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FIELDING INTERNATIONAL

DESIGNING FOR WELL-BEING. A book of design solutions for holistic well-being in education Summer 2021

Fielding International

CONTENT

IMPORTANCE OF WELL-BEING

WHAT IS A PATTERN?

APPLICATION OF PATTERNS + CONNECTED THEMES

WELLNESS IN LEARNING PATTERNS

Learner’s Reflection Zone Color as Signage Wellness Station Learning Commons Varieties

10 16 24 30

SECURITY PATTERNS

Concentric Layers of Safety

ENVIRONMENTAL PATTERNS

Wild Landscapes ReWilding EcoLab

52 58 66

WHAT’S NEXT?

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IMPORTANCE OF WELL-BEING An enriching and stimulating learning environment is fundamental to the growth of mentally and physically healthy students. A learning environment assists in building traits and skills that form the characters of those whom inhabit it--a well designed environment promotes intelligent, strong and socially confident humans. An environment that supports student excellence and growth is one that accounts for all aspects of wellness to achieve holistic inhabitant well-being. Student well-being has been challenged with COVID and tragedy and yet even with the continually disrupted standards of which traditional curriculum is taught and facilities are designed, the facilities have continued to adapt to provide the most supportive environment for students. It is imperative for designers to put student and teacher well-being at the forefront of thought to provide the most supportive environment with the challenges threatening and arising. This book provides design solutions to challenges that threaten the well-being of learners. The challenges are ones that either pose as present significance in the field of education or are new themes anticipated from current circumstance. The patterns provided within this book are coupled under three core issues of Wellness, Security, and Environment. They offer spatial design suggestions as well as conceptual guidelines and are a result of emergent, transformative thinking for the educational setting.

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WHAT IS A PATTERN? A pattern is a broad set of relationships organized to solve a problem that continually occurs in our environment. The set of relationships, or components, constitute the main functions and details of the pattern without making it so specific that it cannot be adaptable to various settings and conditions. In order for a pattern to work, it needs to repeatable, but adjusting itself to meet the needs and preferences of different environments. Thus, a successful pattern’s components should address the problem and propose the core of the solution in the most simple, broad way. A pattern can be multiplied endlessly without every being designed in the same exact way. Christopher Alexander proposed the idea that patterns make up our environment in his 1977 book, “A Pattern Language”. A pattern language is an organized set of patterns that individually address problems and are defined as the core of the solution. He states that patterns are not ever remote, but that they always work and perform in network with other patterns as problems and solutions often overlap and adjacencies assist in the enhancement of one another. Alexander states: “...no pattern is an isolated entity. Each pattern can exist in the world only to the extent that is supported by other patterns: the larger patterns in which it is embedded, the patterns of the same size that surround it, and the smaller patterns which are embedded in it.” (Alexander, 1977) A pattern can be understood with these points: • Includes 2D or 3D sketch / Photograph / Isometric • Includes annotations • Limits color selection • Limits prescriptiveness of furniture/equipment • Emphasizes activity of use • States a clear problem statement • Provides a clear action statement • Is simple enough to be understood in 1 minute • Adds research, examples and additional considerations to “go deeper” • Can be physical, spacial or abstract

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PROBLEM A challenge within the educational field that threatens inhabitant well-being--what the pattern attempts to solve.

Problem Context The circumstance and significance of the problem--is the problem worth solving?

Forces Affecting the Problem Elements that assist in causing the problem to be significant and are out of control of the pattern.

ACTION STRATEGY A proposed design solution to the stated problem backed with research.

COMPONENTS The parts, stated in simplest form, needed to achieve the strategy and address the problem.

EXAMPLES Existing models of the pattern or components of the pattern in action against solving the stated problem.

CONTINUING THOUGHTS Additional thoughts on designing, planning or implementing the strategy--how can the strategy be taken deeper?

CONNECTED PATTERNS Other strategies presented that address the same or similar issue in one or more of its components. Patterns create a web of solutions as their design problems often overlap.

RESOURCES Resources that encourage continued thinking of the pattern.

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APPLICATION OF PATTERNS & CONNECTED THEMES Listed below are themes that are facing challenges in the present educational environment. With design, these themes can be solaced to create a healthier and more supportive educational environment for future learners. Although each pattern is designed to address one main challenge in the field, its strategy encompasses solutions for other connected themes.

Pattern

LEARNER’S REFLECTION ZONE COLOR AS SIGNAGE

WELLNESS STATION

LEARNING COMMUNITY VARIETIES CONCENTRIC LAYERS OF SAFETY WILD LANDSCAPES

REWILDING

ECOLABS

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Metacognition

Student Autonomy

Orientation

Sensory Design

Adapted Design

This graph explains the themes each pattern addresses in its strategy while also highlights connected patterns that may offer alternate solutions to the same challenge.

Community Connectivity

Physical Wellness

Mental Wellness

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Holistic Safety

Biophilia

Habit Reform Sustainability

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WELLNESS IN LEARNING PATTERNS LEARNER’S REFLECTION ZONE COLOR AS SIGNAGE

WELLNESS STATION

LEARNING COMMUNITY VARIETIES

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Cave Space \ Col-legi Montserrat \ FIELDING INTERNATIONAL

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Learner’s Reflection Zone How can we create space for all styles of academic reflection?

CONNECTING PATTERNS:

Reflection in learning is imperative for creating strong connections between learned concepts. It builds self-efficacy, social interaction and the ability to con1 sider other perspectives besides one’s own. By coupling curriculum concepts with physical experience and then reflecting on the outcome, students engage more regions of their brain and form more mental links to the material. They are encouraged to analyze how their actions affect the issue at hand and how their outcome may have varied from other students’ results. This analysis helps students to better apply learned concepts from one task to other experiences and assignments. 2 Reflection in learning is extremely important in building metacognition and learning to learn. Metacognition describes the ability to be aware of and understanding one’s own thought processes. Reflection is intellectual work that differs from the dominant academic culture by intentionally engaging the whole person and cultivating students’ awareness of themselves.3

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PROBLEM PROBLEM STATEMENT + CONTEXT: • •

Learners are not taught how to reflect Learners are not taught that reflection can occur in many different ways

Learners are generally assigned a reflection task at the end of a project or assignment without understanding the meaning and value of the assignment. These reflection assignments commonly encourage students to understand how they felt toward an experience and the time they have committed to completing the it but the tasks do not necessarily encourage students to think about what they learned and how that learned information can be applied to future situations. Learner’s are not taught that reflection is a skill that assists in gaining and trans4 ferring knowledge. Each student may resonate with their own style of reflection that allows them to absorb and connect with the material they are learning. Not all students reflect well through writing but other may do so better with discussion. There are many styles to reflect and encouraging varied types allows students to find what way 5 works best for them. Components needed for reflection: Students need explicit training, social/collaborative context, dependent on authentic experience/action, concurrently occurring with learning experience, variety, prompt feedback response 5

FORCES AFFECTING THE PROBLEM: • •

Reflection is most commonly taught after learning - not before or during learning Students are not aware they are reflecting

Structuring reflection as a cycle moving from experience to reflection and then back to experience allows students to develop habits of reflecting while they are working and learning. Making reflection assignments explicit is important for stu1 dents being aware they are reflecting.

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ACTION STRATEGY •

Create a tri-zoned space that prioritizes diversity in reflection to promote student resonance and comfortability with reflection.

This pattern designs for varying reflection styles that address the three stages of reflection: Planning, Monitoring (Reflection in action) and Evaluating (Reflection on Action). The three zones are called Prompt, Work-Share and Retreat and they are all geared to different reflection techniques.

COMPONENTS: Prompt: Designed for large group discussion/debate at the scale of the class. This space allows the contribution of many perspectives in thinking through ideas, planning for activities, or thinking back on learned outcomes. Here, this space allows students to be comfortable in discussing their ideas to a larger setting while being able to understand how others are thinking. The space can be utilized in the planning or evaluating processes of reflection. Scale: Class Feel: Med-noise, unbiased, supportive Work-Share: Designed for small group collaboration and project/idea sharing. Here a couple of small groups with 2-5 students can utilize their space for peer-topeer feedback on work. This space allows student to reflect-in-action as projects in the process of development can be immediately brought and discussed here. This space allows students to have self-governance over showing work/gaining feedback from peers. Scale: A couple of groups (group: 2-5 people) Feel: Noisy, open, inspiring, messy Retreat: Designed for a few individuals to have their own private space for individual thinking, writing or sketching. The retreat room promotes metacognition in understanding one’s own perspective through personal reflection activities. The Reflection Room allows students to be comfortable in seeking ideas in privacy. It provides a secure space of thinking without disruptions. Scale: A few individuals (4) Feel: Quiet, secluded, comforting

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Alternate retreat spaces can be designed as outdoor nooks

Reflection Zone can adapt to accommodate various scales by incorporating flex walls

Design reflection zone in connection to discrete learning spaces

Work-Share

Prompt

Retreat

Non-enclosed space

Non-hierarchical seating

Enclosed / semi-enclosed space

Tackable wall for “pin-up”

Flexible seating

Writing surfaces

Collaboration surfaces

Writing walls

Controllable lighting / sound

Color-infused for creativity

Interior / exterior transparency

Reflection Zone can be designed as extension of Learning Commons

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Alternative spaces of retreat: Cave Space Small Group Rooms

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EXAMPLES

The pit \ EPIC High Schools NYC \ DANISH KURANI STUDIO The Pit is a space designed for interpersonal discussions and debates. Its program of flexible seating and writing walls focus solely on the exchange of ideas.

