How can architecture enhance learning experiences? A Case of Study for a Kindergarten
With the aim to create a welcoming and exciting place for learning, playing, social interaction and well-being, the design for this kindergarten explores how architecture can enhance the learning experiences whilst giving support to the educational project.
This kindergarten is a pilot project, used to represent the main concepts of our approach to design in relation to spaces for learning. It is also used here to show some of the main references we are working with.
From each concept of our approach to design, we have integrated the following key aspects into the project:
1- Design for the Senses
- Use of natural materials, with different colour shades and textures
- Apertures to view the sky and create awareness of the weather changes and the pass of time throughout the day
- Use of the roof as an extension of the playground, with changes of topography (hills)
- Interior classrooms with direct connection to outdoors, with presence of plants and trees
- Interior spaces with natural light and ventilation
- Open spaces in front of the classrooms for different activities, including musical performances. Possibility to open or close the partition between the classrooms, depending on the activities and need of sound insulation
- Use of interior walls as furniture, display areas and seating
2- Design with Scientific Evidence
- Views to nature from all the main spaces and access to nature from the classrooms. This contributes to general well-being and sensory stimulation as well as to a better learning experience (1)
- Ceilings of the main spaces have exposed structural beams with undulating forms and gradually changing orientation of contours. It is suggested that these types of patterns are smoothly processed in our brain and give us a sense of comfort (2)
- The combination of windows, apertures and architectural forms, together with the different qualities of the materials, create a play of light and shadows that is stimulating
- Ease of navigation through space, with a central reception hall that articulates the two wings of the building. Loop circulation indoors and outdoors (3)
- Emphasis on creating different points of view and areas to discover as you move along the spaces. This adds dynamism and strengthens connections between the community
3- Design with Children in Mind
- Consideration of the physical environment as key for children’s development and learning as well as for the whole kindergarten community’s well-being (4)
- Designed spaces and features that encourage play, exploration and social interaction: different circulation flows and points of view across spaces, transparent elements for showing displays, spatial continuity and social encounters
- Furniture at child’s reach, with soft edges
- The building is divided in two wings, one is for children 0-2, the other is for children 3-6. The scale of the spaces and elements in the first wing is slightly smaller
- Open and flexible spaces for different activities and situations and shared spaces to have sense of community
- The neutral colours of the surfaces contribute to a relax atmosphere and to highlight the children’s works
4- Design Quality
- Use of natural materials: spruce, oak, birch (furniture), lime plaster, concrete, clay and terracotta
- Use of locally sourced materials
- Optimization of roof undulating forms. Reduced number of beams with different shapes. Use of standard rectangular section columns
- Centralization of services, facilities and zones for MEP
Notes:
1. Determan, J., Akers, M. A., Albright, T., Browning, B., Martin-Dunlop, C., Archibald, P., & Caruolo, V. “The impact of biophilic learning spaces on student success.” 2019, retrieved from cgdarch.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/The-Impact-of-Biophilic-Learning-Spaces-on-Student-Success.pdf
2. Experts of visual studies in neuroscience suggest that pattern types with gradually changing contours that we find in the physical environment are processed smoothly in our brain, we find beauty in it. This hypothesis is explained in the following book and the conference below,
Albright, Thomas D. “Neuroscience for Architecture” in Robinson, Sarah, and Juhani Pallasmaa, Eds. Mind in Architecture. Neuroscience, Embodiment, and the Future of Design. The MIT Press, 2015: 206-209
Albright, Thomas D. “From the Look of the Room: Can Visual Neuroscience Inform the Design of Human Spaces?”, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, San Diego. Oct 2012. Lecture at ANFA conference
3. “Spatial navigation is strongly linked to memory and learning, planning, attention, and decision making, among others”. This is taken from this article,
Bermudez-Contreras E, Clark BJ and Wilber A. “The Neuroscience of Spatial Navigation and the Relationship to Artificial Intelligence”. Front. Comput. Neurosci. 14:63. 28 July 2020. doi: 10.3389/fncom.2020.00063
4. Some of the ideas presented here relate to the Reggio Emilia schools’ approach, where the environments, spaces, and materials are carefully curated in relation to the projects and leaning experiences, providing a rich environment for young children to explore.
The following book describes good strategies to design such environments,
Ceppi, Giulio, and Michele Zini, Eds. Children, Spaces, Relations: Metaproject for an Environment for Young Children. Reggio Children, 1998
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