Current School Mood Board

Here are some photographs of recent new built schools, by looking at these photos is gives me an idea on how new schools are being developed and enables me to keep up with new designs and modern architecture. judging whether the current innovations are both ergonomically and sustainable fit for the future pupils to thrive off. Also its interesting to see if technology and the facilities that current schools have fit in their new builds have triggered the children ability to reach their target grades. Doing this sort of research enables me as a designer to grasp some ideas from current ideas and take them on as my own and expand them. I understand from these pictures that size is key and generally the bigger the better, size allows huge amounts of vital equipment to be used and stored away, allowing the teachers and pupils maximum resources to succeed. A lot of the current facilities are extremely well designed and everything has a purpose.

ProblemKings Langley school has been in need of a refurbishment for an extremely long time now. The exterior needs updating, their isn’t enough classrooms for the increasing amount of students consequently meaning that ‘temporary classrooms’ have been built with poor heating and aren’t adequate for a teaching and learning environment, some of the temporary classrooms have been known to have leakages in rainy weather. This will cause a difficult learning situation for the children and could compromise their academic ability as they would not be able to achieve maximum focus in a cold and wet environment. The main hall is dark and dingy and needs modernising. Also, the sporting facilities for example are not up to scratch whatsoever, the gym is cold, old and at most rainy times damp. This small spaced sporting facility is really not big enough either only truly fitting one PE class at a time on a rainy day. Also the lack of space denies the school the ability to have resources which could be vital in the academic learning of the kids taking physical subjects in school. There has also been many complaints from teachers that only few classrooms have the interactive whiteboards which plays a necessary part in teaching as it has the ability to appeal to all types of learners: kinaesthetic; they can have a hands on experience by doing activities using the board, auditory: the student can learn using the board through hearing different speeches and videos that can be played through the board and visual; these student can watch videos, see pictures and draw using the interactive whiteboard which makes learning an easier task. Although from the outside of the three-story block it looks modern and aesthetically pleasing, it is an illusion as about 5 years ago the exterior to the building was replaced and refurbished but the interior was still left as the old and shabby classrooms. Many of the facilities do not have a disabled access for example the three story block does not have a lift meaning that a student on crutches or in a wheelchair would not be able to attend the classes on the second or third floor as they would not be able to get up the stairs. This is completely going against the concept of school as it isn’t giving everyone the equal opportunity to learn because not everyone is able to attend these classes. The swimming pool is probably the worst aspect of the school, besides the recent refurbishment of the changing rooms, the pool has indecisive lighting which doesn’t always decide to work, it has broken floor tiles which are dangerous for the student and the pool itself is small and foul, The tiles at the bottom of the pool are a disgusting mould colour (even though they are meant to be white), I could imagine many student creating excuses to avoid having to go into that pool which is stopping Kings Langley School from achieving participation in sport from children. The exterior sports facilities also need major modernizing as the netball/tennis courts have a concrete flooring which can be dangerous for students during a physical education lesson encase they fall and injure themselves. but far from least the school recently won the 2013 Rock Challenge National Championships a huge and great accomplishment for the school to achieve shining a huge light on the quality of performance coming out of Kings Langley School, however the students have to practice in the rather unnecessary school hall which is also used at lunch and assembly times, as a school specialising in the arts I feel its important to give both the drama and dance department somewhere they can call their own to practice in with all the required features which align with London and America dance and drama studios.

There are many problems with Kings Langley school at the moment and all of these issues need to be addressed. Luckily Kings Langley School has won the opportunity for a rebuild of the school, this enables the school to update their facilities and create a better working environment for the children to achieve the best grades that I are capable of. The focus of the new build is to stick to the theme of art and drama as the school is a specialist arts academy. As being the winners of the 2013 Rock Challenge I believe that Kings Langley School deserves to have exceptional facilities in order to continue their massive title as Rock Challenge Champions this means that their needs to be more drama studios with working high tech lighting to ensure that the drama performances are of an exceptional standard so that Kings Langley can remain Rock Challenge champions. In the new build the temporary classrooms will be abolished and the school will be built with enough classrooms for the ever increasing capacity of children at Kings Langley school. There no doubt needs to be an improvement in the sports facilities as well, an indoor sports hall will be created to withstand harsh weather conditions to ensure that the interior stays dry and acceptable for students to learn. The equipment inside the school will need to be replaced and updated; new computers are necessary and interactive whiteboards need to be included in every classroom to ensure that all children are able to learn properly. The exterior sports facilities need to be taken out and replaced with an AstroTurf or rubber flooring which means that the students have a better surface to play sports on and can reduce some injuries from the previous concrete flooring. The new build need to cater more for student with disabilities therefor it requires lifts in all buildings with more than two floors, the school would also need ramps into the buildings for wheelchair access.