Retreat Spaces - Cave Space \ Col-legi Montserrat \ FIELDING INTERNATIONAL Cave spaces are designed as places of retreat; these semi-enclosed spaces offer a space of privacy from the connected Learning Studios or Commons. Retreat spaces will look different for different age groups--a retreat space for younger students may be designed around play.

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CONTINUING THOUGHTS... •

•

• • •

Design Learner’s Reflection Zone into the Learning Commons; Populating a Commons with Prompt, Work-Share and Retreat components of the Learner’s Reflection Zone can provide structure and add specific use to the Commons space A non-hierarchical arrangement of furniture from student to student and student to teacher in the Prompt space can encourage active dialogue and comfortability in discussion across classes Providing a variety of mobile seating options in the Prompt and Retreat spaces allows students to find the positions that make them most comfortable Accommodating the zones with technology such as projectors allows students to reflect on all media forms--physical or digital The Reflection Zone can provide as a space to build hard skills for employment like presenting and interviewing practice The reflection suite has an adaptable scale and can be accommodated into discrete learning spaces or have its entirely own suite

RESOURCES for additional thinking:

Citations: 1

“Why ‘Reflection’ Encourages a Better Learning Experience.” Learning Pool, 28 Aug. 2018, https://learningpool.

com/why-reflection-encourages-a-better-learning-experience/. 2

Chang, B. (2019). Reflection in learning. Online Learning, 23(1), 95-110.

doi:10.24059/olj.v23i1.1447 3

Zuckerman, Galina. “Development of Reflection through Learning Activity.” European Journal of Psychology of

Education, vol. 19, no. 1, Mar. 2004, pp. 9–18. Springer Link, https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03173234.

Mary Ryan (2013) The pedagogical balancing act: teaching reflection in higher

education, Teaching in Higher Education, 18:2, 144-155, DOI: 10.1080/13562517.2012.694104

Cultivating Reflection and Metacognition | U-M LSA Sweetland Center for Writing. https://lsa.umich.edu/sweetl

and/instructors/teaching-resources/cultivating-reflection-and-metacognition.html. Accessed 16 Aug. 2021.

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Color as Signage How can we add purpose to the use of color by utilizing it for wayfinding to allow effortless navigation?

CONNECTING PATTERNS:

How can we ease a users understanding of orientation with design?--And by doing so with embedded design techniques that peak the senses rather than tacked on design elements. Color is one technique highly used as a navigational tool in design because of the way the brain naturally perceives and processes color. Humans use color as a primary means of sorting and grouping objects as therefore it helps take visual memory of surroundings and provides as a natural wayfinding technique. By utilizing color strategically, and not designing monochromatic or mottled interiors, color can help develop the definition of an architectural environment by reinforcing a hierarchy of spaces and landmarks. This aids to the purpose of color place1 ment on top of considering it for its psychological effects. Children begin to comprehend their environment at age 7 and at 8 are able to start deciphering locations along routes. However, children still need support for 2 navigation. With effective design, students can develop their own wayfinding skills which increases independence and confidence and frees staff from con3 stant assistance.

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PROBLEM PROBLEM STATEMENT + CONTEXT: • •

Disorientation is a cause of major stress in everyday life Navigating and orienting oneself in contemporary, unconventional educational programs that incorporate open plans, outdoor spaces, or sites across the neighborhood may increase stress in the learning environment

Incorporating wayfinding techniques in facilities and campuses has grown in focus and importance due to rising safety concerns in school settings. However, it is still often an afterthought in the process of facility design. Negligence of incorporating proper wayfinding can highly contribute to unsafe situations and increased user stress. The purpose of wayfinding design is to educate and inform a visitor of their new surroundings and to help familiarize themselves with the features, amenities and function of the space they find themselves in. With wayfinding, one should be assertive of their position in space by understanding their surroundings. Programs that are confusing enhance user stress as wayfinding issues may result in frustration from time loss and disorientation. Concurrently, programs that are challeng1 ing to navigate or understand provide unsafe environments.

FORCES AFFECTING THE PROBLEM: • • •

Monochromatic interiors Mottled interiors Non-hierarchy of spaces/paths

Design factors that contribute to disorientation include colorless or monochromatic wall as they provide no indication of difference. Contrarily, mottled interiors, or interiors with too much color that is randomly assigned with no strategy, oversaturate surfaces. A non-hierarchical program also gives no indication of memo4 rable landmarks.

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ACTION STRATEGY •

Strategically add color around the facility and campus that enhances awareness of location.

This pattern investigates the strategic use of color to enhance awareness of location around a facility or campus. It incorporates three sub-strategies geared to providing color as a navigational and safety tool. The three sub-strategies are emphasizing spaces alike, emphasizing significant features, and connecting a path. Application of colors: Colorizing spaces can occur in many fashions. Color can be utilized by traditional methods of applying same-toned finishes such as paint, wall and floor materials or incorporating same-toned furniture. This pattern urges color to be implemented in ways that differ from traditional use to include techniques such as interactive and controllable colored LED lighting and digital screens. Spatial color schemes can be created from vegetation and wall graphics. Think about the surfaces of color placement; the floor and walls of a facility are often where color lands but don’t forget about the ceiling! The ceiling is a large surface that should be designed with color as well. Student personalization: Illuminating color from lighting features and screens allows the color to be personalized and controllable. Educational facilities are designed with adaptable and flexible spaces for different scales and activities, color should be able to adapt with their spaces, especially when it’s being used as signage. Spaces flex throughout a facility’s lifetime and even many times throughout a day, allow its color signage to signify the change of uses. As color aids in providing a specific feeling, allow students to control color changes in Cave spaces and Small Group Rooms.

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EMPHASIZE SPACES ALIKE: The first strategy is using colors to emphasize spaces alike. Utilizing a consistent color scheme for similar spaces allows students to easily identify where these spaces are located by looking for their distinct color or pattern of colors. This can be useful to programs that decentralize classrooms and have a combination of many different spaces for learning that may be confusing to students. Allowing students to visually see the space they should be going to or find the spaces they feel most comfortable working in provides a less stressful environment. Utilizing color to highlight wings is a great technique. A wing dedicated to science can be designed with one color scheme which contrasts the color scheme present in another wing geared to mathematics. Smaller or hidden spaces may be challenging to locate in large programs, highlighting them with similar colors allows students to easily spot their whereabouts by knowing to search for their distinct appearance.

Academy of the Holy Names Middle School \ FIELDING INTERNATIONAL

Texas Tech Costa Rica \ FIELDING INTERNATIONAL

Components: Utilize a consistent color scheme or pattern YCIS Ronghua Early Learning Center \ FIELDING INTERNATIONAL In YCIS Ronghua Early Learning Center, colored rugs are used to highlight where activity can occur.

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EMPHASIZE SIGNIFICANT FEATURES:

Douglas Park School \ FIELDING INTERNATIONAL Douglas Park School utilizes color to highlight the entrance to the facility, allowing it to be seen from afar.

The second strategy uses color to emphasize significant features. Utilizing color to highlight main landmarks such as entrances, stairs, and atriums allows the brain to easily pick out a main feature and remember the surroundings of it. It is important to not muddle the surroundings with other colors as it can decentralize the main feature that’s being highlighted. This technique can also be applied to emergency equipment or spaces. Highlighting them allows them to be found and utilized faster. Utilizing color to highlight main external features is a great way to provide signage across campus with limiting the amount of signs needed to be placed. Use the architecture to guide the users. Studies show that warm colors are most successful for landmark wayfinding. Components: Utilize colors that do not become lost to their surroundings

Meadowlark School \ FIELDING INTERNATIONAL Meadowlark School utilizes color to highlight the stairs as a main social space.

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If more than one feature is present, follow a consistent color scheme or pattern

CONNECTS A PATH: The third strategy utilizes color to connect a path. Utilizing color as a trail marker both internally and externally aids in efficient inhabitant circulation and limits one from feeling lost or stressed about finding the space they need to get to. Internally, this can be applied to programs with large commons and open floor plans where the architectural space doesn’t guide the circulation. It can also be added to programs that are more traditional in that they have extensive corridor networks where the visibility of spaces far away or around the corner is limited. Marking these will provide an ease of usage and prohibit traffic jams.

