Honor Awards
Congo Gorilla Forest, Bronx, N.Y.,
Alternative Learning Environment, Helpern Architects
"Absolutely fabulous. Great stuff. Love it!" These sentiments from John Mayfield resonated among the entire group of reviewers. The mission of the gorilla exhibit is to use technology, art, and architecture, as well as the very proximity of wild animals in "nature,"to inspire millions of visitors to care about vanishing gorillas and wild habitats in Africa, as well as encourage them to take direct action to protect important rain forests.
The mission of the educational space is to create materials and programming to make the exhibit an accessible and exciting learning experience for up to 250 students and their teachers, as well as for families.
There was agreement among reviewers that having classrooms with windows into the world of animals is good preparation for a leap into the real world. Like Mayfield, Betty Politi was enthusiastic when she said, "Incredible idea! The project provides a variety of learning spaces that translates the principles established by community representatives, educators, parents, and experts."
Harbor City International School, Duluth, Minn.,
High School, Randall Fielding and Scalzo Architects
A handful of teachers with a passion for working with teenagers launched this school from their living rooms. The 200-student, public charter school occupies the third floor of an 1860 industrial building in Duluth’s central business district. The school provides a small, learner-directed community that encourages investigative learning, global citizenship, and nurtures a sense of belonging; its purpose is to graduate students who are knowledgeable, discerning, passionate, creative, and reflective.
Collaboration and project-based learning were identified as key objectives in the planning of this educational environment; these methods foster creative connections and synthesis, skills that students need to succeed.
Anne Taylor liked the non-traditional furnishings, the individual workstations, the good presentation spaces, and the attempt to keep costs down while exacting innovation.
John Mayfield said, "Very important. Rich with ideas. Right at the edge in many respects." Edward Kirkbride spoke for many other reviewers when he said that the "plan with furniture and ‘bubble’ explanations helps both understanding and the imagination of how the school can be used flexibly for a multitude of learning experiences; I’ll want to visit this project when it is in session."
Canning Vale High School, Perth, Australia,
High School, Spowers Architects, Vitetta, and Canning Vale Community
The Western Australia Department of Education had one simple rule: every decision relating to this 1,200-student high school had to put children first. Ten guiding project principles, including the nurturing of mind, body, and spirit and the personalization of learning experiences led to the architectural philosophy embodied by four ideas:
- The architecture should not be a limiting factor
- The architecture should be inspiring
- Special attention should be paid to the spaces between buildings
- The building should be designed to allow customization by end-users
Reviewers liked the excellent programming questions that resulted in
a design that is a playful mix of forms representing various learning
neighborhoods, which lie along a learning street that leads to the colorful campus center.
Some reviewers made special reference to the importance of the staff-training plan, which is an essential part of this project. Comments by Jeff Lackney reflected what others felt as well, "This project included many progressive educational goals such as scaled environments and personalized learning that resulted in an innovative project. The architecture of this project supports its project principles by creating motivational spaces for social as well as academic learning."
Vensterschool, Groningen, Netherlands,
Elementary School, Atelier PRO Architects
"In our design vision, a school is more than just a collection of classrooms. A school gives expression to the sensitive process of teaching and learning, of being mature and becoming mature, with places where you can talk in an informal way, where you can meet, or just where you can watch each other." This vision is the one proffered by the 1,100-student Vensterschool, which captured the imaginations of the entire review panel. It is the first school in the Netherlands to be entirely devoted to the new teaching method of the "studiehuis" or study house, a new system characterized by a shift from teaching to learning, with students playing a more active and independent role as individuals.
Anne Taylor liked the interesting mix of materials and felt the design is functional yet traditional. Reviewers particularly liked one feature that’s playful – but also fully functional and innovative – and that’s the way in which backpacks are stored and locked safely at the ceiling level using a system of chains and pulleys. Reviewers also commented about the multi-functional atrium that serves as entry zone, circulation space, sheltered school playground, festivity hall, and auditorium.
Reflecting the views of so many others, reviewer Prakash Nair said, "Truly a new paradigm school!"
