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Schooldesigner Greenpiece No. 1

We are excited to send you our first "Schooldesigner Greenpiece ", highlighting articles, products and interesting information about green schools/sustainable educational facilities.

Trends in Urban School Design

“For schools to achieve effective facilities, stakeholders have to assess their challenges, set a plan to resolve those challenges, and build a program,” says Joel K. Sims, AIA, president of Sims Architects, Lancaster, Pa. “As numerous schools work through this process, trends start to be noted from school to school.”

City Focus: Los Angeles

"Scary times are ahead", is what I said to myself when the wife and kids decided we should go parasailing this summer while vacationing at the beach.

Learning to Give Giving to Learn

Thanksgiving was later in the month this year, and so we have chosen to send our Thanksgiving issue at the beginning of December. Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on our many blessings.

Auditorium Design

The school auditorium is perhaps the most visited part of the school. While those in the community may or may not see a typical classroom in a school ,they have more than likely visited the auditorium for a community event, school performance or graduation ceremony.

On the Boards

The term "on the boards" refers to projects in the design phase. Of course with most jargon , it should be updated to perhaps "On the computer" as we have long passed the days of hand drawing on drafting boards. What is amazing about projects being designed today is that it is very difficult to determine if the project is actually a photograph or just a rendering. I can assure you that the five projects shown in the newsletter are all renderings. So, take a peak at what is being created by some architects. As always were are very thankful for all the submissions we receive. We are just not able to highlight all the projects we receive. Next week we will highlight a few more, so be ready!

School As Art

In April, Schooldesigner.com focused on art classroom design. This issue, we're taking art a step farther: What if schools were designed to be functional and works of art? And what if students contributed to the effort?

So, take a few minutes out of your busy schedule to read about how art impacts school design. Don't forget to click on the images on the left panel for more information.

Design Collabetition - Best Awards

For this year's Design Collabetition, we received many dynamic, creative, and innovative architectural designs. Choosing the "BEST" from those many designs proved very challenging. Frank Lloyd Wright's philosophy may have been used as a guide when our judges selected designs that they believed were worthy of receiving the "BEST" Award.

In 1908, Mr. Wright noted that "... form and function should be one, joined in a spiritual union. The architect should strive continually to simplify; the ensemble of the rooms should be carefully considered that comfort and utility may go hand in hand with beauty."

With great pleasure, we present the following "BEST" Award recipients. These winners were selected from the first round of winners of our other design categories, including the High Tech, Students Love It! and the Green Piece awards.

Design Collabetition - Fitness

If you are not aware that we have a problem in America with childhood obesity, then get off the treadmill and look around! This month's photo was taken at a weekend outing last summer. In one photo I have attempted to convey the problem. It is not my intention to criticize or make fun of overweight people. Yet, seeing is believing and controversial photos can sometimes lead to action!

Design Collabetition High Tech Awards

Last week we announced the Green Piece Award winners. So, this week we are announcing the Hi Tech award winners. In the coming weeks we will reveal the "Students' Love It" winners followed by a very special Fitness announcement. Finally, we will let you know the "Schooldesigner Best".

Design Collabetition Green Piece Awards

It was no small undertaking launching our first annual Design Collabetition (where collaboration and competition meet). We set out to redefine school design competitions and I believe we have accomplished our goals.

Art A La Carte

I am baffled that many art rooms are the least inspiring places in a school. So, this e-newsletter is the first in a two-part series on art in schools. This month we are focusing on art rooms and next month we will reveal how schools can be reflections of art.

Cultural Connections

Have you noticed our new e-newsletter format? In the past we had photos you could view from the left side image column. Now when you click on an image, you go directly to our website. Each project we highlight in the monthly newsletter now becomes a "Designer Element".

Bent on Designing Flexible Spaces in Schools

After receiving hundreds of photos on flexible school design, one image seems to stand out. It is the photo of a dilapidated trailer submitted by a fictitious firm called Architects R Us. In reality, it is Dave the engineer's monthly attempt at a humorous submission. This month, it got me thinking: Doesn't a trailer signify the very essence of "flexible design?"

DESIGN COLLABETITION - STUDENTS LOVE IT AWARDS

As part of our recent design collabetition, architectural design firms have had their unique school designs reviewed, evaluated and judged by a panel of adult professionals. But it is important to include those individuals who put the designs to the test on a daily basis and can tell us immediately if a design is practical for its intended use, if it stimulates a students' learning experience, and finally, if it is just bottom line "cool." That is why we are very excited to announce the winners of the "Students Love It!" award, critiqued by what some may consider the best judges of these design projects - students!

The Master Plan

My friend at the pizza shop hates the month of January. "People don't order much pizza in January," he points out. "They are trying to lose weight."

"When will sales pick up?" I ask.

"Usually in February, when people give up on their resolution to lose weight!" he quips.

At Schooldesigner.com, we are not giving up on this year's resolution. It is actually a resolution we made in the summer of 2006: We will strive to "promote quality school design around the world."

The Consultant Connection

I really enjoy taking risks. It is probably one reason I decided to start this website and e-newsletter. While many people have commented about the tremendous progress we have made in just over a year, we certainly did not know that the success would come so fast. Believe it or not, I was even prepared for failure!