Park Elementary School In Park Elementary School, colored tiles guide inhabitants to featured spaces.

Utilize color externally to guide inhabitants across campus and nature trails. As campuses adopt outdoor meandering paths or nature walks, marking these can provide a less intimating walk. Additionally, colorizing walking surfaces across campus can aid in the navigation of users with limiting the amount of signs needed. Studies show that cool colors are most successful to follow in navigation. Components: Utilize a consistent color scheme or pattern for each path

Texas Tech Costa Rica \ FIELDING INTERNATIONAL Carpeted floors in Texas Tech Costa Rica emphasize the separation of corridor vs activity space but while also aiding in the path of circulation.

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Further Research Purposes beyond signage: Color has many purposes that are fundamental to making space enjoyable and stimulating. In the psychological realm, color influences human decisions and reactions that evoke mental and physical change. Color Theory explains the emotional associations that each color elicits as shown below: 5 Red: Passion, Power, Love, Anger Orange: Energy, Enthusiasm, Attention, Happiness Yellow: Brightness, Energy, Warmth, Attention, Green: Safety, Luck, Nature, Envy Blue: Calmness, Productivity, Stability, Sadness Purple: Mystery, Imagination, Royalty Pink: Nurturing, Calmness, Kindness, Romance Brown: Strength, Security, Nature, Isolation Black: Mystery, Boldness, Power, Unhappiness White: Peacefulness, Innocence, Honesty, Cleanliness, Emptiness

Using color for visual impairments: 82 percent of the population with significant visual impairments can still perceive light while only 18 percent are actually totally blind. Although all people who are significantly visually impaired cannot see shapes or colors, they can still view differences between light and dark. Screens and lights are able to be perceived in contrast to when a space’s lights are off. Thus, designing with LED and screen based col6 orization can aid in one’s perception of the space.

The need for multisensory design: This unisensory pattern investigates how to enhance student wellbeing by designing for the visual sense. In providing the most engaging and pleasant educational environments, multisensory spaces that design for most senses is required as the senses couple together to provide an overall experience. Multisensory design is imperative to enhanced learning and working environments as it stimulates more areas of the brain associated with memory and thinking. Below are each sense’s significance to human well-being.

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+ CONTINUING THOUGHTS

RESOURCES for additional thinking:

Citations: 1

Kanakri, Shireen, et al. “Wayfinding Systems in Educational Environments.” Horizon Research Publication Corpo

ration, 2016, https://doi.org/10.13189/eer.2016.040503.

“Colour Contribution to Children’s Wayfinding in School Environments.” Optics & Laser Technology, vol. 43, no. 2,

Mar. 2011, pp. 410–19. www.sciencedirect.com, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.optlastec.2009.06.012.

Designing for Special Education: Best Practices for Special Needs Learning Facilities. https://www.nacarchitec

ture.com/ NACLab/designing-for-special-education.html. Accessed 16 Aug. 20212

Matheny, Sandra. “Wayfinding: Guide The Way With Color.” Facility Executive, Dec. 2019, https://facilityexecutive.

com/2019/12/wayfinding-guide-the-way-with-color/. 5

Cherry, Kendra. “Color Psychology: Does It Affect How You Feel?” Verywellmind, May 2020, https://www.verywell

mind.com/color-psychology-2795824. 6

“What Do People Who Are Blind See?” The Chicago Lighthouse, 28 Jan. 2016, https://chicagolighthouse.org/sand

ys-view/what-blind-people-see/.

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Wellness Station How might we design educational settings to promote social and emotional competency for resilience in mental health?

CONNECTING PATTERNS:

Providing efficient access to mental health services in educational facilities is important for increased inhabitant wellness. Stress and mental health illness are two of the greatest interferes of student learning as the mind is preoccupied by existing thoughts and feelings that distract one from full learning attention. There are many spaces and activities that one can go to or do to relax in school settings, but obtaining professional assistance from counselors or school psychologists is imperative in understanding the root causes of feelings. The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) recommends that the counselor to student ratio be 1 2 1:250, however some states’ mandates are as low as 1:800. An estimated 13-20 percent of children in a given year experience a mental health 3 disorder. As a person spends an average of 15% of their life at school in the United States, it is important for these services to be highly accessible in real time of need especially in an environment that may be stressful and anxiety-provoking.

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PROBLEM PROBLEM STATEMENT + CONTEXT: •

• •

Limited resources in schools; Few mental health services and counselors present within educational facilities lead to delayed assistance for students. Additionally, teachers trained on mental health may not have adequate time to assist all students’ needs while instructing Developing illnesses; limited resources can lead to the disorder worsening over time Verbal uncomfortability; Students might not be comfortable in verbally expressing emotions

Mental health services offered in school settings are growing, however they still are quite inaccessible in some facilities. Educational facilities that do contain mental wellness centers provide needed professional care to students, however there may only a few if not one counselor on staff which can delay immediate 4 assistance to students if a group need help at once. While there may be mental health resources available in schools, they may only be in one location and not easily accessible across the facility. Students are likely to feel stress daily and thus might need to seek reassurance daily. Teachers are another source of guidance and may have basic training on mental health but may not have adequate time to assist each students’ needs while also instructing. Limited resources and delaying access to mental health help may lead to the case becoming worse over time. Additionally, students might not feel comfortable in seeking this help and verbally expressing feelings due to forces like stigmatization against mental health and personal uncomfortability in not knowing who they are speaking to if they have never seen them before.

FORCES AFFECTING THE PROBLEM: • •

Stigmatization against mental health Limited resources to implement mental health programs

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ACTION STRATEGY •

Create stations dispersed throughout the facility that are equipped to assist inhabitants in emotional and physical health by providing independent and prompt access to services.

This pattern creates stations dispersed throughout the facility that are equipped to assist inhabitants on mental and physical upon the user’s request. Although this station is designed to focus on providing assistance for mental health, the stations are designed to offer information on all things related to wellness, whether that be offering information on when and where to go when one is feeling sick, unsafe or even hungry. Offering services for all aspects of wellness provides privacy to students who are using the station to seek mental help.

COMPONENTS: Emotional Reflection: The emotional reflection service of the station is a component that prompts students to engage in sharing how they feel. This encourages students to talk about how they feel and gain comfortability in emotional expression. Depending upon the design of this, it allows students to think about other student’s emotions and learn how to ask how others are feeling. Methods: The second component and service of the station is it being a resource center that offers information. This component provides student with alternative care when counselors and teachers are unavailable and guides students on what to do when they are feeling overwhelmed. It also provides knowledge and training to teachers on how to assist a coping student. Accessible, Prominent + Accommodating: The third component is that the station needs to be accessible, prominent and accommodating. Disperse wellness stations throughout school facility, (1) per learning suite/commons, so that they are easy to access from all locations of the facility. This not only provides promptness when one needs help but also assists in de-stigmatizing mental health illness by placing and highlighting them often throughout the facility. Make sure the station is visible by location—it shouldn’t be complicated to find. Design them to cater to different privacy levels, ages and scales of usage.

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Wellness Wall: Scale: Individual - Studio Age: Primary - Secondary Privacy: Open Adjacencies: Learning Studios

Methods Resources that provide students information on how to manage emotions, guide them through their feelings, provide contact information to a person of assistance and a directory for spaces

Wellness Wall in cave spaces: Scale: Individual - Small Group (4 people) Age: Middle - Secondary Privacy: Semi-Private Adjacencies: SGR, Cave Spaces

technological interactive device or physical sources of information such as pamphlets, books, posters or art.

Accessible, Prominent + Accommodating Emotional Reflection Wellness Kiosk: Scale: Individual Age: Middle - Secondary Privacy: Semi-Private Adjacencies: Learning spaces or Commons

prompt that asks students to respond with how they are feeling writing wall board, tackable wall surface or digital interactive screen

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1 station in every learning studio & commons not complicated to find or tough to reach designed with soft colors, lighting, patterns & textures Caters to intented user scale Caters to intended user age Caters to different privacy levels

Wellness Displayette Scale: Individual Age: Middle - Secondary Privacy: Private Adjacencies: SGR, Commons, Cave spaces

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EXAMPLES

Temple Israel Early Childhood Center \ FIELDING INTERNATIONAL Design Wellness Stations to be attractive and welcoming in color, lighting and scale. Cater stations and their components to user age.

Mental health reflection wall Emotional reflection components can simply be a wall that students are prompted to answer how they are feeling.