The Gary and Jerri-Ann Jacobs High Tech High, San Diego, Calif.,
High School, David Stephen Design and The Stichler Design Group
Launched in September 2000 by an industry and educator coalition, High Tech High is a bold innovation in public education. A small, diverse learning community with a projected student count of 600 in grades 7-12, this cutting-edge school is founded on three design principles: personalization, adult world connection, and a common intellectual mission. Designed as a collaborative effort, the project boasts one of the most advanced animation labs in the country. The facility houses state-of-the-art biochemistry and engineering labs, and flexible classroom space, all connected to an advanced electronic infrastructure.
The building, formerly a U.S. Navy technical training center, includes multi-purpose seminar rooms, cutting-edge labs, project studios, a centralized commons, and a large, high-ceilinged open area known as the "great room." Students have their own workstations for a significant part of the day and move easily between seminar, lab, and group project workspaces.
Bill DeJong liked the many teaming opportunities afforded by the educational program and building configuration. Anne Taylor’s comments reflected the views of many on the panel when she said, "Good collaboration with industry. Innovative student work stations. Design principles emphasized include personalization, adult world connection, and common intellectual mission. Excellent model for learning and the architecture supports it."
Shitara Middle School, Shitara Town, Aichi prefecture, Japan,
Middle School, Akihiko Watanabe and ITO Architects and Engineers
The school day for the 250 students attending the Shitara Middle School begins and ends by passing through the generous porch formed below the second floor judo space. Up on the roof, seven towers evoke images of the townscape of San Gimignano in Italy. When students walk into the entrance hall, they are bathed in the morning sun from the towers above.
There is a hierarchical division of the school into four zones:
Public zone, which consists of the cafeteria, library, corridor, and central court area used mainly for informal socializing.
Semi-public zone, which consists of laboratories used mostly by students but also are open to the community.
Semi-private zone, which consists of three grade commons with a multi-purpose room and court used for group work and informal education.
Private-zone consisting of classrooms.
Reviewers commented on the project’s use of daylighting and the organization of classrooms so they open onto common areas. Jeff Lackney liked the project’s sensitive public/private gradient, which is a unique conceptual framework for school design. He also appreciated the plan’s flexibility.
Yeshiva Elementary School, Milwaukee, Wis.,
Other Grade Configurations, Randall Fielding and Haag Muller Architects
Henry Sanoff noted that this submission "should win an award for the narrative. It is thoughtful and innovative, not unlike many of the features of this school. The classroom concepts are on target and certainly reflect an understanding of the best research in the field. Perhaps the most important aspect of the project is the way in which the architect initiated the project with follow-through until the building opened." Another important reason for the success of the design is the close working relationship between architect and client community.
At this school, "Tradition called for an intensely Jewish education, protected from the television-entwined values of the public system." In its planning and implementation, reviewers felt that this project is a very powerful symbol for the way in which innovation and tradition can be both compatible and harmoniously blended. Design elements they liked include the angled bay in the kindergarten, which creates a niche for small group play. The ceiling is lower over the bay to emphasize the feeling of a separate, more intimate space. Additionally, the new environment emphasizes natural light and varied, flexible spaces. Prior to the 2001 addition and renovation, individual tutoring and special education typically occurred in a narrow, window-less corridor.
Blackrock Forest Center for Science and Education, Cornwall, N.Y.,
Other Grade Configurations, Fox & Fowle Architects
"To teach students natural science in a forest is a wonderful idea!" said Betty Politi, and most of the review panel agreed. The Blackrock Forest Center for Science and Education provides student groups, ranging in age from kindergarten through graduate school, as well as staff and scientific teams, a setting for environmental study and research. The facility was conceived as a home for a non-profit consortium of 20 public and private schools, colleges, and universities, as well as scientific and cultural institutions engaged in research, education, and conservation in this 3,750-acre forest preserve.
The center, which is seamlessly incorporated into its natural setting in a sensitive and sustainable manner, helps demonstrate how we can learn about our natural world. Jeff Lackney observed that the project deserves an award for the interagency cooperation alone. He also added that the "building practices what it preaches with environmental green principles and acts as a teaching tool." In fact, much of the material used in the construction of the center was harvested from the forest. Building materials, such as the stone veneer and the building’s pine paneling, are from local sources; the columns framing the atrium are four different oak species and found in the surrounding forest.
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