History of School Design in Hong Kong 1

| History of School Design in Hong Kong | 1

CONTENTS Lesson 1 - Design Project: Village School • Brainstorming for a school for our age • Key considerations in school design • Context • Programme • Design of learning space • Sustainable design • Universal design • Project design brief for a school • Summary and Further Reading | History of School Design in Hong Kong | Lesson 1 – Design Project : Village School 2

Design Project: Village School | History of School Design in Hong Kong | Lesson 1 – Design Project : Village School 3

Brainstorming for a school for our age What is your dream school? • How do we begin to design one? What do we need to know or consider before we design? • What kind of environment would best facilitate learning and teaching? • What learning facilities would you like to include in a school? | History of School Design in Hong Kong | Lesson 1 – Design Project : Village School 4

Brainstorming for a school for our age How about the practical issues? • • • Site location and area Building area Number of students and staff Storage Parking Building services Vehicle access Statutory requirements Means of escape for fire safety We always face opportunities and constraints in design process, but there are ways to overcome constraints and we should regard them as guidelines. | History of School Design in Hong Kong | Lesson 1 – Design Project : Village School 5

What should a school look like? School of Art, Design & Media, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore Opportunities: Sufficient space Constraints: Climatic issues | History of School Design in Hong Kong | Lesson 1 – Design Project : Village School 6

What should a school look like? Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower, Tokyo. Opportunities: Non-traditional school nature Constraints: Lack of space | History of School Design in Hong Kong | Lesson 1 – Design Project : Village School 7

What should a school look like? Hong Kong Design Institute, Hong Kong Opportunities: Non-traditional school nature Constraints: Surrounded by dense urban development, lack of open space | History of School Design in Hong Kong | Lesson 1 – Design Project : Village School 8

What should a school look like? Maosi Ecological Demonstration Primary School, Gansu China. Opportunities: Sufficient labour force and natural environment. Constraints: Lack of budget and typical construction materials. | History of School Design in Hong Kong | Lesson 1 – Design Project : Village School 9

What should a school look like? Lee Shau Kee School of Creativity, Hong Kong Opportunities: Non-traditional school nature. Constraints: Lack of open space. | History of School Design in Hong Kong | Lesson 1 – Design Project : Village School 10

Key considerations in school design Context • How should the school relate to the surrounding neighbourhood? The building form of the Hong Kong Design Institute (HKDI) | History of School Design in Hong Kong | Lesson 1 – Design Project : Village School 11

Key considerations in school design Context • How should the building blocks be arranged on the terrain? How the site planning relates to the site context in terms of the following: • building form and the sloping terrain • Vista • pedestrian and vehicle access | History of School Design in Hong Kong | Lesson 1 – Design Project : Village School 12

Key considerations in school design Context • Response to the cultural activities in the surrounding area? Please analyse how the site planning of HKDI relates to the site context in terms of the following: • • • | History of School Design in Hong Kong | Placement of entrances in relation to public transport and pedestrian flow Entrance design Building orientation and vista Connection to other buildings Vehicle access Lesson 1 – Design Project : Village School 13

Key considerations in school design Programmes Schedule of accommodation Please analyse how the site planning of HKDI relates to the site context in terms of the following: • • • | History of School Design in Hong Kong | Lesson 1 – Design Project : Village School Placement of entrances in relation to public transport and pedestrian flow Entrance design Building orientation and vista Connection to other buildings Vehicle access 14

Key considerations in school design Programmes Hierarchy of spaces The Hong Kong Design Institute There is a clear distinction and hierarchy of private and public spaces, and this clear arrangement helps direct users to their destinations. © Coldefy & Associés | History of School Design in Hong Kong | Lesson 1 – Design Project : Village School 15