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CONTINUING THOUGHTS... • • • •

Ensure the stations can adapt with time - provide technology and resources that can be adjusted and edited as information changes Designing the stations as a resource for teachers and employees that allows them to gain additional knowledge and training in helping students Utilize wellness stations in congruence with curriculum - teachers should encourage students to use before during and after learning if needed Consider stations as part of learning walls, emotional literacy is crucial in overall student wellbeing and presence in learning

RESOURCES for additional thinking:

Citations: 1

“School Counselor Roles & Ratios - American School Counselor Association (ASCA). https://www.schoolcounselor.

org/About-School-Counseling/School-Counselor-Roles-Ratios. Accessed 16 Aug. 2021.

National Association for College Admission Counseling- Student-to-Counselor Ratios by School District. https://

www.nacacnet.org/news--publications/Research/student-to-counselor-ratios-by-school-district/. Accessed 16

Aug. 2021.

CDC. “Key Findings: Mental Health Report | Children’s Mental Health.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,

18 Oct. 2018, https://www.cdc.gov/childrensmentalhealth/features/kf-childrens-mental-health-report.html.

Gagnon, Douglas, and Marybeth Mattingly. “Most U.S. School Districts Have Low Access to School Counselors:

Poor,Diverse, and City School Districts Exhibit Particularly High Student-to-Counselor Ratios.” The Carsey School

ofPublic Policy at the Scholars’ Repository, Oct. 2016, https://doi.org/https://dx.doi.org/10.34051/p/2020.275.

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Learning Commons Variables How might we discover spatial qualities that help define new typologies for Learning Commons?

CONNECTING PATTERNS:

Learning Commons have been present in Fielding International’s work for a long time and have been a standard in helping create engaging and inspiring educational facilities. Learning Commons were developed out of the need to shift away from the standard single loaded or double loaded corridor which is a design element that often creates unusable space and contributes to unsafe and unhealthy environments. The corridor is a main component of the 1950’s Ford Model where the corridor acts similarly to the assembly line in that students follow the linear space from one classroom to the next. Today, the Commons have opened up to provide multiple learning zones, exterior vistas and social connections.1

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PROBLEM PROBLEM STATEMENT + CONTEXT: •

There are many imperative design strategies that are incorporated into the design of Learning Commons. Often times, the high prioritization of one strategy causes a difficult inclusion and successful implementation of other strategies due to that one being so prolific.

Fielding International has many variations of a Learning Commons - a space for break out work, individual study, collaboration, projects, and large scale gathering (among others). Within these variations and iterations, many priorities of design can be implemented to form dramatic impacts on how space can be used. These priorities and their technical design implications can be adjusted as needed per project to successfully create a commons that meets the needs of learners. As each strategy is a crucial component of the Learning Commons, it is important that each is included in its most beneficial way. Due there being many strategies incorporated, it is common that one or two of the strategies take precedent in a project and reject the opportunity for others. Existing facility programs, budgets and client desires are a main contribution to the design of the Commons and the potential of the strategies included.

FORCES AFFECTING THE PROBLEM: • • •

Client needs / wants Staff working on different projects to come together and sharing ideas Renovation vs New Build

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ACTION STRATEGY •

Create a growing check-list of spatial strategies for the design of Learning Commons.

This pattern offers spatial strategies and contingencies under 5 different elements for the design of Learning Commons. The elements of Zoning + Clustering, Scale, Usable Space, Activated Walls, Transparency + Connection all work to create a Learning Commons that is healthy, well-rounded and supportive for multi-disciplinary learning, social and physical development. The strategies included are recommended design benchmarks for the included elements so that each element can be designed in a way that doesn’t limit other strategies but also offers its most supportive self. The benchmarks aid in providing a valuable, useful and well-rounded Learning Commons space. To create the list of strategies or benchmarks, the analyzation of 14 Learning Commons in different Fielding projects took place through the lens of the included elements. The pattern initiated with the analysis of existing projects to gauge how Commons are currently being designed. The results of the analysis coupled with additional research allowed the creation of design benchmarks for each element. The list of themes and strategies is meant grow and thus can be continually added to or edited as curriculum and inhabitant needs evolve over time.

Zones + Clustering

Other

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Scale

Usable Space

Activated Walls

Transparency + Connections

STRATEGIES + COMPONENTS:

EXAMPLES:

ZONES + CLUSTERING:

Learning Commons are more comfortable and acoustically successful when they are spatially dispersed to a couple of smaller zones rather than designed as one large space. However, not all plans grant the space for multiple zones ; if there is only one Commons zone, there should be multiple activity zones present. To allow appropriate teacher supervision, increase the number of Commons zones based on the number of attached learning spaces. This model is designed for a maximum of 120 students per Commons to allow proper social interaction and relationship building. Anchor Objects: Anchor Objects are an important feature to dictating specific uses and zones of the Commons. Anchor objects can be built-in features like pony walls, stairs, Small Group Rooms, or permanent furniture. For flexibility, these objects can also be movable. Typical from Fielding projects: 1-2 Commons zones with 1-4 attached discrete learning spaces per zone; multiple activity zones in each Commons zone Recommended: 2+ Commons zones with 2-4 discrete learning spaces connected to each Commons zone; multiple activity zones in each Commons zone DESIGNING FOR WELLNESS \ Summer 2021

Strathcona Tweedsmuir School \ FIELDING INTERNATIONAL

2 Commons zones Multiple activity zones through furniture 1-4 surrounding learning spaces

1 large Commons zone Multiple activity zones through furniture 6 surrounding learning spaces

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SCALE:

Douglass Elementary School \ FIELDING INTERNATIONAL The image shown provides a shorter ceiling and may help in making students feel more comfortable in working in the space that they’re in.

Commons suitable for large gatherings offers varying occupancy scale to surrounding learning spaces

Commons should be designed to accommodate different occupancy scales than surrounding learning spaces to provide different learning purposes. Designing for different scales allows learning modalities (project work, independent study, collaborative work and tech-based work) to occur in alternate ways and provides opportunities for additional activities and types of gatherings. Not only should scale be thought about in terms of length and width of the space, but also in height. Ceiling heights have a huge impact on thinking and feelings; high ceilings allude to feelings of freedom and creative thinking and low ceilings encouraging feelings of confinement and detail-oriented thinking. 2 Angeled Walls: Angling walls by 10 degrees or designing non-parallel walls will limit flutter echoing in large Commons. 3 Typical from Fielding projects: Commons are typically designed as larger spaces to attached learning spaces Recommended: Design Commons to be larger or smaller than surrounding discrete learning spaces

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USABLE SPACE:

Design circulation into Commons and limit narrow spaces geared for only circulation. This circles back to why commons were designed in the first place--smaller, more narrow spaces are more challenging to use for learning and generally can only be used for movement. They provide inadequate space for furniture that is required for the various learning modalities. They also often provide undesirable conditions with poor lighting. If tight and narrow spaces are present, the image above of Meadowlark school shows that they can still be equipped with features that add value and use to the space. Activate the walls with storage and writing or tackable surfaces. Concurrently, utilize the space for small group impromptu reflection during learning. If Commons are less than 20’ deep, a length-to-width ratio of no more than 2:1 is recommended where the length should not be more than 2x the width. Typical from Fielding projects: An average of 75% usable space across analyzed Fielding projects. Recommended: > 85% usable floor space for activity/ furniture

DESIGNING FOR WELLNESS \ Summer 2021

Meadowlark School \ FIELDING INTERNATIONAL For narrow spaces, design features into the wall that still make use of the space.

Narrow spaces are mostly geared for circulation 70% usable floor space

Wide Common spaces are entirely usable for learning and activity 90% usable floor space

Fielding International

Activate walls of Commons additional to providing transparency; incorporate built-in storage, docked furniture, water fountains, technology, display space, tackable surfaces, writing surfaces, etc. Populating walls with additional uses besides transparency offers a more engaging and interactive environment. The optimum window to external wall ratio for environmental effects is 40%. Designing for that, there is adequate room for the inclusion of other wall features.

Ann Frank Inspire Academy \ FIELDING INTERNATIONAL Activating walls with writing provides additional uses to the space while still allowing sufficient light to enter.

Plan activates almost every wall for alternate uses.

