Problem : In a country where buildings consume half of the energy provided, and three quarters of the electricity, How do we introduce and integrate a curriculum of ‘sustainable building’ into an urban public school?

Proposal : A small passive solar structure with indoor and outdoor space. It’s stand alone facility ready to be integrated to any school with suffi cient outdoor space. It functions as a hands-on, experiential teaching tool itself, providing direct connections to the cycles of the natural world. In addition to what is being taught, what is signifi cant is how it is being taught. This learning environment is based on a self-directed, child-centered, physically-engaging apprach to teaching that views learning as an integrated process of curiosity, exploration, focus and discovery.

Site : Bret Harte Elementary School in Hyde Park neighborhood, Chicago, USA.

AIR AND HEAT FLOW

WATER COLLECTION

‘WIND,

LIGHT,

WATER CATCHER’

SOUTH FACADE WEST FACADE EAST FACADENORTH FACADE INTERIOR

SOUTH

INDOOROUTDOOR

SECTION LOOKING SOUTH

THIS CIRCULAR EN-TRY VESTIBULE LIT-ERALLY CAPTURES THREE NATURAL ELEMENTS AT ONCE AND LET’S THE PASSERBY ENJOY THE INHERENT BEAUTY IN THEM, WHILE DIRECTLY EXPERIENCING THEIR CAPTURE.

THE TRAY WITH PERFORATIONS TURNS AS ITS SAILS ABOVE THE ROOF CATCH THE WIND.

SECTION LOOKING EAST

SECTION LOOKING NORTH

SECTION LOOKING WEST

SOUTH WALL

EAST WALL

NORTH WALL

WEST WALL

SUN IS LOW

SUN IS HIGH

FLOOR PLAN

LOW TABLE

SOLAR ROOM

STA

GE

SWINGS CAROUSELBICYCLES

MATERIALS:

A STICK-FRAME STRUCTURE WITH HELICAL SCREW FOUNDA-TION. ALL MATERIALS USES ARE EITHER REUSED, RECYCLED OR RENEWABLE. CHILDREN BUILD PART OF THE OUT-DOOR PORTION OF THE STRUCTURE WITH FOUND OBJECTS. THESE ARE THE BENCHES IN FRONT OF THE STAGE AND THE SCULPTURAL OBJECTS ON THE EAST SIDE.

“everything i needed to know, i learned through Play” : ..LEARNING AS AN EXPLORATION..A DISCOVERY

THE PATTERNS OF LIGHT FALL ON ITS WALL. THE RAIN,CAPTURED BY THE BUT-TERFLY ROOF ABOVE IS DIRECTED TO THE CIS-TERN THROUGH THIS WALL. THE PASSER-BY CAN HEAR THE SOUND OF THE WATER.

A FREQUENT AND CONSISTENT RELATIONSHIP TO THE OUTDOORS IS NECESSARY FOR CHILDREN TO INTIMATELY EXPERI-ENCE THE RYTHMS AND CYCLES OF THE NATURAL WORLD. AS THE CYCLES TURN, SO DO THE CHILDREN MOVE AROUND THE STRUCTURE, EXPERIENCING VARIOUS PROGRAMS SPECIFIC TO EACH SIDE. ALL OF THE DRAWINGS EXHIBIT THE NA-TURE OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE INTERIOR AND THE EXTERIOR.

BUILDING ZONE : ‘BUILD AND PROVIDE’: Children build benches in front of the outdoor stage. A prototype bench is provided in the project to serve as a guide for children to build the rest of the benches with a simple frame and

found or recycled materials.

THE HEAT FROM THE SOLAR ROOM RISES AND IS RE-LEASED OUT OF THE SKYLIGHT ABOVE. THIS FLOW CRE-ATES A PRESSURE DIFFERENTIAL WHICH DRAWS THE AIR FROM THE CLASSROOM, PROVIDING AIR CIRCULATION AND COOLING. THE OVERHANG ROOF PROTECTS FROM

EXCESSIVE HEAT GAIN.

SUMMERSOUTH

SOUTH

THE HEAT FROM THE SOLAR ROOM RISES AND ENTERS THE CLASSROOM. THE THERMAL MASS OF THE FLOOR ABSORBS THE HEAT DURING THE DAY AND RELEASES IT AT NIGHT WHICH HELP MAINTAIN A CONSTANT TEMPERATURE. A SMALL HEAT EXCHANGER MIGHT BE NEEDED IN CHICAGO. THE BOOKS AGAINST THE NORTH WALL PROVIES EXTRA

INSULATION

WINTER

THE BUTTERFLY ROOF COLLECTS THE RAIN WATER AND DIRECTS IT THROUGH A DRAIN PIPE, INTO THE CISTERN IN THE GROUND. THE WATER IS USED TO MAINTAIN THE VEG-

ETABLE GARDEN AND THE PLANTS OUTSIDE.

ACTIVE PLAY ZONE : ‘PLAY AND PROVIDE’ : The new playground harvests the energy produced by the children’s movement on the stationary bikes, swings and carousel. The captured energy is used for interior lighting.

THE IDEA IS TO MOVE THROUGH THE SPACE AS A KID WOULD LIKE TO. IF WE POSIT THAT CHILDREN LEARN EFFECTIVELY THROUGH: CURIOSITY, EXPLORATION, FOCUS AND DISCOVERY, THEN THE TAST IS TO INVITE THE CHILDREN. BECAUSE CHILDREN ALREADY ARE DYNAMIC AND LIKE TO PLAY, THESE CON-SIDERATIONS DEFINE THE LANGUAGE OF THIS CLASSROOM.

UNBUILDING & DISCOVERY ZONE : ‘TAKE-APART AND PROVIDE’: The north side, free of glare, is a suitable environment for focus. Benches, desks, tool boxes and ‘treasure boxes’ fi lled with common electrical, mechanical objects are freely taken apart and studied by the children. What is not put back together, becomes material to be used

for the ongoing sculpture on the west.

CREATION ZONE : ‘INSPIRE AND PROVIDE’: On this side, children work on ongoing sculptural projects. They

are made from recycled materials, found at the back of the site. As the space fi lls up, the sculptures are donated.

VEGETABLE GARDEN : Plants clean the indoor air..the sense of smell and taste are activated..By growing food, children learn a signifi cant

topic about sustainable and food production. The skylights in the solar room provide more light for the garden.

STAIRCASE : A staircase acts as seating, desks, and drawer storage. Rather than providing circulation, this staircse provides a topog-raphy to inhabit. The windows above the wider treads provide access to bolconies large enough for one child.

WALL OF BOOKS : This wall appeals the child’s sense of exploration, curiosity and adventure. The books on the higher shelves are accessed by climbing a safe network of nets and hammocks. Hammocks provide space for solitary reading. Lack of glare on this

wall is suitable for reading. Books provide additional insulation to the north exposure.

THE STAGE : A simple step up, a curtain and a blackboard as a backdrop creates a stage for self-expression. The stage functions for an indoor or an oudoor performance. The chalk art on the blackboard becomes the stage set, or a place for teacher

to address the class.

...at its center is a communal table

THE PROGRAM

GARDEN