A contemporary educational facility using two-way CLT flat slabs for the first time in Japan
Showa Gakuin Elementary School West Wing is an expansion of an existing school to accommodate an increasing number of students. In Japan, the trees planted on a large scale during the postwar and high-growth periods are now mature enough to be used as building materials, and it has become a crucial social issue to protect forest resources through a proper harvesting and planting cycle. Nikken Wood Lab, a department of Nikken Sekkei specializing in the research and development of wooden architecture and wood structures, pursued sustainability and explored new possibilities for CLT as mass timber*1 with the use of domestic wood in this project.
Delivered on an extremely modest budget, the new Caliber Schools ChangeMakers Academy exploits color and subtle design strategies to transform an otherwise unconventional but banal tilt-up concrete structure, while leveraging its creative potential as a community-building agent.
Serving more than 1,000 students on two campuses, Caliber Public Schools is a charter organization whose mission is to shift the experience, expectation and outcomes for students in historically underserved communities and provide them with a rigorous K-12 education so that they can enter a four-year college without remediation. The client asked TEF to develop a new, ground up TK-8 school to support anticipated growth exceeding the capacity of its existing school in Richmond, California.
Traditional K-12 education buildings have created an entourage of partitioned structures promoting a single lecturer instruction style, and resulting in mostly isolated classrooms. Current teaching pedagogy has changed the architectural dynamic to reinforce information distribution, team collaboration, and ‘learn by doing.’ Teachers have assumed a role of ‘advisor’ or ‘guide’ to facilitate students’ efforts to research information and create their own knowledge base. A new classroom model should respond by facilitating creative, critical-thinking and communication skills enhanced by a group dynamic. Therefore, we believe the built environment must respond directly to the need for diversity and the collaborative spirit of education through design for flexibility, mobility, and dynamic learning.
CAA architects led by Liu Haowei announced the planning and architectural scheme of CAFA Qingdao Campus, which is directly entrusted by the Client. The new campus is a key strategic project for the Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA) to launch the new century strategy for the future. It is also an important measure for the college to expand its own operation space and develop a campus with future design disciplines as the core and the ocean cutting-edge science and technology as the characteristics.
Objective. The creation of a School Campus Uniting Montemor-o-Velho’s High School, the Jorge de Montemor elementary school and kindergarden.
Structuring / reorganizing access, entrances and living spaces.
Remodelling of the existing buildings.
Construction of new equipment that is common to all three schools – Covered Sports Field, Gymnasium / Changing rooms / Shower rooms / Toilets, Library and Dining Hall.
Designs for The Forestias– a new residential-led masterplan with a large forest at its heart – have been revealed. Located on the outskirts of Bangkok, the pioneering development addresses the growing disconnect between contemporary city life and family traditions, underpinned by the idea of health and wellbeing. It focusses on the themes of serving the community, promoting multi-generational family co-living and reconnecting with nature, providing a template for healthier and happier urban living in Thailand. The entire development is based on smart city principles, with autonomous vehicles, smart meters and sensor networks.
The Maritime Science Building will elevate the recognition of Clatsop Community College’s coastal educational program as it continues to grow into the most comprehensive industrial and marine technology center in the Pacific Northwest. This new facility reflects the college’s commitment to the future of the region and its mission to inspire and engage the entire community.
We design buildings and environments that increase wellbeing. When designing schools, it becomes exceptionally clear that we do not just create buildings but also the preconditions for activities, experiences, and encounters. Hankasalmi School Centre was designed to serve all inhabitants of Hankasalmi. The impressively sculptural building functions as an attractive landmark: the school is an inviting public building, a source of pride for the whole municipality.
Two alumni of the Gymnasium Beekvliet – MVRDV founding partner Winy Maas and Theobert van Boven of Van Boven Architecten – are leading the transformation of their old secondary school in the Dutch village of Sint-Michielsgestel. The main element of the design by ‘Team Old Beekvliet’ is a colourful, flowing addition that reaches out into the school’s plaza and considerably improves circulation, creating a new focal point at the heart of the building. Exhibiting artwork by visual artist Ian Kirkpatrick, the addition becomes a new focal point for the school’s activities. The completion of the transformation is scheduled for July this year.
This is a nursery newly built in Hitachi-omiya in Ibaraki. There are paddy fields and forests near the nursery. Its beautiful and rich nature develop children’s healthy body and rich mindset. From this image, the design concept ‘Greenhouse to watch over warmly’ is made.
From the shape of surrounding fields, a corridor is laid out in the center like a footpath between rice fields. With the top light, people can feel like touching nature even inside. For the exterior material, metal is used with the image of protecting children strongly. On the other hand, natural things are used for the interior to look warm.