Education
At their most benign, school growing pains are simply conversations between staff members, and sometimes students, about annoyances and frustrations in the teaching/learning spaces. At their worst, growing pains actually impede the learning process, negatively impact the business goals of the school, and inhibit community growth. Growing pains certainly aren’t any fun but they are a positive indication of a growing student population.
While your project is unique, our approach to your current opportunity would start as all our projects start, with listening. The role of an architect is to be the tool through which you achieve your vision for your built environment. Good communication then, becomes the foundation upon which a successful project is designed.
The best classrooms accommodate a wide range of activities: individual study, one-on-one discussions, small group work, large group work, and teacher-directed instruction or lecture. Whether a classroom has straight rows of desks or is filled with sofas and computer workstations tells us much about how teaching occurs, how learning takes place, and to what extent students are engaged in their studies. A classroom may be used by a single teacher, by several teachers throughout the day, or may be reconfigured through moving walls to allow for team-teaching or multi-class projects. The need to accommodate diverse options places a premium on the flexibility and adaptability of the classroom.
To promote excellence in teaching and learning in facilities that reflect a commitment to excellence, all spaces must be 100% accessible for those with disabilities, all disabilities. Way-finding should be natural and easy for all. Complete compliance with ADDAG is to be observed for elimination of barriers to the visually impaired, auditory impaired, mobility impaired, and for students for whom English is not their first language.