School
Tenton Valley Community School
Before the notion of “school” was conceived, the family was the nursery of education till the time when diversified duties made it no longer possible to train the children properly at home. The “school” is a product of civilization that became necessary as a result of the division of labour, which arose from the multiplication of the interests of mankind and made it no longer viable for the home to provide wholly the training of its children. In order for the children to learn effectively, it is thus necessary to provide them shelter from the heat and rain, so that the influence of the weather on the learning process is minimized.
Schools took different forms in different countries in the past. For in China, children went to school held in a temple, the home of the school master, or the home of the wealthy patron. In India, children were schooled under trees during good weather and in a tent or shed when the weather is bad. As for Persia, boys were housed in large public institutions that provided lodging, basic food and clothing where they were trained to use arms, riding and other athletic exercises to prepare them for war.
An interesting model of school to look at is the award-winning(2009 open architecture challenge:classroom) Tenton Valley Community School that incorporates the local community needs and the requirement of the education fraternity into its design concept. In Tenton Valley Community School, the school infrastructure moves beyond just providing shelter for the teachers and students, but also integrates the surroundings of the school as a teaching resource for the students, and provide a community space for the local population for social interaction. Furthermore, the building also serves as a teaching tool for the students about the built environment through some of its transparent glass walls, as students observe how the mechanical process of the heating and cooling system in the building works.
Schools took different forms in different countries in the past. For in China, children went to school held in a temple, the home of the school master, or the home of the wealthy patron. In India, children were schooled under trees during good weather and in a tent or shed when the weather is bad. As for Persia, boys were housed in large public institutions that provided lodging, basic food and clothing where they were trained to use arms, riding and other athletic exercises to prepare them for war.
An interesting model of school to look at is the award-winning(2009 open architecture challenge:classroom) Tenton Valley Community School that incorporates the local community needs and the requirement of the education fraternity into its design concept. In Tenton Valley Community School, the school infrastructure moves beyond just providing shelter for the teachers and students, but also integrates the surroundings of the school as a teaching resource for the students, and provide a community space for the local population for social interaction. Furthermore, the building also serves as a teaching tool for the students about the built environment through some of its transparent glass walls, as students observe how the mechanical process of the heating and cooling system in the building works.