Who: Anyone who has connections with the schools new build: Teachers, students, headmasters, school visitors, the community and developers and designers of the new build.What:A visual prototype of the new build for kings Langley school which allows people to get a three dimensional visual on what the school will look like and the improvements that will be made.Where:The Model itself will be set on the field of the current kings Langley school and will be on display in the reception for staff, visitors and students to see hat their new school is going to look like.When:The model should be completed in about 5 months but I can not confirm a date as it could vary. But should be complete in approximately 5 month.Why:There is a huge need for a new build, and the schools sports facilities and educational resources need updating in to the modern generation, which is more sustainable and practical.How:I will use a wide range of materials in order to complete my model, including, Foam board, MDF, Fake Grass, Styrofoam, including a wide range of processes such as vacuum forming, laser cutting hot wire cutting etc.

• Must be a realistic design that can fit onto a 600mm x 400mm base.• Should feature the Kings Langley School emblem throughout the model.• Must be a clear and coherent model so that the viewer can understand

clearly each aspect of the model and what its purpose is. • Must include all of the necessary rooms for educational purposes; e.g.

classrooms for every subject, a hall, canteen, staff room etc.• The school must cater for sporting so there needs to be an up to date

football pitch, rugby pitch, netball court and tennis court.• The school needs to have a modern and futuristic theme throughout and

needs to have bright colours indicating the different departments in the school.

• Must consider environmental and sustainability factors, for example wasting materials and clear choice of most beneficial sustainable and aesthetical model.

5WHs

Design CriteriaBrief

ThumbnailDesigns

Thumbnail Designs Continued

Initial Idea 1Component:This is an idea for the reception, it was a little too complex in the thumbnail design and it looked too busy and therefore would need my design criteria so I removed a part from the front. I then added the hall to the back of it because it was missing from my thumbnail designs. Materials: The walls could be made from Foam board or thin MDF.The windows could be made from acetate or acrylic plastic. The Acrylic Plastic would be more suitable as it is stronger than the Acetate and it is also easier to glue down as it isn’t flimsy, this therefor would made the overall quality higher.Processes and techniques:The foam board can be cut out using a scalpel.The MDF can be cut using the Laser Cutter or band saw.The acetate can be cut with scissors and vacuum formed is it is needed to be made 3D.The acrylic plastic can be cut using the band saw or using the laser cutter.

Component:This is an idea for one of the learning blocks. The ‘L’ shape of the blocks it good because it means that more blocks can fit into the school as they can interlock with each other. This means that there would be better facilities for the small amount of space that the school has to fit on.Materials:The wall of the blocks could be made from a thing MDF, Foam board or HIPS.The Windows can be made from transparent acetate or Acrylic plastic. The Acrylic would be more suitable as it is stronger and is also easier to glue down which would make the quality a lot higher.Processes and Techniques:As the walls of the building it made of rectangles, it isn’t necessary to use the laser cutter as that it more appropriate for more complicated designs, therefor a Tenon saw would be good to use.If it was to be made from foam board, a scalpel it’s the best tool to use to cut it.The acrylic plastic can be cut using the band saw, laser cutter or coping saw.

This is one idea for the layout of the school incorporating the ideas I have explored of this page. At the front it has the reception (I had drawn the reception before I added the hall to the back but it would be part of the design). In the middle there is the quad which is surrounded by the two story ‘L’ Blocks. At the back of the school it has the sports facilities; a football pitch, netball/ tennis courts, an indoor swimming pool and behind all of them is the Athletics track.

