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(Re)Designing Learning Environments
School of Environmental Studies
ARCHITECTURE
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The School of Environmental Studies was designed in a manner very different from most schools. The committee charged with planning SES conducted almost two years of research before commissioning an architect. What emerged was a clear vision of the kinds of learning experiences they hoped to provide: interdisciplinary, project-based, and real-world.
PDF:
Timeline
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Architect Bruce Jilk is a leader in rethinking the way schools are designed. He was commissioned to design the school and given strict budgetary parameters: the per-pupil costs to build and operate the school could not exceed those of other high schools in the district. The result: a 68,000 square foot building, completed for $5,420,000, or $80 per square foot.
The central building block of Jilk’s design is the student workstation (desk with bulletin board and storage area). This feature simultaneously meets two objectives: that students take on the role of workers (the workstation resembles an office cubicle) and that the learning environment promote a sense of identity (students can decorate workstations to reflect personal tastes).
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Individual workstations are clustered in groups of 10, forming a “pod.” Ten pods form a “house.” The term “house” refers not only to the grouping of 100 students with three teachers but also to their common workspace: a large, flexible-use room (nearly half of one floor) with tables and partitions that can be arranged to accommodate small or large group work.
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Architecturally, the “heart” of SES is a forum spanning two floors at the center of the building. Each of the school’s four houses faces it and/or the adjacent library. Another example of flexible-use space, the forum serves as cafeteria, display center, gathering place, and auditorium, depending on how tables, chairs, and partitions are configured.
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Much of the building’s architecture is transparent and serves as a teaching tool. The exposure of steel beams demonstrates how architects work with gravity and the exposed ductwork shows how air moves through the building. These are manifestations of Jilk’s design philosophy: “We need to create places that not only house learners; they need to be places that evoke learning.”
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| Architecture
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