ACTIVATED WALLS:

Docked seating

Docked furniture: One suggestion for furniture is docking it against the wall instead of allocating all of the furniture out in the open. Docked furniture increases feelings of comfort and provides more privacy and protection from traffic. Material Usage: Materials used for the walls can aid in visually activating the space with colors, patterns and textures. Materials may also assist in acoustics. Typical from Fielding projects: Analyzed Fielding projects presented minimal usage of storage on Commons walls but adequate usage of sinks, water fountains and docked furniture

Built-in storage

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Docked seating

Built-in storage

Recommended: Incorporate 2+ features on Commons walls excluding windows

TRANSPARENCY + CONNECTION: The outdoors should be viewable from all activity locations in the Commons. If direct views are not possible from the Commons, utilize indirect views through connected learning studios. Shoot for 2 different views to the outdoors from all activity locations with at least 1 wall in direct connection to the outdoors. Outdoor views are important for connection to nature and academic inspiration. Providing more than 1 view adds variety and designing at least one wall in direct connection to the outdoors may allow the space to flow outside. If direct views are not available, views need to be sought through connected learning studios. Provide indoor transparency to connected learning spaces even if no indirect views are needed. Indoor transparency is important for teacher supervision and providing a connection across learning spaces. Too much transparency, however, can take away valuable wall space for other interactive and engaging features. Typical from Fielding projects: An average of 93% direct views to exterior with one view. > 50% indoor transparency. 1 wall in connection to outdoors Recommended: 100% views to exterior from all activity zones at least 85% of that being direct and providing 2 views. 50%-80% indoor transparency. At least 1 wall in direct connection to outdoors DESIGNING FOR WELLNESS \ Summer 2021

Strathcona Tweedsmuir School \ FIELDING INTERNATIONAL The image provided prioritizes a high amount of indoor transparency.

Large interior windows and doors allow the outdoors to be viewable through the neighboring learning spaces 40% direct views

Mostly all activity areas in Commons have great views to outdoors 90% direct views

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PROTOTYPES: The Z Commons This typology may be of interest to new-build projects that have a larger amount of available space. This Commons features 2 larger zones of varying scales.

Zones + Clustering

Usable Space

• •

•

Transparency + Connection • • •

Each zone has direct connection to outdoors 90% direct views to outdoors 50% indoor transparency

2 Commons Zones 3-4 discrete learning spaces directly connection to each Commons zone Multiple activity zones in each Commons zone

Minimal space needed solely for circulation

Scale Activated Walls •

Walls activated with storage, seating, display space, and writing surfaces

•

Zones provide larger scale than connected discrete learning spaces Commons zones are different scales

RESOURCES for additional thinking:

Citations: 1

“Learning Community Evolution.Pptx.” Dropbox, https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/j5dib0iwozfgompq8o4j5/Learn

ing-Community-Evolution.pptx?dl=0&rlkey=oeputuqoftu20bh15mv1dp1i8. Accessed 16 Aug. 2021.

Meyers-Levy, Joan, and Rui (Juliet) Zhu. “The Influence of Ceiling Heights: The Effect of Priming on the Type of Processing

That People Use.” Journal of Consumer Research, vol. Vol. 34, no. No. 2, Aug. 2007, pp. 174–86.

“Room Acoustics Tips: Geometry and Sound.” AVANT ACOUSTICS, 31 Jan. 2017, https://www.avantacoustics.com/room-

acoustics-tips/.

Alibaba, Halil. “Determination of Optimum Window to External Wall Ratio for Offices in a Hot and Humid Climate.” Sus

tainability, vol. 8, no. 2, Feb. 2016, p. 187. www.mdpi.com, https://doi.org/10.3390/su8020187.

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The Pocket Commons This typology may be of interest to renovation projects that have a smaller amount of available space. This typology features multiple “pockets” of Commons rather than 1 or 2 larger zones.

Zones + Clustering • • •

Transparency + Connection

4 Commons Zones 1 discrete learning space in direct connection to each Commons zones Usage of Anchor spaces (SGR, Teacher collaboration space) for dividing zones

• • •

Each zone has direct connection to outdoors 100% direct views to outdoors 50% indoor transparency

Activated Walls

Scale

Usable Space

•

Walls activated with storage, seating, display space, and writing surfaces

DESIGNING FOR WELLNESS \ Summer 2021

Zones provide smaller scale than connected discrete learning spaces

High amount of space dedicated to circulation

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SECURITY PATTERNS CONCENTRIC LAYERS OF SAFETY

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Strathcona Tweedsmuir School \ FIELDING INTERNATIONAL

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Concentric Layers of Safety How can schools achieve safety in a way that doesn’t harm inhabitant well-being?

CONNECTING PATTERNS:

Implementing intense safety procedures and security devices to protect students is at the forefront of many school’s security plans. Though these aid in keeping students physically safe, there are many unintended consequences from their implications that impede on student’s mental health--what is being implement to provide safety is in fact increasing fear and mental illness in students. School officials across the country, albeit with the best of intentions, are performing procedures like lockdown drills in their schools that act as harmful triggers, causing significant psychological fear and trauma in students both during and after the 1 procedures have taken place. Mental disorders are not just consequences from the procedures conducted in schools but are also major causes to the tragedies that occur such as school shootings, bullying and sexual assault. Developing a school culture that promotes mental health at the forefront and designing a facility to camouflage the safety devices is the basis to creating a safe and secure facility.

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PROBLEM PROBLEM STATEMENT + CONTEXT: •

Research shows that mental illness is one of the main contributors to violence that occurs in school settings (shootings, bomb threats, bullying, sexual assault, cyberhacking). Yet, many schools have implemented security strategies as an effect of this violence that do not target the root of the problem and instead have caused unintended consequences such as igniting a sense of fear or deviance within students.

Implementing intense safety procedures and security devices does not address some of the main issues that are causing violence to occur in the first place.

75% Percentage of school shooters that felt bullied or marginalized (study from 2 1974-2000)

75% Percentage of school shooters that had a history of suicide attempt (study 2 from 1974-2000)

Up to

20%

58%

38%

Number of children living in the U.S. that experience a mental health disorder 3 in a given year

Percentage of schools that employ a least one law enforcement officer during the week 4 (2018)

Percent of public schools that report providing treatment to students for mental health 5 disorders

FORCES AFFECTING THE PROBLEM: • • • •

Facility/campus design; fortress school, penitentiary feel, visible security cameras/devices Safety procedures; lockdowns Treatment of students; zero-tolerance policies Culture that lacks holistic support, encouragement

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ACTION STRATEGY •

Create a layered school safety approach that centers student well-being.

This pattern offers a layered school safety approach that prioritizes inhabitant mental and physical health. It is designed similar to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs where one layer needs to be present before the others. The first layer is having a supportive facility, the second regards mental well-being and the third physical safety.

LAYERS: 1. Supportive Facility: There first needs to be a facility designed that promotes comfortability as schools need to be a place that students desire to go to. Students need a stable and healthy physical environment as the foundation to support mental health. • The facility needs to be comfortable in that it’s visually and spatially supportive. • It needs to be safe and secure in a way that doesn’t provoke unintended consequences; the safety measures need to be designed in a way that are embedded in facility design • It needs to be clean and provide all basic needs 2. Mental Well-being: There then needs to be a culture present that promotes student belonging. With a stable physical environment that encourages great mental health there can now be a focus on a school culture that supports and works to destigmatize mental health. This includes an abundance of available resources offered through different mediums--counselors, trained teachers, books, and programs. Overall, there needs to be holistic support of faculty, professionals and even the facility design that allows students to feel comfortable in asking for help. 3. Physical Safety: Finally, the implication of safety procedures can be introduced with their importance highly emphasized. This includes: • Understanding of egress and specific locations to go in any emergency • Understanding of why procedures are important • Following a humane and supportive way of practicing safety procedures that doesn’t ignite student fear or deviance

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d an

en ud st

e th

t belonging

ir im

portance. DESIGNING FOR WELLNESS \ Summer 2021

ure u lt :C

Supportive Facility: Facility design that promotes comfortability

safety pro c g of e d din u r es an st that pro m er o t es

Physical Safet y: Un d tal Belo n e M ng in g

Concentric layers prioritize the implementation of the inner-most layers, or the common core, followed by the proceeding outer layers. To create a secure and supportive educational environment a school should begin their safety plans at the core.

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A SECURE AND SUPPORTIVE EDUCATIONAL SETTING... ...is in a facility that promotes comfortability...

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...has a culture that promotes student belonging...

...provides understanding for safety procedures and their importance.

Required strategies for a secure and supportive educational environment Suggested strategies for a secure and supportive educational environment

DESIGNING FOR WELLNESS \ Summer 2021

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EXAMPLES

Comfort Spaces \ Sandy Hook Elementary School \ SVIGALS + PARTNERS The new school is not only designed with the latest security technology and safety techniques but centers student wellness and comfortability.

Visibility \ Eden Park Elementary School \ FIELDING INTERNATIONAL High levels of visibility is extremely important for interior and exterior passive supervision and aids in the “see and be seen” philosophy.

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CONTINUING THOUGHTS... • • • •

• •

Make students and community part of the facility schematic design process - allow students to decide what makes them most comfortable Don’t hide mental health professionals in schools, make them a visible part of the community Allow counselors to be part of the process of devising safety procedures Mental health clinicians are crucial to working with schools on how to implement drills safely and in a developmentally appropriate way. These clinicians are the best resource for assisting schools in preventing school violence, preparing for a crisis and identifying students who may pose a threat — and ensuring those students access critical resources to change their trajectory and address the underlying problems. Take part in local, national and global mental health programs that are proven to be effective Allow safety approach to be adaptable to age - promote mental health activities and safety procedures that are most effective to maturity levels

RESOURCES for additional thinking:

Citations: 1

Are School Lockdowns Protocols for Safety, or Are They Triggers for Terror? - Education Update. http://www.edu

cationupdate.com/archives/2019/JAN/HTML/spot-jeff_ervine.html#.YRruNNNKhQJ. Accessed 16 Aug. 2021.