I think that this idea works well as the ‘L’ blocks can interlock and this means that the students can walk to their classes in less time and also means that if the school needs to be made even larger, there will be enough space to add more classrooms because of the shape of the Blocks.

Design criteria: Is it a realistic design that can fit onto a 600mm x 400mm base?Yes.Doe it feature the Kings Langley School emblem throughout the model?It will be featured on the reception and the PE department but wont be necessary around the rest of the school so to an extent yes and no.Does it contain classrooms for every subject?Yes (see plan on left).Does it contain an up to date football pitch, rugby pitch, netball court and tennis court?Yes.Does it have bright colours indicating the different departments in the school? No, but these can be added when the design is further developed.Does it consider environmental and sustainability factors, for example wasting materials and clear choice of most beneficial sustainable and aesthetical model?Although acrylic plastic can not be recycled, it is a thermo plastic which can be re-heated and re-shaped it a mistake has been made so it would reduce waste materials.

Developed idea for the swimming pool

Original idea for swimming pool, from the initial designs

Initial idea 2This is the layout for my second idea for the new school. At the front it the reception which has the hall attached to the back of it, then there are 3 blocks which will have different colours on the side to represent the different subjects taught in the areas. Like the other design there is the sports part at the back of the school but this time the swimming pool is in the middle and there is the netball/ tennis courts to one side and the football/ rugby pitch is on the other side. Behind that there is the athletics track.

Design criteria: Is it a realistic design that can fit onto a 600mm x 400mm base?Yes because of the sports facilities as the netball court changes into a tennis court and the football pitch changes into a rugby pitch.Doe it feature the Kings Langley School emblem throughout the model?It will be featured on the reception and the PE department but wont be necessary around the rest of the school so to an extent yes and no.Does it contain classrooms for every subject?Yes (see design on bottom right).Does it contain an up to date football pitch, rugby pitch, netball court and tennis court?Yes.Does it have bright colours indicating the different departments in the school? Yes.Does it consider environmental and sustainability factors, for example wasting materials and clear choice of most beneficial sustainable and aesthetical model?Although acrylic plastic can not be recycled, it is a thermo plastic which can be re-heated and re-shaped it a mistake has been made so it would reduce waste materials. Some materials used are recyclable.

Components:This is an idea for the reception which has a very modern shape with lots of glass which fits with the futuristic and clean theme. The reception attaches to the front of the hall and the door for the reception is also the door for the hall.Materials:For the walls the reception could be made form thin MDF, Foam board or HIPS. The windows can be made using acetate or acrylic plasticProcesses and Techniques:The Foam board can be cut using a scalpel.The acetate can be cut using scissors The acrylic plastic can be cut by using either the laser cutter, a Tenon saw or the band saw. But as the shapes for the window are quite small the laser cutter would be the most appropriate method for cutting the acrylic.Component:

This is an idea for the swimming pool. After putting this idea onto Google Sketch-up I didn’t really like the design as it looks really plain and quite boxy and doesn’t fit in with the futuristic look. However I do like the idea that there is a lot of natural light available.Materials:The wall of the blocks could be made from a thin MDF, Foam board or HIPS.The Windows can be made from transparent acetate or Acrylic plastic. The Acrylic would be more suitable as it is stronger and is also easier to glue down which would make the quality a lot higher.Processes and Techniques:The foam board can be cut out using a scalpel.The MDF can be cut using the Laser Cutter or band saw.The acetate can be cut with scissors and vacuum formed if it is needed to be made 3D.The acrylic plastic can be cut using the band saw or using the laser cutter.

Component:These are idea for the Main blocks in the new build of Kings Langley school.Materials:The windows can be made from acrylic plastic or acetate. (the acrylic plastic would be more suitable as it is stronger and i have a wider range of colours to use.The front walls can be made from HIPS, MDF or foam board as they are good for straight edges.The curved walls could be made from HIPS, Acrylic, Styrofoam or foam board.Processes and techniques:The HIPS, Acrylic and MDF can be cut using the laser cutter. The foam board can be made curved by using the scalpel and ‘scoring’ lines along it to create folds which makes the board curve. The Styrofoam can be made curved by using the Hot Wire Cutter and by sanding it down.