Key considerations in school design Design of learning space In view of the current and future educational issues and trends, how would you design the learning space? Common Educational Issues • Curriculum change is rapid • Methods of teaching are diverse and evolving • Changing roles of students and teachers • Technological change is accelerating • Security and safety within building and site • Greater demand for community access and use • Classroom size and role | History of School Design in Hong Kong | Lesson 1 – Design Project : Village School 16

Key considerations in school design Design of learning space In view of the current and future educational issues and trends, how would you design the learning space? Common Trends • Extended school day, week, year • Student-centred. project-centred learning approach • Diversity of curriculum programmes within a school • The small school unit - ‘schools within schools’* • Classroom clusters • Inclusiveness: pre-school, at risk, special education, • gifted / talented, disabled, developmentally delayed • Partnering • Schools as community centres | History of School Design in Hong Kong | Lesson 1 – Design Project : Village School 17

Key considerations in school design Design of learning space Configuration of learning space • Different modes of learning enabled by the flexible design of classrooms | History of School Design in Hong Kong | © Innovative School Design Parameter in Hong Kong for 21 st Century, CUHK press, 2001 18 Lesson 1 – Design Project : Village School

Key considerations in school design Design of learning space Vertical and horizontal layout • Arrangement of indoor and outdoor spaces • Clear division or mingling of various spaces • Strict alignment to axis • Random, organic layout • Zoning of private/public quarters | History of School Design in Hong Kong | Lesson 1 – Design Project : Village School 19

Key considerations in school design Sustainable design Orientation • Avoid east and west sun glare by aligning the building in a north-south direction • Study sun path using software • Align building blocks to a particular vista • Align to neighbouring buildings to create a continuation of urban fabric • Orientate a building according to functional needs such as easy access or loading/unloading | History of School Design in Hong Kong | Lesson 1 – Design Project : Village School 20

Key considerations in school design Sustainable design © Ronald Lu and Partners Ltd. Shading device • Overhangs and louvres • Block out or reduce excessive heat gain by • shading spaces from direct sunlight • Helps reducing energy use for air-conditioning | History of School Design in Hong Kong | Landscape • Roof gardens can help lower indoor temperature and reduce energy use • Trees for sun-shading and blocking traffic noise Lesson 1 – Design Project : Village School 21

Key considerations in school design Sustainable design Natural ventilation • Create cross-ventilation by including openings on two sides of a room • Help even room temperature and reduce energy © Bernard V. Lim use for air-conditioning • ‘Double skin’ façade • Wind corridor - gaps between building blocks for Natural Lighting • Different openings create different lighting ventilation • effects • Skylights • Reflective/indirect light • Use of ‘light shelves’ and light-coloured materials to reflect daylight into interiors | History of School Design in Hong Kong | Lesson 1 – Design Project : Village School 22

Key considerations in school design Universal Design Universal design is the design of buildings, products and environments that are inherently accessible to both people without disabilities and people with disabilities. • Provision of ramps and drop-kerbs • Disabled lift provision • Sufficient operation space for wheelchairs in corridors • and functional spaces • Clear signage • Tactile paving Barrier-free ramp and tactile paving © P&T Architects and Engineers Ltd. | History of School Design in Hong Kong | Toilet for the disabled © P&T Architects and Engineers Ltd. Lesson 1 – Design Project : Village School 23

[Exercise 1] Look at your school. What innovative design features does your school have? Considerations How is the design addressing the considerations? Photos or drawings Context Programme Design of Learning Space Sustainable Design Universal Design | History of School Design in Hong Kong | 24

[Exercise 2] Prepare the Schedule of Accommodation for your school. Schedule of Accommodation Quantity Unit area (m 2) Classroom Headmaster’s office Deputy headmaster’s office Staff room General office Male toilet for staff Female toilet for staff Storage Assembly hall (with stage) Music room | History of School Design in Hong Kong | 25

