Design strategy for the new Progressive school headquarters

Headquarters for Progressive school #3 in Slatina

Client
Primary progressive school
Users
Pre-schoolers, students 7- 14 y/o; teachers, parents; the progressive school community
Location
Sofia, Bulgaria
Type
Refurbishment
Area
1080 m2
Year
2019 - first phase

The challenge

Deep analysis of the school’s ecosystem along with the students, teachers and management, creating a meaningful space which adapts to their needs:

interviews with the students and teachers and observation of the processes at school using the design thinking methodology. In this way two starting points for the project become visible: the users dreams regarding their space and their everyday challenges, which the design will have to solve

workshops with the students and the teachers resulting in prototypes of ideas for their dreams and challenges

creating a design strategy and architectural design for the new space, based on the knowledge gained from the previous two phases

Quote from research

We want more cushions and couches, the floor and walls have to be soft. - student

Design solutions

The floorplan of the space is fully transformed to answer the teachers’ and students’ needs, synthesised from the research and workshops.

By demolishing the corridor’s walls, a spacious common space is created: this is the heart of the school, with enough light and squarespace to accommodate different activities: pick-up zone for parents, exhibition space, hall for gatherings, meetings and festivities. The furniture is mobile: the low storage units, the soft seating, the library cabinets and the acoustic panels.

A homebase which serves as a space for socialising and informal gatherings for the students is situated in each wing of the building. It has nooks for talks, teamwork and film projections, niches for reading and individual work, units for personal storage and a climbing wall.

An experimental classroom - the progressive room enables students to switch between different learning modes and the teacher being a facilitator of the processes in the classroom. Walls play an active role in the learning process, so the progressive room is equipped with a “japanese wall” which provides teachers and students with limitless wallspace for writing and hanging projects.
The tables are multifunctional and mobile and can be hidden under the windows to free up maximum space. The active chairs allow the body to move freely during class, soft rugs cover the floor and children sit on them too. An amphitheatre, covered with soft fabric which turns over the wall brings for the cosyness, but also for the good acoustics in the space.