Edlach elementary school Dornbirn, © Kurt Hoerbst

Space for the adults of tomorrow

How do we shape the society of the future? How do we create places for our children to learn and flourish?

The school system, we grow up in, is of great importance. It shapes us personally, moulds us as people and thus shapes society itself. A good school system can also help to provide educational opportunities for all and balance social differences. Educational concepts have changed considerably over the years. Schools today are ideally characterised by playful learning, movement and learning landscapes with different functions.

"Education is the most powerful weapon

to change the world."

Nelson Mandela

New learning environments

As architects, we have the opportunity to positively influence the everyday lives of today's generation of pupils. Our buildings create an atmosphere that is both sanimating and calming; an atmosphere that stimulates all our senses.

How do we achieve this? Through plenty of natural light, the integration of environment and nature, a careful selection of materials and the right balance between spaces for interaction, concentration and retreat. Successful implementation of these ideas turns school buildings into more than just a physical learning space. They become centres of creativity, inspiration and social engagement.

Education shapes society

Talking about the society of the future, a shared city, shared spaces, we are talking about individuals who are part of this society. And we are talking about the adults of tomorrow, the youth of today.

The 2023 Pisa Biennale was held with the name "La cittá condivisa. L'architettura per un nuovo equilibrio sociale" ("The shared city. Architecture for a new social balance"). With our contribution on the subject of educational buildings"atmosfere per gli adulti di domani" ("Atmospheres for the adults of tomorrow"), we were able to take on the subject alongside Snøhetta, Renzo Piano and many others.

A selection of images from various projects showed a cross-section of our educational buildings, trying to give answers to how an environment could look like that is conducive to learning and concentration, but also to relaxation and living together; an environment in which the adults of tomorrow can not only develop, but also thrive intellectually, emotionally and socially.

Communicative circulation at the Lycée Tani Malandi
© Jeudi Wang

... anywhere

This topic has taken us all the way to Mayotte: The special location of the overseas department of France, the oldest volcanic island in the Comoros and part of the EU since 2014, naturally brings with it completely new challenges in terms of climate, culture and demographics. We are able to familiarise ourselves with and test traditional building materials and construction methods on site. The Lycée Tani Malandi will provide space for 2,000 young Mahorans and become a place for socialising and inspiration.

Lots of wood and natural light are the essence of our school in the north of Brittany. The Collège in Lamballe, which opened in 2018, was our third school building in France. Strict space requirements gave us little room for manoeuvre for alternative learning spaces. This made it all the more important to make the school as bright as possible. Abuilding-high atrium, visually connecting all levels, as well as the glazed façade and the glass roof, extending over the entire building, provide daylight in every corner of the school. In a before-and-after comparison, the pupils particularly praised the bright rooms, which make everyday school life easier.

What do the students think?

What happens when a school building is completed and the pupils make it their own? How is our building received? We asked our youngest users, including the pupils of the Unterdorf Elementary School in Höchst in Vorarlberg. One of many conclusions: Wood is also very popular with the younger generation. Generous outdoor spaces and room to move are important to almost everyone and as far as playgrounds and football pitches are concerned, "there could never be enough of them ...".

Text: Barbara Fontana, January 2024

User perspective on learning environments

In our user series, we visit some of our projects and meet our users in an open dialogue, with perspectives from the other side. For us, it is an opportunity to gain insights from their daily life and get to the bottom of questions: What has stood the test of time and what would we do differently today? What emotions does a space trigger? How comfortable do the users feel? What do they like, what would they change? We go on site and let our users have a say in this format.

This series also took us to a place we all know: school. Far more than a place of learning, it is a place for social interaction and value education and in some ways reflects our society. Hardly any other place combines community and the built environment as concisely as a school. In our interview with the Edlach primary school in Dornbirn, teaching staff and pupils talked about their school life and give us an insight into how they perceive their built environment.

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Social responsibility and why we need places of communication

As architects do we actually have a social responsibility? And do we fulfil it? When we deal with a project, we are initially confronted with the question of ‘How?’: How do I manage to accommodate a certain number of people in a given space? With this question we are neither acting ethically nor are we fulfilling our social responsibility. Only when we ask ‘For whom?’ and ‘What can we change for society?’ do we take the perspective of our users and think about moral principles.

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Rudolf Steiner School, Vienna (AT)
New building, Building in existing structures, Re-use

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Collège Simone-Veil, Lamballe (FR)
New building

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Lycée Tani Malandi, Mayotte (FR)
New building

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