Project Design Brief for a School Objectives of the design project: • To understand the relationship between needs and design • To adopt a systematic approach in architectural design • To nurture a sense of scale and proportion by observing the built environment around us • To encourage the incorporation of universal and sustainable design principles into architecture As an architect, you are invited by a school sponsoring body to design a six-classroom village primary school on an outlying island. Located at the village entrance, this school campus will also be used for holding community events and workshops during holidays. The island is the site of an old fishing village, an ecotheme park and a new residential development. There is an interesting mix of traditional culture, eco-tourism and an incoming flow of middle-class residents. The school targets both village locals and children from the new residential neighbourhood whose parents believe that a small school would provide a better learning environment than a typical school. | History of School Design in Hong Kong | Lesson 1 – Design Project : Village School 26

Project Design Brief for a School Site Condition Site Plan Site Photo | History of School Design in Hong Kong | Lesson 1 – Design Project : Village School 27

Project Design Brief for a School Schedule of Accommodation A building contains various functions. Even in a small house, more than one function is required: living room, dining room, kitchen, bathroom, bedrooms and so on. When designing a complex like a secondary school, we need the ‘schedule of accommodation’, which is a list of all the functions required and the areas needed. | History of School Design in Hong Kong | Lesson 1 – Design Project : Village School 28

Questions before starting the design… • What kind of building design would fit the rural context? • How can we make good use of the rural environment? • A village school is often faced with limited resources. How can we overcome this problem? • What are the limitations and opportunities of a village school? • Should the school focus on serving the village children or the relatively well -heeled, multi-ethnic residents? Or should it be a melting pot of various cultures? • This school will be also used by the village community for other activities. How can the design accommodate flexible and multiple uses? • What other issues can you think of? | History of School Design in Hong Kong | Lesson 1 – Design Project : Village School 29

Questions before starting the design… Submission Requirements 1. Design statement 2. Site analysis 3. Illustration 4. Site plan (1: 250) 5. Plans of ground floor and major levels (1: 100) 6. Section(s) (1: 250) 7. Model (1: 250) | History of School Design in Hong Kong | Lesson 1 – Design Project : Village School 30

Summary 1. The considerations behind a comfortable and inspiring learning space should include: context, programmes, design of learning space, sustainable design, and universal design. 2. In architectural design, both the physical and cultural contexts need to be addressed. 3. It is important to draft out space relationship diagrams to study the best programmatic arrangement on a site, including the schedule of accommodation and hierarchy of spaces. 4. Two considerations for the design of learning space include the configuration of learning space and vertical and horizontal layout. 5. The considerations for sustainable design include orientation, shading device, landscape, natural ventilation and natural Lighting. 6. Universal design is the design of buildings, products and environments that are inherently accessible to both people without disabilities and people with disabilities. | History of School Design in Hong Kong | 31

Further reading 1. Chung, Chak, and Ngan, Ming Yan. “From “Rooftop” to “Millennium”: The Development of Primary Schools in Hong Kong since 1945. ” New Horizons in Education No. 46. November 2002. http: //www. scpe. ied. edu. hk/newhorizon/abstract/2002 n/page 24. pdf 2. Hong Kong Institute of Education. From Rooftop Schools to Post-Millennium Schools: The Post-war Evolution of School Buildings in Hong Kong (Exhibition Pamphlet). Hong Kong Museum of Education (Organizer). 2011. http: //www. museum. ied. edu. hk/publications-souvenirs/images/leaflet_Rooftop. pdf 3. School Design Research Group, ed. Innovative School Design Parameters in Hong Kong for 21 st Century. Hong Kong: Department of Architecture, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2001. Online version: http: //www. cuhk. edu. hk/proj/innovative-school 4. Centre of Architectural Research for Education, Elderly, Environment and Excellence Ltd. , ed. School Facilities Programming Guide for Hong Kong: Education and Manpower Bureau, 2003. 5. Green School Primer: Lessons in Sustainability. Mulgrave, Vic. : Images Pub. , 2009. 6. 胡恩威 <<香港風格>>，香港：CUP Publishing Ltd. 2005 | History of School Design in Hong Kong | 32