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ALBION DISTRICT LIBRARY BY PERKINS + WILL IS A 2018 COTE TOP TEN RECIPIENT. IMAGE: DOUBLESPACE PHOTOGRAPHY

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The Committee on Architecture for Education (CAE) is a Knowledge Community of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). We are a large and active group of over 10,000 architects and allied professionals concerned with the quality and design of all types of educational, cultural, and recreational facilities that promote lifelong learning in safe, welcoming and equitable environments. The CAE’s mission is to foster innovative and collaborative design of educational facilities and to heighten public awareness on the importance of learning environments.

  

Door Hardware… and STEM Classroom Remodel

  • 1.  Door Hardware… and STEM Classroom Remodel

    Posted 04-01-2015 07:15 PM

    Project Description

    In the fall of 2013 we began design on yet another of what we affectionately call "summer wonders"; a two month remodel of an existing school with too much scope in too little time and usually a challenging design schedule. In this case it was an $8 M deferred maintenance project in a 375,000 SF High School. Fortunately amongst the duct, carpet, and door hardware replacement scope there was a small budget for STEM classroom remodels.

    Two spaces in particular are worth mentioning. One was a fairly typical back to back science classroom suite with prep rooms in between. The second was a cramped, hidden, and messy digital technology lab with an ambitious teacher and excited students, but facilities that needed improvement.  


    Design

    We collaborated with the school principal, three teachers, and facilities staff during the design process. We worked with both the teachers that would be the end users of the remodeled classrooms. Although we did not work with the students we were able to observe the classrooms in use. The physics room was used for regularly scheduled classes and closed immediately after the final bell rang. The digital technology lab was well used but incapable of supporting the curriculum.

    The school staff had been planning the STEM remodels long before we were involved in the project. They had solicited teacher input and had a big picture sense of what they were looking for. The classrooms for remodel were selected. The school staff knew they wanted more visibility as well as opportunities for hands on learning and collaboration. The details of the vision were yet to be determined.

    The science lab sweet was 3,500 SF. It consisted of a high school level chemistry lab that had recently been remodeled, a physics classroom, 2 prep rooms, offices in between the classrooms, and storage rooms on either side.



    The physics teacher was excited to expand his program to support collaborative work and a maker space. The program for the physics maker space included a collaborative work area, a maker space, and high visibility while maintaining the ability to teach everyday physics classes.

    The recently remodeled chemistry lab was a hiccup. It was off limits as they had recently invested in it and it could only be used under supervision. In addition it still needed a prep room. Ultimately the chem lab meant the two classrooms could not be opened to each other as we initially sketched.

    Working around the chemistry lab we were able to remove one prep room and relocate the offices in order to enlarge the physics lab. The teaching wall remained in place. The relocated offices became the collaborative work area. The prep room was defined as a maker space. Most of the corridor side wall was replaced with floor to ceiling storefront. The relocated offices were moved into the former storage rooms on either sides and opened up with storefront windows making the teachers more accessible.



    The digital technology lab is located on the first floor of the school near the main lobby unfortunately also behind the nurse's office and CMU corridor walls. The  lab included a full 25 seat computer lab, a large green screen, 3D printers, and a technology maker space. As you can imagine with less than 1,500 SF in 2 rooms all the programs were hampered. 



    The digital technology teacher is one of the most ambitious teachers I have worked with. His students are also thrilled to be in his class. There are always at least 10 students working on 5 different projects. Amongst other programs his classes range from design computing programs to robotics with a little digital production sprinkled in.

    The Nurse's office actually ended up being a win-win, with the exception of the cost. The nurse's space was too small. The nurses had been asking for years to be relocated. Coincidentally the classroom the nurses were eying also housed a retiring teacher. Needless to say the nurses were happy to be relocated into their desired remodeled classroom and the technology lab grew.

    Working closely with the teacher we improved the existing computer lab room by reorienting the space and adding two large HD projection screens. The reorientation combined with storefront corridor walls allowed passerby's to observe classroom functions.

    The walls of the nurse's office and back room were removed and replaced with sliding glass walls. The location of walls were shifted slightly to increase the size of the back room and the computer lab. The nurse's space was wrapped with storefront and made into a collaborative work room. The 3D printers were moved to a dedicated room. The back room remained the green room and maker lab, however due to the larger size the conflicting uses were not climbing over one and other.

    Results 

    The outcome for both spaces has been far better than anticipated. The physics teacher has embraced his larger collaborative classroom. The collaborative work area is used all day long despite being open to his physics room. The maker space has allowed him to expand his physics experiments and supports numerous after school programs. One of the programs is the Architecture Construction Engineering (ACE) Mentor Program. The improved visibility of the classroom and offices has led to increased student engagement and teacher-student interaction.

    The digital technology lab has only made the programs more successful. Student participation is up. The collaborative room allows students to work on projects throughout the day while class goes on in the computer lab. The whole lab is in use all day. The program is visible to students and visitors. It is now possible to see the entirety of the highly activated spaces from the lobby corridor. Students can be seen collaborating in small groups on robotics projects, filming on the green screen, designing with the 3D printers, and learning Rhino all at the same time. Supported by the new space the robotics program won 2nd place at states and is headed to the national competition in Texas this spring.

    Not to take anything away from replacing door hardware on 500 openings but... The STEM classroom remodel was a great success for the school and was very rewarding to work on. It is a great example of how successful a collaborative design process can be and an all too rare example spaces that are successfully used how they were intended to be.

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    Gardner Clute Assoc. AIA
    Designer
    Cuningham Group Architecture Inc.
    Denver CO
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