Week 7 - Project 2 Development

During the tutorial, my tutor gave some advice about how to approach my design. Originally I was thinking along the lines of the sketches as seen in previous blog.

I was looking at separating the levels of activity as 

BELOW GROUND = VIDEO/AUDIO

GROUND LEVEL = PUBLIC SPACE/ ACTIVE SPACE

and FIRST LEVEL = READING ROOM.

The reason for this is that for audio and video, minimal light is needed and for reading the most natural light should be utilised.

My tutor showed me a couple of sketches and suggested I make my design and form of my building more related to the original folie. 

So back to the drawing board, I looked at forms related to water...

He also suggested that if i am intending to separate the age groups, that i make the building areas separated physically.

These sketches are ideas developed from the idea of water and having separate areas.

I've decided to separate the age groups into three rather than four. This is so there is a distinct difference between the spaces created.

6- 10

10- 14

14 - 18

Also I think that I'm going to overlap the last age group so the children can have options if they are at a different level of learning. 

Quirk (2012) emphasises the importance of playgrounds in learning situations. According to Quirk (2012) children love to climb and explore things. This is an obvious fact but because children love to be active, their learning areas should be conducive to this kind of activity. 

So I'm aiming to make a space for the younger children that has areas to climb perhaps to get to the higher levels. They also like to create and destroy and create again. This could be useful information to make activities such as building blocks. 

Additionally the use of colour can excite and stimulate children. This means colour should be considered in the design of my building (Quirk 2012). 

Nooks can be utilised for childrens activity. I can remember having fun making cubby houses out of sheets and chairs and having my own little area even  just for a little while.  Louis Torelli, M.S.Ed. and Charles Durrett, Architect, maintain that children need to occasionally separate from the group and have the sensation of solitude, and suggest that “private and semi-private environments [...] are critical to the development of the young child’s self-concept and personal identity.” 

So developing a design that incorporates this kind of space is an idea for the younger childrens' area. Also I think that the small spaces of tunnels and openings means the spaces is tailored specifically for little people and its important to designate space for children. 

A Kindergarten by 70ºN Arkitektur in Norway © Ivan Brodey

Luckey Climbers Indoor Playground in Columbus, Ohio, courtesy of Flickr CC clarkmaxwell

A Playground for Leif, by designliga, incorporates climbing and tunneling into its design.

Ecological Children Activity and Education Centre - Koh Kood, Thailand

I tried to develop an envelope for my library as can be seen in the following sketches:

My tutor also suggested i looked at an internal concentration. Perhaps having a pool or water which was the focus of each building. This meant i tried to design an envelope that had internal water areas. 

I was originally working with the very above design in the first sketches because i was trying to provide separate space. I then thought about look at having in internal courtyard for all three spaces. and by making it an internal experience will mean the patrons will be drawn to the centre of the learning centre where the water will be.