The Ramp Less Traveled

For more than 15 years we have been required to make schools ADA compliant. Everyone knows that toilet stalls need to be bigger, ramps have to be added and elevators need to be installed. Architects know the rules to follow and yet the questions still arise from many in the school design community " Do we really have to do all that?"
We often seek to do the minimum without thinking about what we can really do to make an impact. While we can be forced to follow guidelines no one can make us really care about those with disabilities. It is time to stop thinking about the minimum requirements and start creatively approaching universal design with the enthusiasm we approach something we really care about. I trust we will make you think about this issue but more importantly I trust you will genuinely care.

The Importance of Classroom Design

Are you working on your entry for the First Annual K-12 Design Collabetition? I sure hope so.

I spoke with an architect who called our office the other day and he asked if there were any other fees involved with the Collabetiton. Well, the answer to him and the thousands of Schooldesigner.com readers is NO.

K-12 Design Collabetition

Schooldesigner.com is proud to announce our very first annual design collabetition! We like to refer to this event as a "Collab-etition" - a cross between "collaboration" and "competition." Our ultimate goal is to elevate the overall quality of school design around the world and I am excited that this competition will help us reach that goal. We look forward to seeing your submissions!

Variety is the Spice of Education! Part 2

Well-designed classrooms are critical to the learning process for both students and teachers, as it's where they spend a great amount of their day and accomplish the majority of their goals. With care in planning and design, it's possible to design learning spaces that are comfortable and conducive to learning. In this second of a two-part series, we address high-quality indoor learning spaces.

Variety is the Spice of Education! Part 1

School administrators are surrounded with many laws governing education: Do this; don't do that. While most education takes place in indoor classrooms, there doesn't seem to be a law that says education must take place in indoor classrooms. And, in areas where the climate permits it, education does occur in outdoor venues as a complement to indoor space. In this first of a two-part series, we address high-quality outdoor learning spaces. It will be followed with a look at well-designed indoor learning spaces in the August newsletter.

Designing Schools to Fight Childhood Obesity Part 2 - Exhale

Last month, we focused on the interior of the school and how it should be designed to promote fitness among all students. This month, we move outside and see what can be done to promote wellness on the exterior. Certainly climate plays an important role in what can be done in a particular geographical area. While seasons may dictate the ability to go outside, there is no doubt that students like to be there, so we need to design accordingly.

Designing Schools to Fight Childhood Obesity Part 1 - Inhale

As Americans deal with the growing epidemic of childhood obesity, are our schools in shape to deal with encouraging fitness among all students? In this two-part series, we reveal how strengthening school design plays an integral part in promoting fitness. This first article focuses primarily on interior spaces and furnishings (INHALE), while next month's article concentrates on exterior spaces and amenities (EXHALE).

Schooldesigner Trends Part 3

I recall a friend in college talking about his summer job selling encyclopedias door to door. To get motivated, he would wake early in the morning, take a cold shower and start jumping up and down chanting "I love my job , I love my job!" I guess at times we need to get psyched up for the day!

Schooldesigner Trends Part 2

In this second part of a three-part series, we focus on some more great examples of schools that are incorporating the latest design trends. It goes without saying that great schools often address several design trends. For instance, when we look at community schools , we find that they are also becoming greener and safer. We trust that you enjoy this issue and we hope you will submit examples of projects for our third segment coming in April.

Schooldesigner Trends Part 1

As the year moves into full swing, schooldesigner.com spoke with some experienced school designers to get the inside scoop on design trends for 2007. We especially wanted to hear what architects across the country think about client expectations and design focus.

How to Select Your Next Architect

We are pleased this month to hear from a professional with more than 10 years of experience in marketing architectural and engineering services to school districts. Because of the sensitivity of the content, the author has requested that his name not be revealed so, in one of our less creative moments, we are electing to call him Yugo Marketing. We are thankful for his insight and trust you will find this information helpful as you seek to select your next architect. In addition, we reveal the secret to the tremendous success that has occurred since schooldesigner.com was launched less than 5 months ago!

The Ugly Side of Value Engineering

Well, the holiday season is upon us. We have a tradition in our family of hauling a Christmas tree home and decorating it. As the ornaments are hung on the tree, there are specific ones that must go on the back—out of view! Why? Because they are, quite frankly, ugly. We have a good laugh about them, and everyone understands that what was cute in pre- school is now gaudy or half-broken. Nonetheless, they still go on the tree. In keeping with our family tradition, this newsletter includes some ornaments for your holiday tree. Since some of them highlight “the ugly side of value engineering,” they should probably go on the back of your tree.

Green School Design

Green schools have continued to gain popularity since some of the first LEED-certified green schools were constructed in 2002. For some, the concept of green school design is still considered “extreme,” costly and unnecessary. It is time we start moving away from the notion that green school design is unnecessary and toward the idea that it is a practical and responsible approach to school design. We need to work collectively in shifting green school design from “extreme” to “main stream” or “mainstreme” as we have named it. In this issue of The Schooldesigner, we offer practical advice on how to launch green schools into the mainstreme.

Making Schools Safer

This month´s newsletter is focused on making schools safer, and with good reason. This week I learned of a high school that does not lock its doors, a middle school that does not have a secure main entry and an elementary school that does not have the office located at the front of the school. All three of these schools are in the same Pennsylvania county that just experienced a tragedy beyond comprehension with the slaughter of Amish schoolgirls. Clearly, there is much work to be done to make all our schools safer. Now is the time to take action.

Schooldesigner.com is Launched

Schooldesigner.com is a website created to help elevate the level of K-12 school design around the world. The site is loaded with great school design ideas to improve schools, especially for the forgotten client – the student! This is the first of our monthly newsletters.