Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

CREATING WARM AND EXCITING ENVIRONMENTS

  • By Thomas G. Dolan
  • 06/01/03

Schools are institutions, and, like other institutions such as post offices and court houses, they were designed to look pretty much the same. Not any more. "One of the biggest challenges schools face today is competing for a child's attention," says Sandy Kate, principal/director of interiors for Fanning/Howey & Associates in Celina, Ohio. "There are so many stimulating environments — malls, video arcades, fast food restaurants — that children often don't want to engage themselves at school. They would rather be somewhere else."

The personnel at Fanning/ Howey have spent a lot of time talking with kids asking them just how they felt about their school environments. "So often we've heard the comments that the place is so 'boring,' 'unfriendly' and 'makes us feel uncomfortable.' What we try to do is create a warm and exciting environment that kids will want to come to."

The design was made to resemble the Village of Fort Recovery's historic downtown, with the corridor tiled like an old brick street, lined with old-fashioned lamposts and history building façades, such as a courthouse, with the a lighted marquee and ticket booth at the entrance to the auditorium with the face of the now defunct Royal Theater.

Surveys of the kids revealed that some of their main concerns were natural lighting, air conditioning and enough space so they didn't feel crowded. These factors were incorporated into the design, the corridor being very wide — 18 ft. across and 330 ft. long. Small tables and chairs on the sides of the "street" provide places for the children to socialize, study or be tutored.

The design serves as an ongoing history of the town and also involves the community in a number of ways. For instance, it has served as the venue for the Veterans Day parade. The children studied military history to prepare for the event, wrote letters to veterans and paraded down the brick streets dressed in uniforms from past wars and carried flags. The "street" was wide enough to accommodate many members of the community who attended the event.

Featured

  • Porter Family Center

    Porter Family Center for Innovation and Academics

    Established in 1999, the Education Design Showcase is a vehicle for showing off innovative — yet practical — solutions in planning, design, architecture, and construction. The Porter Family Center for Innovation and Academics has been recognized with an EDS 2026 Project of Distinction award in the category of New Construction.

  • Virginia Tech Tops Out New College of Engineering Building

    Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., recently celebrated the topping out of Mitchell Hall, which will soon stand as the largest College of Engineering building on campus, according to a news release. The university partnered with Skanska on the 285,500-square-foot facility, which has an expected completion date of winter 2028.

  • Rowan University, HPE Partner on New Learning Initiative

    Rowan University in Glassboro, N.J., recently announced that it has expanded its partnership with enterprise technology provider HPE to improve research capabilities and hands-on learning opportunities, according to a news release.

  • Indiana University Launches Capital Campus in D.C.

    Indiana University recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new IU Capital Campus in Washington, D.C., according to university news. The eight-story facility will provide a central hub for the university’s existing programs and business operations based in D.C., uniting them under one roof and providing the opportunity to expand.