Initial Idea 3Reception and hall

Main blocks

Athletics TrackSwimming

Pool

Netball/tennis

Football/rugby

This is the layout for my third idea for the school. Again at the front there is the reception as it is necessary for it to be at the front so visitors can check in easily. Then there is the main blocks where the blocks are arranged on top of each other and around each other (view bottom left design). Having the bocks on to of each other is good as it doesn’t take up as much room on the premises. Behind the learning bocks is the sports department with a netball court, tennis court, football pitch, rugby pitch and an athletics track.

Design criteria: Is it a realistic design that can fit onto a 600mm x 400mm base?Yes as the blocks are on top of each other and therefor wont take up too much room so it will be able to fit on to this sized base.Doe it feature the Kings Langley School emblem throughout the model?It will be featured on the reception and the PE department but wont be necessary around the rest of the school so to an extent yes and no.Does it contain classrooms for every subject?Yes, each block will contain 2 departments apart from maths, science and English which will have their own block. There for there is enough room for seven different subjects.Does it contain an up to date football pitch, rugby pitch, netball court and tennis court?Yes, the netball courts can be changed into tennis courts buy putting nets up and the football pitch also has rugby makings on so that it can be used as a rugby pitch and also means that it would help design criteria part 1 as it wont take up loads of room having separate pitches and courts.Does it have bright colours indicating the different departments in the school? Yes. (The different cuboid blocks can be coloured differently to symbolise the different blocks).Does it consider environmental and sustainability factors, for example wasting materials and clear choice of most beneficial sustainable and aesthetical model?Although acrylic plastic can not be recycled, it is a thermo plastic which can be re-heated and re-shaped it a mistake has been made so it would reduce waste materials. Some materials used are recyclable.

Component: This is an idea for the main blocks. In this idea, the blocks are arranged in a slightly unorganised way where the blocks are on top of each other and next to each other. These blocks can be coloured to resemble the different subjects taught in them.Materials:The windows of the building can be made from acrylic plastic, acetate or HIPS.The walls of the building can be made from thing MDF, Foam Board, or HIPS.Processes and techniques:The HIPS, acrylic and MDF can be cut using the laser cutter. The Acetate can be cut using scissors.The Foam Board can be cut using a scalpel.If acetate is used, the material could be vacuum formed into a triangular shape to create the doors at the front.

Component:This is an idea for the indoor swimming pool for the new build of Kings Langley Secondary School. I tried to make the design less square than the other designs as they make look a bit plain. I also tried to make this design look more futuristic but putting the ‘Shelter’ over the front area. I might remove the pillars and make it a clear @shelter’ to make it look even more futuristic so that it suits the design specification a lot more.Materials: The pillars can be made from a tube of acrylic plastic. The wall can be made from MDF, HIPS or foam board. I would be easier to use the HIPS or Foam board because the already come with a white finish whereas the MDF is a wood colour and that would require to be painted and would make an extra stage during the making of the model.The glass roof, doors and windows can be made from acetate or acrylic plastic or HIPS. The acrylic plastic and the HIPS would be a better material to use as the acetate is flimsy whereas they are stronger which makes the whole process of shaping and gluing the windows on a lot easier. Processes and Techniques:For the MDF, Acrylic and HIPS these materials can be laser cut which would make a very accurate and high quality finish. These materials could also be cut using the band saw but to create a good finish the material would have to be sanded down at the edges, by using the laser cutter it removes that stage and these for makes it a lot quicker. And also when the laser cutter is running I could be working on something else.

Component: This is an idea for the reception of the building at the front it is the reception and to the back left there is the hall and the back right there is a sports hall.Materials: The walls could be made from Foam board or thin MDF.The windows could be made from acetate or acrylic plastic. The Acrylic Plastic would be more suitable as it is stronger than the Acetate and it is also easier to glue down as it isn’t flimsy, this therefor would made the overall quality higher.Processes and techniques:The foam board can be cut out using a scalpel.The MDF can be cut using the Laser Cutter or band saw.The acetate can be cut with scissors and vacuum formed is it is needed to be made 3D.The acrylic plastic can be cut using the band saw or using the laser cutter.