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.

Fly Ash - Another Brick in the Wall for Greener Buildings

It’s a win-win equation for the construction industry and the environment, a distinct rarity. The construction industry has come under repeated fire for environmental damage in countless ways – construction waste, air, water/ soil pollution and the release of tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. In fact, carbon dioxide has been calculated to contribute up to 26% of all greenhouse gases* plaguing the environment. In addition to the reduction of carbon dioxide emission, the use of fly ash bricks in construction has introduced a range of environmental benefits. As the world moves towards developing green buildings, the manufacture and increasing the use of fly ash bricks in construction has the potential to effect substantial environmental change.

The basic ideology of fly ash brick technology is the manufacture of climate-friendly bricks without using coal for the process. Traditional brick-making burns large amounts of coal and results in the emission of tonnes of carbon dioxide every year. Also, valuable topsoil is used for the manufacture of clay bricks. If fly ash brick use is adopted on a global scale, it has the potential to eliminate carbon emissions from the brick-making industry.

Understanding fly ash bricks - what they are made of, how they are made and how they are used – is essential to understanding the extent of their benefits. To get right into it, fly ash is an unwanted residue, resulting from coal-fired power plants. Typically, fly ash was disposed on large areas of land, resulting in both environmental damage and human health issues, especially around power plants.  An Increasing need for power drove the extensive mushrooming of coal-driven power plants, generating sizeable amounts of fly ash. Decades ago, fly ash bricks were developed without the use of coal. Fly ash is combined with lime and gypsum to produce fly ash bricks.

These bricks can be made in a range of sizes and strengths, perfect for their use in building construction. They need less cement and mortar than clay bricks. Cement wall plastering on exterior walls is not required when using fly ash bricks, as they are grey, already have a smooth, uniform texture and absorb substantially less water than other bricks. Lighter in weight than other bricks, fly ash bricks can be easier to transport. In addition, fly ash bricks do not require to be fired in huge kilns, a process for clay brick production that requires large amounts of burning coal, which adds to the greenhouse gas effect. This means that they do not contribute to environmental pollution.

Recognising their far-reaching impact, the World Bank is supporting a project to promote fly ash brick technology by granting entrepreneurs the chance to earn carbon credit revenues. A carbon credit is a certificate declaring that a company has paid to have the equivalent of one tonne of carbon dioxide or equivalent greenhouse gas removed from the environment. More than one hundred fly ash brick plants have earned close to $3.2 million*.

So, how does it work?

Traditionally, bricks were made with clay and sand or soil moulded together and dried and burnt. Burning these bricks used a considerable quantity of fossil fuel, which then generated carbon dioxide, contributing to global warming. A method called FaL-G, or Fly ash Lime-Gypsum, replaces the soil ingredient of traditional clay brick manufacture with fly ash. The bricks are made at room temperature, instead of over 2000F (for clay bricks), thus eliminating the generation of greenhouse gases. By preventing fly ash from being deposited on land, this method reduces water, air and soil pollution. In addition, human health benefits include the reduction of respiratory ailments of residents near power plants.

The quality of clay bricks had been deteriorating for some time, due to the poor quality of topsoil used to manufacture them. The FaL-G brick method has produced strong bricks. They can be created in different sizes and strengths and can speed up the construction process, while saving mortar. Here’s how:

Fly ash and water are compressed at 4000psi and then cured for 24 hours in a steam bath. The bricks are then toughened with an air-entrainment agent. Due to a high concentration of calcium oxide, the bricks can be considered self-cementing. This method saves energy and reduces mercury pollution in the environment.

Materials used to create fly ash bricks include:

• Fly ash
• Fine sand or stone dust
• Lime – a source of calcium carbonate
• Gypsum – to help shape the bricks
• Cement – to increase cohesion and strength

Once manufactured, fly ash bricks enable a host of benefits.

Benefits of Fly Ash Bricks

• Low absorption of water (13-15%, compared to 20% for clay bricks), thus near absence of wall dampness
• Lightweight
• Fuel saving 
• Reduced drying losses
• Reduced linear drying shrinkage
• Strength – ideal for construction
• Clay conservation
• Conform to IS:3102-1976 standards
• Uniform shape, size, thus minimal plaster use
• Gypsum plaster and plaster of Paris can be directly applied
• Reduced need for cement mortar
• Resistant to salinity and water seepage
• Reduced bulk density - reduced resultant load on load-bearing walls
• Reduced wastage of bricks, compared to clay bricks

Fly Ash Properties that Are Advantageous in Construction

• Round shape: Fly ash particles are round, so they are easy to mix.
• ‘Ball bearing’ effect: Fly ash particles create a lubricating action when the mix is in a plastic state.
• Strong – Combines with free lime for increased structural strength over time.
• Dense – Fly ash is dense, resulting in decreased permeability and increased durability
• Resistant to the harmful effects of sulfate, mild acid, soft water and sea water.
• Reduced drying shrinkage, due to reduced water content
• Reduced heat generated when reacting with lime, thus reduced thermal cracking
• Improved cohesion leads to reduced segregation, which could have caused rock pockets and blemishes

Since green buildings are also defined by their energy consumption, one of the additional advantages of using fly ash bricks is its ability to provide effective thermal insulation. This means that buildings consisting of fly ash bricks are cool in summers and warm in winters, reducing the energy consumption of the buildings.

Even sounds are more effectively absorbed, since fly ash bricks are sound absorbent and restrict sound transmission, making interiors quiet. Fly ash bricks also have high fire resistance, making them a great choice of material for fire prevention services.

All these advantages have enabled the use of fly ash bricks in factories, warehouses, power plants, as well as homes and high-rise buildings. With the right architectural CAD services support, especially from accurate, experienced and cost-effective drafting services in India, homes and other buildings around the world can be designed to effectively use fly ash bricks to their advantage in creating ‘greener’ buildings.