Hazelwood School
GM + AD Architects pursued the Hazelwood project with a commitment to building knowledge and capacity on a building that would work with children with a very complex range of abilities. Most extant examples are schools serving the needs of children with visual limitations, or hearing limitations, or cognitive issues or physical limitations. In this case, the design would need to meet the needs and enhance the independence of children with a mix of all of these issues. The initial phase of data gathering by the architect was replaced by joint research when the new Head Teacher was hired.
Best Practices in Educational Facilities Investments
Exemplary design categories: multi-sensory environment, outdoor spaces, safety, special needs provision How the facility meets the needs of education and communities: The ambition of this school for children and young people with sensory impairments was to create a challenging and stimulating environment for all. Varied wall and floor surface textures and built-in navigational aids - such as trail rails, varied ceiling heights, and the print, Braille, moon and graphical signage - help children to navigate around the building independently. The main school building is a single-storey “s” shape structure that reduces the perceived scale of the school and makes it less intimidating and more welcoming to small children. The shape creates a series of small scaled, intimate internal and external spaces.
This Spanish kindergarten is filled with mountains, caves and chess
Photography by Kim Wendt Copenhagen design firm Rosan Bosch Studio, have designed the interiors of a kindergarten in Zaragoza, Spain, that has a variety of creative learning zones for the children. The kindergarten, which has children from 3-6 yrs, is home to a custom-designed mountain with caves underneath for the children to play in. The kindergarten also has a large chess set for the children to play. There’s also stepped seating with storage for children’s toys and books.
