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

  • California High School Opens New Classroom Building for 7th-, 8th-Graders

    Santa Rosa City Schools in Santa Rosa, Calif., recently announced the completion of a new classroom building for Piner High School. As the campus transitions to a Junior/Senior High School, the facility will play home to the school’s new population of seventh- and eighth-grade students.

  • Wyoming District Breaks Ground on New Elementary School

    Laramie County School District #1 in Cheyenne, Wy., recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for the upcoming Mountain View Elementary School, according to a news release. The facility has an estimated completion date of summer 2028, and it will have the capacity for 650 students in fifth and sixth grade.

  • Haws Corporation Marks 120th Anniversary

    Haws Corporation, which provides hydration and emergency safety solutions worldwide, recently announced that the company is celebrating its 120th anniversary this year, according to a news release.

  • URI Cuts Underwater Ribbon on New Ocean Robotics Laboratory

    The University of Rhode Island recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new Ocean Robotics Laboratory at its Narragansett Bay Campus, according to a news release. Two students used a remotely operated vehicle to cut an underwater ribbon in a 30-by-20-foot test tank.