LEARNING
ENVIRONMENTS
Learning
Environments
Above: Central atrium at Maunula House. Right: Gathering space and
and the grand fireplace at Saunalahti School.
Innovation in learning environ-
ments: Saunalahti School
The second building we visited was
the Saunalahti School designed by Ver-
stas Architects in 2012, located Espoo,
a 40-minute metro ride away from
Helsinki. We met up with the Vice
Principal, Minna to tour the building.
Saunalahti School embodies much of
what I traveled to study; an architec-
ture that is designed specifically to
bring education out of the traditional
classroom and create innovative envi-
ronments that accommodate a variety
of teaching methods.
The heart of the school is the Au-
ditorium. Centrally located, this area
can function as the theater, cafeteria,
or assembly space. Aligned to a large
curtain wall, the room is flooded with
natural light allowing for minimal use
of artificial light. The administrative
offices are located above the auditori-
um providing direct sightlines down to
the space. Felt on the bottom side of
tables and the perforated wood ceiling
make the large volume fell acoustically
intimate.
The corridor connecting the audito-
rium to the main entrance is a learning
environment made up of small seating
groups centered around a massive
concrete fireplace looking out onto the
playground. The architect activated
this space turning a simple hallway into
one of the most unique experiences
in the building.
Minna identi-
fied this as her
favorite area of
the school. She
often sits with
students in the
“green chairs” to
have one on one
conversations,
and she ob-
serves the kids
utilizing the space in the same way.
This space also represents an over-
lap in the building between public and
private use. Portions of the Saunalahti
School are open to the community
after hours. At the main entrance there
is a public library that accesses the
fireplace seating. Minna describes this
as another opportunity to enhance the
security of the building: by opening
the doors to the residents the admin-
istration is able to get to know the
public and bring them into the school’s
community. As we toured residents
were coming and going from the green
chairs, reading magazines and working
on tablets. There is no scenario I could
imagine this openness being accepted
in a U.S. School.
Where traditional classrooms occur,
they are grouped together around a
small communal space and teacher
work room. This provides teachers
with a variety of spaces to support
all types of learners. All classrooms
have sightlines into adjacent teaching
spaces. Minna tells us this feature both
enhances security and allows younger
students to observe the classroom be-
havior of their older classmates.
Sustainability: The Kolla School
The Kolla School, designed by
Kjellgren Kaminsky Architecture is lo-
cated in Kungsbacka a suburb outside
of Gothenburg, Sweden. This was a
key building for the trip based on the
remarkable achievement of being the
first Passive House certified school in
Sweden, but I found that the culture of
inclusion and respect for the individual
student were just as compelling. One
of the greatest moments of the trip was
the discovery of student made glazed
brick installations on the schools’ street
façade letting everyone know this
building is special.
The Head Master spent hours with us
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