Articles
"'Green' School Construction a Growing Trend", (c)
Barbara Hollingsworth, The Capital Journal, February 04,
2008
In 1931, Topeka was wowed by the stunning Gothic architecture of Topeka High
School.
In the intervening decades, the short-lived open-school concept would inspire
Seaman High School to have no walls dividing classrooms. And in the 1990s, the
design of science-themed classrooms at Williams Science and Fine Arts Magnet
would help create a thriving school in a struggling neighborhood.
A reflection on their communities and time, the design of school buildings
can affect the way children learn. So, as Auburn-Washburn Unified School
District 437 breaks ground on its new elementary school this year, don't expect
it to look like others in the district.
Compared to schools of the past, the new school will harness more natural
light and be greener for the environment. Planning for how the building will be
constructed is closely linked with how it will be used by students and teachers.
"Fifteen or 20 years ago we weren't really thinking about how kids learn in
the environment," said superintendent Brenda Dietrich. "Now we pay particular
attention to what will the students be engaged in and what materials will be
learner-friendly, too."
Rethinking design
There have been attempts for school design to complement education. Some
attempts hit the mark. Some didn't.
During a period in the 1970s, schools were built with few windows, recalled
Wendy Ornelas, associate dean in the college of architecture, planning and
design at Kansas State University. The thinking was that windows encouraged
daydreaming, but architects soon learned that windowless boxes were depressing.
"I think today they understand the value of natural light coming in for
someone's health and well being," she said.
Recent school renovations in Shawnee County show how much thinking has
changed. A wall of windows lights up the common space at Shawnee Heights High
School.
"We enjoy the windows," said Shawnee Heights principal Warren Watson. "I know
the students do."
New trends
When Chuck Smith, of HTK Architects, first approaches a new project, he said
it is important to understand the community. For example, does the community
value sports highly or do the arts trump all?
"Every school district has a different sense of what role their school plays
in the community," said Smith, who is working on the Auburn-Washburn project.
The trend now, he said, is to seek ways to make students more comfortable in
their school.
"It's about the people and the experiences, and how do buildings improve the
quality of education and how can they play a role in positive learning?" Smith
said.
In Auburn-Washburn's next school, expect classroom wings that will help break
up the large school into smaller spaces. Classrooms will be larger than in some
older schools, reflecting the additional space consumed by computers as well as
changes in teaching techniques. To address growing safety concerns, visitors
will have to enter the building through the school office.
The new school will be greener too. Lots of windows will reduce electricity
needed to power lights. Also, the school will use geothermal energy, a process
in which excess heat will be used for other purposes or stored rather than
simply pumped out of the school.
Throughout the district's bond projects, materials will be salvaged for use
in the outdoor education center. For example, a former gym floor might be used
as doors or partitions.
For an architect, it is sort of like emptying out the refrigerator and
creating a meal.
"You just start building the palette as you go," Smith said. "It makes you
start thinking creatively about everything you look at."
Getting it right
School designs, Smith notes, often are a product of their time.
"You look at something like Topeka High, it talks a lot about its timeframe,
how buildings were built then and craftsmanship," he said.
So how do architects ensure their design holds up over time?
"Thinking about things in a very simple and classical manner as opposed to
trying to think about things stylistically and trying to keep up with the trends
of the time — those buildings stand the test of time," Ornelas said.
You just know, she said, when a school is well designed and the "educational
value for that is tremendous."
"You may or may not know who the architect is or how it was designed, but you
walk into it and you have a good feeling from it," she said. |
