120 SCHOOL DESIGN
Right Reggio School, Madrid
are proud to be associated with the school.’ At Alfreton Park, Head arrived with large-scale models of the proposed new design that could be pulled apart like LEGO and reconfigured by pupils. ‘I’ve been creating schools for 20 years and I always make big models as it’s the best tool for the children and teachers to work with as plans are difficult to read.’
As well as the factors that are unique to every school and location, there is a common ground – whichever part of the world you work in. Michael Stebbins, associate principal at US-based CO Architects, notes: ‘Certain design principles can be universal. Providing students with options for individual or group learning, access to nature, and providing spaces for casual engagement and socialising can contribute to better educational outcomes – no matter the location. Designing spaces that inspire physical activity improves cognitive performance in the classroom. Providing windows with direct views to landscaped areas is a way to bring nature into classrooms and improve educational outcomes. Concepts from neuroarchitecture can also affect positive outcomes – for example, the appropriate use of colour can influence mood, engagement and productivity. On the other hand, campuses that present students with long expanses of tall security fencing, security screens at windows that restrict views, and seas of asphalt and concrete paving can negatively impact student mood and the ability to learn.’
‘I don’t think that architecture itself changes academic outcomes but it creates the right environment to achieve the best outcomes,’ adds Nick Hayhurst. ‘Our role is to make the right environment – one that enhances well-being and enables excellent teaching and learning to take place as easily as possible. If the environment isn’t right and the acoustics are rubbish, the room badly lit or arranged so that pupils can’t see the whiteboard well, then you aren’t creating the best environment for teachers to teach and children to learn.’
Considerable research over the past 50 years has shown how design interventions in schools can have a positive effect. A 1999 study by the Heschong Mahone Group found that students with the most daylight in their classrooms progressed 20% faster in maths and 26% faster in reading than students with gloomier classrooms, while those in rooms with large windows progressed 15% faster in maths and 23% faster in reading than those with smaller windows. A 2013 study of 30 schools in Blackpool for the HEAD (Holistic Evidence and Design) Project found that physical aspects of the school design,
Reggio School in Madrid was intended to arouse in children a desire for exploration and enquiry. Designed in conversation with teachers, students and parents, the compact, vertical school uses the adjacent public park for sports and play, encouraging interaction rather than segregation. Classrooms for younger students are on the ground floor, while upstairs, classrooms for older pupils are arranged around the lush, indoor garden, nourished with reclaimed water. The building has a pared-down construction, without cladding, wall linings or dropped ceilings, reducing material use by 48%. The distinctively exterior finish is a layer of yellow cork, specifically designed for the project, providing generous insulation and designed so that over time it will become a habitat for fungi, plants and animals.
Architect Andrés Jaque/ Ofice for Political Innovation
Landscape Mingobasarrate Far right
Rotherhithe Primary School, London
Rotherhithe Primary School, winner of a 2024 RIBA Regional Award, is an urban school where 42 languages are spoken and most pupils live in high rises. To bring this diverse school together, mealtimes take place in the flexible, double-height main hall, brightly lit by three tall windows, and the school has generous outside spaces. Throughout the school, unexpected intimate spaces have been carved out for small group learning, intervention and play, including seating areas under the stairs and windowsills with views.
Architect Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios
Client London Borough of Southwark Regeneration Division
Structural and civil engineer Waterman Structures
Contractor Farrans
Principal designer/project manager AtkinsRéalis
including light, temperature, air quality and the right level of stimulation could account for a 16% variation in pupils’ achievements, while a 2008 paper by Shield & Dockrell found that improving acoustics in the classroom achieved a 13% increase in test scores. Tere are more surprising findings as well – the HEAD Project also found that displaying children’s artwork around the school contributed to academic achievement as well as a sense of belonging.
Te new Edith Neville Primary School replaced an earlier 1970s building that had low ceilings, poor acoustics, poor layout, narrow corridors and grey playground spaces. Hayhurst explains: ‘Te new school has larger floor-to-ceiling heights, lots of daylight, views from the corridors and displays of work. Although poor behaviour had never been a problem there, the head teacher said she had sensed a palpable improvement in behaviour, with pupils seeming so much calmer. If the
JOSÉ HEVIA
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