The Final Report and Findings of the School Safe Initiative: Implications for the Prevention of School Attacks in the

United States. United States Secret Service and United States Department of Education, July 2004, https://www2.

ed.gov/admins/lead/safety/preventingattacksreport.pdf. 3

CDC. “Key Findings: Mental Health Report | Children’s Mental Health.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,

18 Oct. 2018, https://www.cdc.gov/childrensmentalhealth/features/kf-childrens-mental-health-report.html.

Jones, Stefanie Dion. The Prevalence and the Price of Police in Schools. 27 Oct. 2020, https://education.uconn.

edu/2020/10/27/the-prevalence-and-the-price-of-police-in-schools/. 5

“Spotlight 1: Prevalence of Mental Health Services Provided by Public Schools and Limitations in Schools’ Efforts to

Provide Mental Health Services.” National Center for Education Statistics, July 2020, https://nces.ed.gov/programs/

crimeindicators/ind_s01.asp.

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ENVIRONMENTAL PATTERNS

WILD LANDSCAPES

REWILDING

ECOLABS

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Douglass Elementary School \ FIELDING INTERNATIONAL

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Wild Landscapes How can we design educational space to break the practice of constant indoor recreation seen with youth today and encourage connections with nature?

CONNECTING PATTERNS:

Environmentalism needs to start with a strong connection to nature that encourages people to be a champion for the natural world. Environmentalism is healthy; it’s about preserving the world as a place that is inhabitable for future generations. Embedding and encouraging connections to nature in education from a young age is important as it promotes sustainability understanding and encourages sustainability actions to become a habit. As students are learning life-long educational knowledge, they are simultaneously learning skills to become lifelong environmental stewards. A person develops connections to nature through 5 different ways: Material, Experiential, Cognitive, Emotional, Philosophical. These all work in connection to another but are contingent upon mental maturity. At a young age experiential connections to nature occur which guide an emotional 1 response, a liking to nature, as nature provides and assists in something they enjoy. It is important that children have the opportunity for this experiential connection whether that be sitting outside amidst trees, playing in grass, or catching butterflies. 52

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PROBLEM PROBLEM STATEMENT + CONTEXT: •

Research shows that society’s growing disconnection from nature is a not only a root cause of unsustainability but also negatively affects behavior development in young children.

Experts acknowledge that people have been increasingly staying inside rather than spending time outdoors. It is extremely important that children spend an efficient amount of time outdoors daily to develop a strong connection to nature 2 when the emotional response begins. Creating an accessible, safe outdoor space away from technology is needed to combat challenges of why students are con3 tinually spending more time inside. Providing a space that isn’t just outdoors but contains natural elements that peak each sense--visual connections to plants, smells of flowers, sounds of birds and feelings of warmth from the sun, etc.--is 4 extremely important for creating a positive emotional response. Staying inside and not spending enough time in nature is also seen to cause negative psychological and health effects and many terms such as “nature deficit disorder” have been coined because of this. Nature-deficit disorder is not a medical diagnosis but a term to describe what many experts believe are the human costs of alienation from nature which include diminished use of the senses, attention difficulties, higher rates of physical and emotional illnesses, a rising rate of myopia, child and adult obesity, Vitamin D deficiency, anxiety, and depression among 5 other challenges.

FORCES AFFECTING THE PROBLEM: •

• •

Parenting • Parents aren’t home due to working late • Parents may not encourage kids to go outside Screen technology Unsafe spaces • Distracted drivers, neighborhoods perceived unsafe from news

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ACTION STRATEGY •

Allocate spaces for learning and recreation that allows the removal of oneself from technology to appreciate the natural world.

This pattern offers spaces that encourage one to set aside modern possessions and utilize the traditional natural environment for learning and recreation. The spaces reject ornamentation and allow people to appreciate technology for what it is, understand the limitations of technology and therefore have the opportunity to remove oneself from it. This pattern offers two spatial opportunities depending on the resources and land a school has. The first opportunity being Wild Habitats and Wild Imitation Habitats (WIH) and the second titled The Cabin.

OPPORTUNITIES + THEIR COMPONENTS: Wild Habitats + WIH: Wild Habitats are the preservation of undisturbed national environment and Wild Imitation Habitats are replicated natural environments. Wild Habitats and WIH are important because they are directly or are a direct representation of what nature really is. Campuses are commonly landscaped to include nature but denote a false representation of what nature really looks and feels like. With a human-nature connection built on what landscaping looks like, a superficial idea of nature is created. Preserving or recreating messy, wild and semi-wild natural environments as a learning and playing tool allows physical challenge, mystery and thrill. The wild habitats are a playground in themselves; they are places that encourage natural creativity and innovation where kids construct forts and act out adventure stories. Experts are mostly concerned that these natural opportunities for adventures in nature have eroded and that deep connection to authentic nature has been lost with it. Scale: Small Group (Groups: 2-5) - Class Feel: Noisy, dirty, open, full-body The Cabin: The cabin embraces and encourages learning of traditional techniques and aids in experiencing the surrounding natural environment. This space is stripped down from modern technology and allows one to perform controlled activities with nature and learn traditional tasks. It provides as a refuge from the direct outdoors while still allowing students to be as close to nature as possible. Scale: Individual - Small Groups Feel: Med-noise, small-scale, rustic, simple 54

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[ Why aren’t natural landscapes commonly used as a learning or recreation space? ] Connected patterns

The Cabin

Meandering Path Outdoor Cave Space

Indoor-outdoor connection Native materials Native textures Native environmental design Traditional technology Flexible seating Collaboration surfaces Tool storage Shoe/clothing/backpack storage

Wild Landscapes can be designed in urban settings too! Land can still be preserved and WIH can still be created even if it is on a bit-sized piece of land. The Cabin can also be designed as an extension of the school--physically attached as a small “wing” but still offering its purpose of disconnecting one from technology.

Boundaries to Wild Habitats can be manmade or natural

Tool chest

Shoe/backpack cubbies

Wild Habitats Undisturbed/slightly altered natural landscape Flexible seating Flexible collaboration surfaces if needed

WIH Landscaping that mimics natural habitat Contains native plants; xeriscape landscaping Flexible seating Flexible collaboration surfaces if needed

[ Society is always focused on building and designing new--perhaps what can we preserve? ]

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EXAMPLES

Forest School \ Denmark Forest schools, popular in Denmark and Germany, educate students while being submerged in nature. These schools encourage the use of natural objects for play and not commercial toys.

Cabin \ Merrohawke Nature School This cabin is designed with light construction and natural materials. It provides as a retreat space from the outdoors where students can relax and complete activities.

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CONTINUING THOUGHTS... •

•

• •

This pattern requires students to be physically equipped with appropriate clothing and shoes to perform in the outdoors. Not all students may have the means to be comfortable, especially in winter months. The school should host clothing drives and develop a closet of jackets to offer for students who need. Design Wild Habitats with a boundary for safety - Sidewalks, fences or natural boundaries (start of tall grass, top of hill, tree-line, etc.) can form a perimeter and control the scale of Wild Habitat available for usage In extreme climates of hot and cold, where time spent outdoors might be limited, the Cabin can provide as a buffer between outdoor climates and detached indoor environments to develop relationships with nature Wild Landscapes can encourage and house community connected sustainability programs and student-led organizations Wild Landscapes are adaptable to culture, climate, density of community, and age

RESOURCES for additional thinking:

Citations: 1

Ives, Christopher D., et al. “Reconnecting with Nature for Sustainability.” Sustainability Science, vol. 13, no. 5, Sept.

2018, pp.1389–97. Springer Link, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-018-0542-9.

Chawla, Louise. “Childhood Nature Connection and Constructive Hope: A Review of Research on Connecting

with Nature and Coping with Environmental Loss.” People and Nature, vol. 2, no. 3, 2020, pp. 619–42. Wiley

Online Library, https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10128.

“Research Reveals Reasons Why Kids Aren’t Playing.” Active For Life, 27 Nov. 2017, https://activeforlife.com/rea

sons-kids-arent-playing/. 4

14 Patterns of Biophilic Design. 12 Sept. 2014, http://www.terrapinbrightgreen.com/reports/14-patterns-of-biophil

ic-design/. 5

“How to Protect Kids from Nature-Deficit Disorder.” Greater Good, https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/

how_to_protect_kids_from_nature_deficit_disorder. Accessed 16 Aug. 2021.

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ReWilding How might we restore nature in our learning environments to enhance community wellness and create a catalyst for environmental awareness?

