How fun would it be to be a student in this school?
Uto Elementary School. Foldable windows allow a link between inside and outside, while canopies and curtains screen direct sunlight.
From the article: A breath of Fresh Air, by Naomi R Pollock, AIA
The school’s permeability not only responds well to the climate, but it has the potential to loosen the rigid pedagogical conventions prevalent in Japanese public schools. Though such an open plan makes it difficult to control noise, according to CAt principal Kazuko Akamatsu, the positioning of the perpendicular walls minimizes sound transfer, and installed acoustical insulation in the ceiling and at classroom entrances helps muffle sound not absorbed by the concrete walls and solid birch floors. Careful scheduling also prevents boisterous activity from disrupting quiet study.
This addresses my biggest question about open plan schools- how do you control the noise? Obviously in this case, the architects CAt, and the school decided the priority was on the open plan and designed both acoustic absorbing materials and the class schedules around it.
Plan view- the black “L’s” are the walls. At no point are the classrooms completely shut off.
View of a classroom. Classrooms and circulation spaces are connected
The L-shaped walls that make up the classroom boundaries serve as structural elements, supporting the roof slabs that are able to span 33 feet, and resist lateral and earthquake forces. They also poke up through the roof and have an operable clerestory window system that draws fresh air up. This is especially important because Japanese public schools have no air conditioning systems.
As a student, it seems like a great place for school. The building is beautiful, well lit with daylight and interesting. Visually stimulating, you might say. But what about the teachers? I would love to hear from teachers who have taught in traditional, closed off classrooms and open plan classrooms and hear their thoughts on the difference it makes in teaching. Is it harder to keep the students on task? At the end of the linked article, architect Kazuko Akamatsu admits that some teachers have issues with the design:
Teachers not used to the visual exposure, or unsure of how to use the flexible space, might need to adjust to the quasi-open classrooms. “For conservative teachers it can be difficult,” remarks Akamatsu. “But for others it is exciting.” Maybe the school’s most discerning critics are the students themselves. “The kids enjoy their school so much,” says Kojima. “Maybe that is a problem for some teachers.”
While I am pretty sure that the teachers I know wouldn’t hold their students enjoyment of a building against them (except for the really mean teachers, who I am not friends with), I don’t doubt that getting used to an open plan format is a huge change for teachers, albeit possibly a fun and exciting one.
Spaces for learning, and learning from spaces. 