Work submitted for the competition
"Best Diploma Architecture".
Many of us associate the days of kindergarten and school with play, the blackboard, desks, answers or breaks spent with friends. How do we remember the space in which we developed? How much influence did it have on our intellectual development? Should education be about experiential learning? These are some of the questions that were asked during the design process.
The subject of the project is a public facility serving as a two-strip elementary school and kindergarten in Zory. The building was located on the corner of Folwarecka and Miła streets in Zory. The surrounding area includes single-family residential buildings, recreational areas (gym, skatepark, bicycle maneuvering area, playground), a parking lot and the Brickyard Park. The plot intended for the construction of the facility is an empty green area with a small number of trees. The buildings have been scattered throughout the plot and connected by glass connectors, which create two separate courtyards that serve recreational functions for the kindergarten and school children. To ensure optimal accessibility for users, the plaza in front of the entrance has been located on the side of Mila Street.
bird's eyeview
© Matthew Sniezek
teaching methodology and environment
Educational problems in school and kindergarten institutions prompted me to analyze various teaching methods in schools in Poland and abroad, I paid special attention to the Montessori method. The assumptions of her school are based on two most important aspects: learning through experience, play, and the environment - educational materials and the atmosphere in the classroom must support the child and his psyche. The school environment in which a child is placed on a daily basis has a very strong influence on his well-being and intellectual development. Light, air, temperature, balanced space and outdoor space are important.
idea
The analysis of the ways of education led to the development of the project idea, which is to create a school-pre-school complex that is safe, provides opportunities for integration and intellectual development of the child. This type of education with regard to the architectural issue is characterized by different classroom layouts and numerous common spaces. Classrooms are divided into different educational sectors for children, such as art, culture, sensory devices, and science subjects. This type of assumption was the reason for creating modules having two or three classrooms connected by a common space.
Left: first floor plan; right: 1st floor plan
© Mateusz Sniezek
The modules themselves, in their urban layout, relate in size to the existing single-family residential development. The rectangular- or square-plan buildings scattered around the plot were merged by glass connectors, which create two independent courtyards, one for the kindergarten, the other for the school. The created atrial parts provide an interesting and safe space for children, while the transparent connectors give a glimpse of their interior for those in front of the building.
cross-section II-II
© Mateusz Śnieżek
functional layout
We can divide the functional layout of the building into three parts: main, kindergarten and school. The main part includes two separate front entrance zones: for the kindergarten and the school, administrative, technical, catering and scientific zones in the form of a library and a common room. The school part is characterized by four modules and an atrial zone. Three of them have a functional layout: two or three classrooms connected by a common space. One has a sports function. Each of the facilities has been provided with its own technical zone. The kindergarten part consists of three modules and an atrial zone. The modules have a layout of two classrooms connected by a common space.
{Image@url=https://cdn.architekturaibiznes.pl/upload/galerie/50427/images/original/63118ad081de1af1455d68e1678bb08d.jpg,alt=elewacja northwest,title=northwest elevation}
northwest elevation
© Mateusz Śnieżek
MateuszŚNIEŻEK
Illustrations: © Author
