Spatial (architectural) design is one of five fields introduced to pupils as part of art education. In planning architectural design tasks, one should take into consideration the particularities of the architectural design process and enable pupils to experience space and relationships within space through their own movement. Furthermore, pupils…

A discussion of open-planning as one means to allow for individualized instruction in schools. (AA)

Research shows that for effective learning to occur, children must be actively involved. They need space to work with a wide variety of materials, share ideas, and present their findings. Architects are working to produce designs featuring large common areas or large complexes devoted to specific interests. Working in an open environment…

Two studies show that underground elementary schools have no detrimental effect on pupils' achievement or adjustment in school, or on their physical or mental health. (Author/IRT)

This book presents a series of projects for children of all levels of expertise, beginning with abstract patterns, rows, and towers and progressing to step-by-step instructions for 18 projects, including a bridge, boat dock, airport, shopping mall, skyscraper, castle, Greek temple, Toy Store City, City of the Future, and The Emerald City of Oz.…

A project testing solar heating and cooling in an existing building, the George A. Towns Elementary School, is intended to provide information on system design and performance, allow the identification and correction of problems encountered in installing large units, and gauge community/user reaction to solar equipment. (Author/MLF)

Following a "building code" specified by their art teacher, sixth-graders designed and built cardboard townhouses to serve as permanent hallway decorations in their school. This article is one of four in this issue describing elementary level mural projects. (SJL)

The organization of space profoundly affects learning. Students feel better connected to a building that anticipates their needs and respects them as individuals. Built in 1971, Crow Island School, in Winnetka, Illinois, is a prize-winning facility that has provided generations of children with windowed classrooms, skylights, adjacent workrooms,…

A school to accommodate handicapped students side by side with nonhandicapped elementry students in remote Alaska was designed with programing considerations in mind and attention to the development of stable relationships among students. Design concepts and features are reviewed. (CL)

Author describes the recently completed Bishop Learning Center at the Punahou School, Honolulu. The key to the unqualified success of the center is found not in superior material features, but rather in a basic staff attitude of positive concern. (Author)

The 1979 passive solar design for Meadow Park Elementary School (Irvine, California) was not used until 1986. Architects had incorporated workable energy-saving features that would give a sizable return on the investment. They maximized use of natural light and used solar features (clerestory windows and interior courtyards) to reduce heat…

The manual is intended to help school districts comply with federal mandates for physical accessibility and least restrictive settings for handicapped elementary school children. A general introduction to the accessibility concept in chapter 1 considers the historical background, the role of the physical environment, and existing federal…

This study was designed to observe, record, and describe the interface between educational facilities and learning climate in three elementary schools, comparing the results with results from a 1990 study. Data came from taped informal interviews, videotape recordings, observations, and conversations with parents, teachers, and administrators.…

Discusses the benefits of teaching architecture to gifted students and describes a unit implemented in elementary gifted classrooms. Student activities included researching architects' styles, creating model-building exteriors out of mixed media, creating floor plans, designing interiors, and brainstorming with resource people from fields related…

The development of new instructional organizations has placed demands on school facilities that cannot be met adequately with the procedures currently used for school design. Organizational methods, for example, that stress small-group and individual work in non-age-graded settings are not accommodated easily by either of the two common forms of…