Design+rationale

Design Rationale
Our design rationale for this transitional space supports several of the Educational Design Principles described by Jeffrey Lackey on his website [|33 Educational Design Principles for Schools and Community Learning Centers].

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 * ** Educational Design Principle ** || ** Description ** || ** How Our Design Supports the Principle ** ||
 * No. 3: Plan Schools as Neighborhood-Scaled Community Learning Centers. || School should be viewed as a community resource that creates an environment that welcomes the surrounding area to become involved. The school should provide services on a flexible schedule that support a diverse population. || By providing computer access to parents, parents are encouraged to view the school as a community resource. Through the parent portal on the computers, parents can gather information about SUHI, colleges, parent involvement opportunities, etc. ||
 * No. 7: Consider Home as a Template for School || Incorporating home-like elements into a school can reduce anxiety, help students feel more comfortable, and help students to focus on learning. || Our transitional space can be considered a “friendly and welcoming entry sequence”, and includes home-like elements such as couches, stuffed chairs, and televisions. ||
 * No. 8: Meander Circulation while Ensuring Supervision || Create circulation spaces and central activity nodes rather than long hallways and corridors to increase social interaction, reduce illicit activity, and provide opportunities for impromptu meetings. || Throughout the space, users can circulate from one area to another, taking advantage of the separate spaces to hold meetings, study groups, classes, club activities, etc. Since the spaces are connected to a central area, supervision can be ensured. ||
 * No. 9: Design for Safe Schools || Campus crime can be reduced by adhering to the design principles of access control, natural surveillance, and definition of territory. || By replacing the current, solid stairs in our space with “open” stairs, it is possible to see what is happening on the other side of the stairs. By keeping the administrative services at the main entrance, territorial reinforcement is supported. ||
 * No. 11: Provide Space for Sharing Learning Resources. || Areas must be defined that “provide technology-rich resources” in order to support the learning of all students. || In our space, students have shared access to computers, the Internet, and televisions. ||
 * No. 12: Design for a Variety of Learning Groups and Spaces. “ || “Learning takes place in many different kinds and qualities of spaces.” When possible, an assortment of adjoining spaces should be created to facilitate learning in a multiplicity of settings. || This transitional space offers adjoining work/meeting spaces that are visually open and can accommodate different numbers of users. Though the spaces are adjoining, there is enough space between them to act as acoustical barriers. ||
 * No. 20: Establish a Community Forum || By offering an assembly space that is accessible, open, free-flowing, and flexible, a stronger connection between the school and community can be established. || The following elements of our space support this principle:
 * Open space that is free-flowing and flexible in its use
 * Central area over the school seal with smaller areas off to the side
 * Wall space for student exhibitions and displays
 * Comfortable, living room feel with soft seating options
 * Semi-private meeting areas
 * No. 23: Weave Together Virtual and Physical Learning Spaces || Offer decentralized access to technology and integrate virtual and learning spaces. || By providing computer and Internet access, and access to LCD screens, learning with technology is no longer confined to a computer lab. ||
 * No. 25: Provide Parent Information Centers. || Such centers serve as an effective interface between the school and the community. Providing “a welcoming entry for the public, with a direct link to the school, an informal seating area with information about the school displayed so that visiting parents and the community can get an idea of school activities” can greatly enhance relations with the parents and foster a strong relationship with the public as a whole. || Our space offers parents access to computers that have portals to parent-centered information, in an informal seating area. ||
 * No. 28: Maximize Natural and Full-Spectrum Lighting || Emphasize natural lighting throughout the space to reduce stress, improve performance, and maintain economic and environmental responsibility. || With large windows on all sides and at varying heights, our space takes full advantage of natural lighting, making our space inviting and energy-conscious. ||