NORTH BARRINGTON SCHOOL, BARRINGTON, IL
North Barrington School was my K-5 elementary school. I attended class in the old building K-4 until the new school was ready for my final year. The new school was divided up into 3 hexagonal shapes at one end, a rectangle and two mirrored triangles at the other end. The school is two levels and the hexagonal areas on each floor are called pods. Pods host classrooms and shared space for each grade level. For example the 1st grade pod has a gathering spaces, bathrooms, and then several separately enclosed classrooms. All grades share the non-hexogonal spaces including the rectangular area (gym, cafeteria, and courtyard) and triangular areas (art classroom, music classroom, nurses office, etc.). I just thought it was an interesting to divide up the grade-levels yet keep them interactive. Also as Lisa said, there are times you don't want the first-graders to have contact with the eigth-graders.
LIGHT-TUBES
I remember going to a lecture last year where a man talked about using "light tubes" to bring light into dark interior rooms. The tubes would reach from the roof and make their way into the rooms, providing "free" natural light.
GSW BUILDING, BERLIN, GERMANY
When I was in Berlin for my Studio Abroad, I had the chance to visit the GSW building. The building uses shading devices, which automatically close or open in response to the sun. However, there is also a way to manually shut the shading devices if needed (ex. office wants to give a presentation). The flexibility of these devices promises desired lighting conditions.
There was also a lower section of the building, which might fall in the shadows of the tower. This lower section uses skylights which are the length of the entire double-story hallway to bring in the diffused natural light. This area also uses mirrors to reflect what ever light does make it into the building. Again, just more things to think about when it comes to lighting devices or methods.
INSTITUTE DU MONDE ARABE, PARIS, FRANCE
Lisa brought up Jean Nouvel's Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris, France. This building has a facade made up of diaphragms (like camera lens) which control the amount of sunlight which gets in the building. This represents another method of controlling the lighting conditions within a building.
Lisa and I also talked about the possibility of having numerous types of light or "filters" of light within our school. As Lisa mentioned, kids learn by playing and interacting with things; our building should play and interact with light.
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