it promotes biodiversity, ecological conservation and community participation.
The school building supports an environment where students can balance the demands of study with moments of tranquillity and introspection. In recognition of how the value of unstructured time is essential to learning. As well as how it is deeply intertwined with personal development.
Read more: MASS Design Group
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