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Structural issues

Structural issues are those that affect the actual building and the fabric of the school.  They need to be considered at the design stage in order to determine the impact they will have on the learning environment as well as the health and social lives of the whole school community.

Examples of actual designs.  There are national and international resources available online that give examples of new and innovative school designs.  Some are designs of schools which are built and fully functioning, others are under construction or still in the planning process.

www.designshare.com International Forum for Innovative Schools.  Articles, blogs, links to architects, award wining designs and information on school design.

 Building Schools for the Future Exemplar Designs Exemplar designs from the 'Building Schools for the Future' project can be accessed through this website. 

http://www.school-works.org/exemplarDesigns.asp Links to the websites of the architects involved in the Exemplar designs are on the right hand side.

www.edfacilities.org/rl/awards.cfm National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities is a very comprehensive American resource.  The awards section has an international directory of award winning educational designs and information about many of these designs is accessible online. 

Flexible spaces.  Spaces need to be flexible in order to accommodate different uses during the school day (for example a hall may be both a dining room and a gymnasium), during the school term (a gymnasium may become an exam hall), and over the years.  As technologies, pedagogies and curriculums develop this may necessitate a change in the way school spaces are utilised. 

www.designshare.com/Research/EEK/Ehrenkrantz1.htm Article written by an architect about flexible school design called "Planning for Flexibility, Not Obsolescence".

www.wwwords.co.uk/forum/content/pdfs/46/issue46_1.asp 'FORUM: for promoting 3-19 comprehensive education' ran a whole issue on spatiality in schools, the way it impacts on individuals and on the relationships between them. 

http://brs.leeds.ac.uk/~beiwww/beid.html Education-line has a number of articles on the conceptualisation of space in schools:  The Stage Design of a Classroom, Gunilla Jedeskog; Reflections on the Signification of Space in School from a Life-World Approach, Eva Alerb, Jan Bengtsson, Maj-Lis Hornqvist, Tomas Kroksmark; Formation of Space in the Classroom Jan Bengtsson; Spatiality and the Place of the Material in Schools, Jane McGregor.  Click on 'advanced query' and enter search terms. 

www.edfacilities.org/rl/index.cfm National Clearing House for Educational Facilities is a comprehensive American resource with a section on School Spaces.

Hidden spaces.  Hidden spaces create opportunities for vandalism, bullying or drug-taking to occur.  Some hidden spaces are avoidable and good design may help prevent unwanted behaviour occurring in those that are not.  Toilets can be the place where the school bully lurks, or they may be locked and not available when students need them.  Making sure toilets are clean, bright and accessible will increase the number of people using them, making them more public and less 'hidden'.   Research by Medway Youth Parliament suggests that many children worry about using school loos and wait until they get home to use the toilet.  This has health implications such as urinary infections, constipation and dehydration.

www.bog-standard.org/ Website about a campaign to promote better toilets for pupils. Contains advice for parents, teachers and pupils on how to improve their school's toilets, section on implications of having poor toilet facilities, section on good toilet design for architects and designers.

Warmth.  The temperature in school buildings needs to be kept within a comfortable range to help everyone work effectively.  Health and Safety guidelines for sedentary work recommend a minimum of 16 degrees Celsius, there is no maximum temperature but studies suggest that over 24 degrees is uncomfortable for most people.  Temperature regulation, air flow, ventilation, energy conservation and sustainability are all interlinked and need to be considered together. 

www.hse.gov.uk/temperature/index.htm  Health and Safety Executive guidance on temperature. 

Acoustics.  Layout, building materials used, wall thickness, ceiling height and furniture used will all affect how good the acoustics are within the school.  Spaces will have different requirements depending on their purpose  A school hall, for example, may house a school play or orchestra but also need to be used for examinations; one use requires sound to travel, another for it to be muffled.  Teachers will not want their lessons disturbed by noise that carries too well from other areas.  They will, however, want to be able to make themselves heard easily in the space that they are using.  Schools may have particular noise issues to deal with such as a busy road nearby, or being underneath the flight path of an airport. 

Teachernet Acoustics Bulletin Information on Building Bulletin 93 which gives guidance on acoustic requirements for designers and architects. 

Air flow.  Circulation of clean, fresh air is important for maintaining a healthy building that enables students to concentrate well.  A stifled, stuffy room, as well as being unhealthy, will make students sleepy.  Air quality and factors such as mould growth can also impact on asthma suffers. 

www.epa.gov/iaq/schooldesign/ US Environment Protection Agency has resources available on indoor air quality in schools.

http://www.odpm.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1163993 UK Government have produced a guidance report, available online, on ventilation and indoor air quality in schools. 

Light.  Light quality impacts on the atmosphere of a space.  Daylight can make a room seem airy and bright, whereas poor lighting makes spaces seem dingy and small.  Artificial light can cause eye strain and headaches after a while.  Light can also be a problem - sunshine coming through windows can make it difficult to view VDU's and whiteboards and can also dazzle students.  Different spaces will have different light requirements, for example a sports hall will be different to an art room. 

A third dimension to consider is the impact of light on the energy consumption of a school.  Can the design of a school minimize the use of electric lights?  Can sensors be fitted that turn lights off in unoccupied rooms?  How will the windows impact on the heating and ventilation required?  Large windows letting in the sun's rays can turn a classroom into a greenhouse whilst in the winter large panes of glass make a room chilly. 

Finally, children need the opportunity to get outside in daylight, as the sun's rays help create vitamin D in their bodies. Regular time spent outside in daylight is health promoting.  The impact of light therefore needs to be considered carefully when designing schools.

http://www.edfacilities.org/rl/lighting.cfm US website with a great number of resources and links to do with lighting in schools.

Electromagnetic fields.  Modern electronic equipment such as computers, mobile phones and radios emit electromagnetic radiation.  Whilst there is not yet any conclusive research which outlines the impact this radiation has on our health, it is something that many people are concerned about.  In particular, mobile phone masts and electricity pylons have caused concern when situated too near to dwellings.  This is something that needs to be considered at the design stage.  Will schools, for example, have computers in every classroom, effectively exposing children to electromagnetic radiation for longer periods of time?  Will they have any spaces that are free from electronic equipment?  Will they allow mobile phone masts to be fixed to the roof of the school? 

http://www.radiationresearch.org/index.htm Website of the Electromagnetic Radiation Research Trust.

http://www.alfredriggs.com/HTML/Residential.htm  Alfred Riggs carries out surveys on Geopathic Stress and electromagnetic pollution.

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