What Architectural Design Features Are Specific to Schools?

Nurturing, guiding, educating and preparing the minds of tomorrow for the challenges of the future, schools and their design must evolve to keep pace with societal changes. Some design features, though, are constant. Incorporating school design principles with functionality, architects and designers must be committed to careful consideration and best practice methods while designing a school. Reliable architectural CAD drafting services and accurate architectural BIM services can strengthen the impact of a well-thought out design, making it easy to edit and modify design features.

Some of the most fundamental requirements for a school’s architectural design are integration of technology, safety and security, multipurpose areas and outdoor learning. 

• Integration of Technology

In today’s world, many children are unable to fathom a world without the internet. Modern schools must innovate so that students can access networks from any space on the campus and be able to view or present their work at any point in the school building. It becomes important to wire the entire school, even outdoor spaces.

In a relatively short space of time, screens, projectors and sound systems are moving to halls, common areas, cafeterias and even staircases, rather than stay put in classrooms. Stairways can feature carpeted student seating, overhead projectors, large screens and wireless access to lectures and presentations during project-based learning. This will prepare them for modern work environs. 

• Safety & Security

Increasingly, especially in Western countries, schools have become unwilling venues for terror acts, besides regular student bullying. To guard against intruders, schools typically have a single-entry point and limit access to outsiders. Currently, an increasing number of schools are installing double lock entries (2 locked doors to pass through) with sign-ins and video surveillance.

Helping to prevent bullying is slightly more complicated. Since most incidents of bullying occur in cafeterias, playgrounds, hallways and stairwells, away from adult supervision, school building design needs to be more open, with an increased number of windows, clear lines of sight and in some cases, transparent classroom walls, such as glass floor-to-ceiling walls. The classrooms can connect to a central collaboration space, so that teachers can see students in classrooms, hallways and collaboration spaces from anywhere on the floor. 

• Multipurpose Areas

As education and the curriculum changes in so many ways in short times, it’s important to institute spaces that can keep pace with those changes in a school building. Multipurpose areas must be flexible enough to accommodate changing modes of teaching, learning and sharing for the long term. Every part of a school must contribute in some way to learning. As hallways widen to change into classroom extension, stairs become seating spaces and walls become writing surfaces or feature TV screens with Wi-fi, these spaces are meeting the growing needs of the student population.

Previously used only as cafeterias and libraries, these spaces are morphing into hybrid theatres, media centres and workshop spaces. Educators can create instructional variety, encourage group projects and independent work areas by modifying the environment. Light chairs, beanbags, large rugs, tables of different heights and movable walls can create quiet spaces or large enclaves within a multipurpose area. 

• Outdoor Learning

Improved creation and reduced stress are proven results of outdoor learning. Outdoor learning helps students become more focused on the curriculum and test well academically. When most of the school day is spent indoors, an outdoor class with several benches, an amphitheatre or a partly covered space with Wi-Fi for presentations, individual or group work can be refreshing.

The study of science and energy generation can be made interesting and relevant when students can collect data or compare fossil fuel to solar, wind and geothermal power.

Basic Architectural Guidelines for School Design 

• Teachers and institution heads can provide their input to the architect.
• School floors should be high enough to prevent water logging or flooding during the rains.
• A school building that face south helps sunlight enter the classrooms during winter and shades the classrooms from the direct summer sun.
• The building design should accommodate free air circulation, natural light, hygienic restrooms and a multipurpose area.
• The school should provide a place for meals or refreshments, a teachers’ common room and related rest rooms, reading room and library, a visitors’ room, an office room, a headmaster’s office and a well-equipped laboratory.
• The right amount of space must be given to classrooms, multipurpose rooms, halls, staff rooms, office rooms, common room, the library and reading rooms. Ideally, the classroom should have 600 sqft of floor area.
• Physical education facilities must include toilets.
• Play areas, footpaths and a bicycle parking area are required features.
• The school campus should be attractive and stimulating.
• School campuses must include green spaces, with trees, plants or grass.
• The main school entrance should have overhead protection from the rain or other extreme climatic elements.

Though a classroom’s shape, interior area, wall colours, furniture layout, flooring and amount of light can significantly influence student learning, certain features are best maintained in any classroom. Classroom design should ideally include the following features:

• Adequate space between desks
• Many large windows, with translucent blinds to avoid glares
• Recessed windows as protection from rain and excessive sun.
• Hidden rain pipes
• Rooms should have sufficient natural light.
• Heaters/air-conditions or vents should be placed high on the walls.
• Flooring should be water-resistant and long-lasting.
• Entrances, exits, classroom and bathroom doorways should be planned to facilitate wheelchair use.
• Roofs must have parapets and no chimneys. 

The shape and size of a school building, including the number, size and type of classrooms, will naturally be different for each school, based on many factors, including the student and teacher populations. Building shapes are dependent on these factors, but the more popular types are as follows: 

• I Type – Have a single row of classrooms.
• L Type – The I type has an extension that is perpendicular
• T Type - The I type with extensions both ways on one side
• U Type - Two I types joined on one side

Within these types of school buildings, it is important to maintain certain design standards for each part of the school. They are as follows: 

• Ceiling Heights – This varies according to the size and function of the space. Multipurpose rooms are large, and hence, they should have higher ceilings, taking into account any special equipment that will be used there. The general minimum floor-to-ceiling height of classrooms is typically 3m.
• Wall-to-floor Ratio – Lower wall-to-floor ratios results in a more efficient building layout, but this needs to be balanced with the educational requirements of the space. 
• Room Groups – There groups of school spaces are Teaching/Learning, Administrative and Ancillary. Teaching/Learning spaces should be prioritised in terms of orientation, daylight and ventilation. The offices and multipurpose rooms should be placed so that they can be accessed without entering the Teaching/Learning areas.
• Circulation – Students, teachers and visitors should be able to access any part of the school from any entrance without encountering congestion. Hallways should have a minimum clear width of 1.8m. Handrails on balconies or stairs should have a minimum height of 1400mm. Entrance lobbies should have a secure door to access the internal parts of the school.
• Ventilation – Permanent wall vents, with baffles for noise, wind and rain, and windows with open sections are ideal for natural ventilation.
• Acoustics – Ideal school acoustics should enable clear communication between teachers and students while not disrupting study activities. 
• Finishes – Non-slip, chemically and water-resistant floors are recommended. Wall finishes should be durable and easy to clean. 
• Fittings and Furniture – Those fittings which are fixed, such as sink units, hat/coat hooks, rails, blinds, shelves, white boards, blackboards and notice boards should be part of the building contract. 

School design is of paramount importance for the benefit of future generations, since design has a profound impact on learning. Incorporating changing technologies, lifestyles and work environments, school design must adapt, modify and modernise to optimise their impact. To facilitate the continuous innovation of school design requires a new breed of designers and design professionals and sometimes even the aid of offshore architectural drafting solutions. In particular, countries such as India offer a wealth of talent to provide architectural CAD services that are precise, cost-effective and easily adaptable. Therefore, it is now possible to customise school design without worrying about design skills, costs and accuracy.