CONNECTING PATTERNS:

Rewilding is the practice of restoring an area of land to its natural, wild self by allowing nature to grow undisturbed. It is a practice used to rebalanced ecosystems under threat of disintegration and often includes the re-introduction of native plant and animal species that have formally been extinct in the area due 1 to human interference. Rewilding eliminates highly disruptive human use of the land and has many beneficial effects to communities and their inhabitants: 8 Elements of Wellness

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Environmental

Emotional

Physical

Social

Restores ecosystems

Develops human connections to nature

Builds stronger immune systems

Opportunities for community partnerships

Financial

Intellectual

Occupational

Spiritual

Limits public health and utility costs

Opportunities for student research

Opportunities for local employment

Nature rooted in human significance

PROBLEM PROBLEM STATEMENT + CONTEXT: •

Humans are constantly building and sprawling, seizing wild landscapes and replacing them with new infrastructure and constructed spaces. Educational facilities and campuses threaten large areas of wild landscapes with permanent interference. With these wild landscapes being dissolved, our communities health is at stake.

Amount of U.S. land lost between 2001-2017 2

24 M

4,000

Number of acres of natural land lost each day from 2001-2017 2

Humans are building and sprawling at alarming rates and risking the loss of a tremendous amount of natural land. Energy, transportation, housing, and agriculture are the sectors that account for most of this sprawl due to the need 2 to accommodate a growing population. With space comes luxury and so there is a specific desire for spaces to be as large as possible. Educational campuses themselves threaten large areas of land due to their need to accommodate a respective amount of people and offer a variety of spaces. In the pursuit of connecting humans to nature, often purposed is that one has to “go out into nature”, sprawling more to reach that connection. Perhaps thinking should be revolved around bringing nature back into the spaces to rewild the landscapes that have been sprawled upon.

FORCES AFFECTING THE PROBLEM: • • •

The need to accommodate a larger population The desire to for increased living space Main contributing sectors: Housing, agriculture, energy development, and transportation

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ACTION STRATEGY •

Develop a series of strategies that reclaim space in our built environment for the restoration of wild ecosystems.

This pattern offers 8 strategies to rewilding educational facilities. The strategies are categorized under 2 scales (Building and Campus) pertaining to the scale of intervention a facility might like to engage with. For both new-build and renovation projects, the rewilding strategies offered should be considered as early as preliminary budget meetings. Many of these strategies are investments that add hefty up-front material and construction costs which can deter facilities from implementing but in-turn, save the facility much larger costs later on while also providing more environmentally friendly settings. Strategies implemented in school facilities have the power to motivate a larger practice of rewilding around their communities. The partnerships, financial incentives, research opportunities, mental and physical benefits are all influences to get the ball rolling. As schools are large community buildings that whole communities use and protect, their rewilding initiatives have the power to influence new habits that may otherwise be difficult to initiate.

SCALES: Building Scale: Strategies at the building scale invite select plant and animal species to be restored through strategic spatial and surface level implementation. Campus Scale: Strategies at the campus scale offer the most potential for rewilding due to the opportunity for large space implementation. Here, the vastness of the campus allows for the restoration of whole or partial ecosystems on land, in water and in air. Community Scale: Both scales of strategies implemented in educational projects have the potential to serve as community catalysts for environmental awareness by influencing building standards and larger community environmental initiatives including wild green ways and reserved park systems. 60

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STRATEGIES + COMPONENTS:

EXAMPLES:

Building Scale:

LIVING ROOFS: Implement green roofs with communities of native plants. Roofs generally house a tremendous amount of unusable space. Designing the roof with gardens provides an opportunity for replacing land lost with the building’s footprint and provides the opportunity to restore local animal species such as birds, bees or butterflies. It provides a space for learning that students and faculty should utilize in studies. Incentives for use: Green roofs lower costs of heating, cool4 3 ing (up to 25 percent) and stormwater 5 infrastructure providing insulation and absorbing runoff.

Living Roof \ Ogden International School of Chicago

LIVING WALLS: Enhance facade to accommodate plant growth and animal harboring. When designing building envelopes, it is done in a strict manner so that there is no room for infestation. But, that doesn’t mean an extra layer to our buildings can’t provide a home to these native species. Retrofitting the exterior façade with a trellis system for vines or implementing pre-vegetated panels can enhance lifeless exterior walls to support nature. Incentives for use: Living walls can reduce energy costs by up to 23 percent by providing natural 6 insulation while also purifying the air.

DESIGNING FOR WELLNESS \ Summer 2021

Living Wall \ A school in France

Fielding International

EXAMPLES:

STRATEGIES + COMPONENTS: Building Scale:

WILD POCKETS

Delmar International School Early Learning Center \ FIELDING INTERNATIONAL

Carve outdoor spaces that restore ground and air ecosystems. Designate wild pockets or outdoor spaces for learning and activity by opening up formally enclosed spaces to adopt the natural exterior. If the space is on the ground floor it should accept the natural ground condition. The pockets should be designed to include features that invite plant growth and animal species such as planters, birdhouses, and container ponds. Incentives for use: The Wild Pockets can double as messy project areas or outdoor lab spaces.

RAISED PROGRAMS

Etania Green School \ billionBricks

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Raise portions of the ground floor to preserve ground ecosystems. Facilities with massive floor areas not only eliminate all plant growth but also disrupt natural animal patterns. Animals that once would systematically pass through the terrain are now forced to go elsewhere, often causing a chain effect for other animals. Designing portions of the ground floor to preserve the natural ground creates a underpass for these animal species while preserving plant life. Incentives for use: Raising facility programs limits amount of impermeable floor area allowing natural water absorption.

STRATEGIES + COMPONENTS:

EXAMPLES:

Building Scale:

VERTICAL FACILITIES: Design vertically rather than horizontally to utilize less ground floor areabut not more than 4-6 stories. A large amount of money goes into landscaping and rewilding after a campus is built; why cant this be preserved from the get-go? With less ground floor dedicated to infrastructure, more can be preserved for the surrounding ecosystems. This space can also provide more outdoor learning and activity zones. Incentives for use: Building vertically disrupts a limited amount of natural habitat surrounding the facility.

Adelaide Botanic High School \ COX ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGNINC

RENOVATING, NOT BUILDING NEW: Adapt what already exists to limit sprawl. Making the choice to renovate and not start a new construction limits the disruption of the surrounding natural landscape. If a facility desires natural connections, thinking should revolve around renovating spaces to include nature rather than sprawling out to obtain nature. Incentives for use: Renovating provides many environmental benefits such as the opportunity to reuse existing materials and spaces while also limiting energy and costs associated 7 with full demolition and rebuild.

DESIGNING FOR WELLNESS \ Summer 2021

A Patio House \ PIM.STUDIO ARCHITECTS

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EXAMPLES:

STRATEGIES + COMPONENTS: Campus Scale

GREEN PARKING

Low-impact parking design \ Commercial parking

Design natural or semi-natural parking lots with permeable surfaces and natural wastewater management techniques. Large parking lots with impermeable surfaces disrupt water flow, replace natural ground wildlife and severely contribute to polluted storm water runoff. Permeable parking surfaces designed with grass, weeds, ground cover, stone, or dirt/sand offer a more natural surface. Incentives for use: Designing green parking with natural water management techniques can aid in saving on conventional infrastructure--Portland did so by 40% in costs. 8

RESTORING WILD LANDSCAPES

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Dedicate sections of campus to grow naturally with no human interference. Dedicate sections of campus to grow naturally instead of landscaping as one would normally do. Wild landscapes can provide many areas for research, observation, learning and play. The process of restoring wild landscapes takes decades or even centuries--allow student research and community partnerships to be part of the process. Incentives for use: Rewilding comes as a much more affordable cost to typical landscaping as there 9 is still very minimum maintenance.

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Issues/dangers: creation of habitat with dangerous animals, incubator for zoonotic diseases, poorly designed spaces can threaten community and surrounding native ecosystems by harboring invasive species Grant Opportunities: Environmental projects and programs founded in education invite many opportunities for funding through government and non-government grants. Possible grants include American Honda Foundation Grants, KEEN Effect Kids Grant Program, etc. Student Leadership/Learning opportunities: Rewilding educational facilities is a journey where change happens at nature’s pace and unfolds over years, decades and even centuries depending on the scale of implementation. Students should be a part of this process--student research projects can transpire as initial implementation or recurring maintenance. Community connections: The school is made by the community for the community. As rewilding is a major project that includes a tremendous amount of research and planning--connect with local research institutions, community organizations, and members for insight and assistance

RESOURCES for additional thinking: Citations: 1

“What Is Rewilding?” Rewilding Europe, https://rewildingeurope.com/what-is-rewilding-2/. Accessed 17 Aug. 2021.

Lee-Ashley, Matt, et al. “The Green Squeeze.” Center for American Progress, https://www.americanprogress.org/

issues/green/reports/2019/10/22/476220/the-green-squeeze/. Accessed 17 Aug. 2021.

US EPA, OAR. Using Green Roofs to Reduce Heat Islands. 17 June 2014, https://www.epa.gov/heatislands/using-

green-roofs-reduce-heat-islands. 4

Increasing Energy Efficiency: Residential Green Roofs | Asla.Org. https://www.asla.org/residentialgreenroofs.aspx.

Accessed 17 Aug. 2021.

US EPA, REG 01. Soak Up the Rain: Green Roofs. 21 Aug. 2015, https://www.epa.gov/soakuptherain/soak-rain-

green-roofs. 6

Increasing Energy Efficiency: Residential Green Walls | Asla.Org. https://www.asla.org/residentialgreenwalls.aspx.

Accessed 17 Aug. 2021.

Sifferlin, Alexandra. “LEED From Behind: Why We Should Focus on Greening Existing Buildings.” Time, Jan. 2012.

science.time.com, https://science.time.com/2012/01/27/leed-from-behind-why-we-should-focus-on-greening-ex

isting-buildings/#:~:text=A%20study%20by%20the%20Preservation,lionizing%20fancy%20new%20green%20 construction. 8

“Green Parking Lot Resource Guide.” United States Environmental Protection Agency, Feb. 2008, https://nepis.

epa.gov/Exe/ZyPDF.cgi/P100D97A.PDF?Dockey=P100D97A.PDF. 9

Corlett, Richard T. “The Role of Rewilding in Landscape Design for Conservation.” Current Landscape Ecology

Reports,vol. 1, no. 3, Sept. 2016, pp. 127–33. Springer Link, https://doi.org/10.1007/s40823-016-0014-9.

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EcoLabs How can we create educational space to promote learning of and action against environmental challenges?

CONNECTING PATTERNS:

Just as schools strive to create life-long learners in students, life-long stewards for the environment need also to be created and supported by pedagogy. By establishing knowledge in sustainability and encouraging environmentally conscious habits at an early age, these life-long stewards will grow to create healthier environments for future learning. Environmental Education provides opportunities for students to engage in environmentalism by allowing students to explore topics of issue within the environment and learn to take action against them. As a result, students develop a deep understanding and connection to environmental concerns and learn the skills to make informed and responsible decisions in aiding the transformation of a more 1 environmentally friendly world. Environmental Education is very important embedding it into a young age but also embedding it into everyday learning experience and curriculum. Learning about sustainability and environmentalism needs to be incorporated into curriculum for students to learn and practice habit reform as they mature. Children with exposure to environmental education programs are more likely to develop pro-environmental behaviors, to understand the impor2 tance of altering habits and learning of common sustainable methods.

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PROBLEM PROBLEM STATEMENT + CONTEXT: •

Experts advise that for proper understanding of environmental crises and personal habit change, sustainability learning needs to be embedded within educational curriculum and not just added on as an experience

It is common that educators promote learning activities in the environment such as playing outdoors in nature as well as promote simple environmental behaviors such as recycling. These simple behaviors such as reusing plastic bottles and spending time in nature which branch from environmental education are imperative for young children to learn to live sustainably. However, in order for children to feel that they have the power to make a difference, sustainability education is needed that teaches on sustainable lifestyle practices and grants students exposure to completing projects that ignite capacities for environmental action. The simple pro-environmental behaviors are unfortunately not enough alone. 3 In addition to encouraging learning in the environment and encouraging the simple behaviors, educators and curriculums must also consider education about and for the environment in order to promote long-term sustainable lifestyle prac3 tices with children.

FORCES AFFECTING THE PROBLEM: • • •

A school may have limited tools and resources to implementing sustainability programs Parental barriers Understanding the significance of environmental challenges and consciousness of reforming one’s habits comes with age

Understanding the real significance of environmental challenges, climate change, and being conscious of reforming one’s habit is challenging to comprehend at a young age and might invoke fear and anxiety in children. Environmental education for young students starts with the positive experience of one con4 necting with different parts of nature.

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ACTION STRATEGY •

Create a community resource and innovation space for sustainability learning and exploration of environmental initiatives.

This pattern offers experiential research and production space for environmental initiatives. It allows community members to fulfill projects and engagements specific to environmentalism and dedicates a space specific for environmental education. It promotes students to find their connection to the natural world, whether that be through common practices of gardening, and composting to developing interests in more complex issues such as addressing water contamination, waste reduction, social/cultural equity, policy change, and ecosystem repair. It promotes student organization for sustainability by providing space for student collaboration and research. It invites program outreach to the local community, national and global sustainability organizations.

COMPONENTS: Production: Designed for large-scale research and project development, the production lab invites community and cohort collaboration. Designed with transparent, light-weight construction, this space mimics the outdoor environment while still allowing experimentation to transpire in months that experience extreme temperatures. Scale: Individual - Class Feel: Noisy, messy, open, collaborative, full-body, hands-on Analysis: Designed for small-scale research, the analysis lab invites more controlled environmental projects. This space supports year-round use of those whom may be initiating personal research. It provides as a reflection space to Production lab. Scale: Individual - Small Groups (Groups: 2-5 people) Feel: Low-med noise, small-scale, controlled Community-welcoming: The labs are designed to be available and accessible to the local community inviting community-wide initiatives such as serving as a winter donation center or summer food garden. Making available space for a larger population encourages more involvement in environmental initiatives and can promote a healthier environment for the whole community. 68

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Community Welcoming

Production

EcoLabs are designed to be available to the community and allow the space to be usable on nonschool hours such as after school or on vacations.

indoor-outdoor connection large, open, flexible, messy project area tool storage

Tool chest

Water source

EcoLabs can be designed in urban settings too! EcoLabs can be designed as an extension of the school--physically attached as a small “wing” but still offering its purpose of providing space for environmental projects and sustainability learning.

Shoe/backpack cubbies

Analysis

EcoLab

flexible seating flexible collaboration surfaces storage cabinets shoe/clothing/backpack storage water source

greenhouse design indoor-outdoor connection lockable entrances, especially if designed as a wing of the facility

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EXAMPLES

Mavlutova High School \ FIELDING INTERNATIONAL Central spaces in Mavlutova High School offer locations for botanical research.

Vail Mountain School \ SVIGALS + PARTNERS Greenhouses designed at the Vail Mountain School provide an alternative experiential learning environment to the classroom.

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EcoLabs promote student environmental opportunities- personal research, competition exploration, and scholarships Schools that implement environmental programs open opportunities for Environmental Education grants such as the American Honda Foundation Grants, KEEN Effect Kids Grant Program, etc. If designing EcoLabs as a wing, locate in connection to spaces alike such as STEM labs, libraries or cafeterias to allow fluidity across learning and provide supervision For new facilities--during engagement process before design phase begins, discuss sustainability goals/values with all stakeholders including students to gauge motivations for sustainability inclusion within curriculum

RESOURCES for additional thinking:

Citations: 1

“How to Improve Sustainability in Schools.” TeachHUB, 30 Mar. 2020, https://www.teachhub.com/classroom-activ

ities/2020/03/how-to-improve-sustainability-in-schools/. 2

“How to Educate Kids in Respect of the Environment?” Iberdrola, https://www.iberdrola.com/environment/enviro

mental-education-for-kids. Accessed 17 Aug. 2021.

Ginsburg, Julia, and Shannon Audley. “‘You Don’t Wanna Teach Little Kids about Climate Change’: Beliefs and

Barriers to Sustainability Education in Early Childhood.” International Journal of Early Childhood Environmental

Education, July 2020,https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1264526.pdf.

Pihkala, Panu. “Eco-Anxiety and Environmental Education.” Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute , Dec.

2020.

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WHAT’S NEXT? The themes designed for in this book all work to provide a learning environment that supports holistic inhabitant well-being. The patterns presented may be of interest to school facilities who experience similar challenges designed for in this book and who are looking to implement design solutions for a healthier facility. As there are multiple solutions to one problem, and as the patterns network to provide alternative answers to the connected challenges, consider what pattern is most beneficial for your school and its needs. Questions to be considered before implementing patterns: • What resources does my school and community need for the implication of a desired pattern? • How can we involve the community as much as possible in the implication of the pattern? • How can we involve the students as much as possible in the implication of the pattern? • How can we encourage the conversations of the design patterns to begin at initial meetings? • How can the pattern adapt to meet the needs of the students and the community? Fielding International is known for its design pattern implications. If you have any questions about the process of applying design patterns, wish to discuss in more detail the necessary components, or are wondering what pattern will work best for your school and community, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

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info@fieldingintl.com +1 248 703 3681

Fielding International

@fieldingint

@fieldingintl

DESIGNING FOR WELLNESS \ Summer 2021