This Learning Cottage was inspired by designs for housing in the area hit by Hurricane Katrina.

The Challenge

Mobile classrooms are used in school systems across the country to supplement unavailable classroom space. Mobile classrooms are visually unappealing, generally poorly sited, and signify overcrowding.

There are better choices.

School Innovations Square

Goal

A design showcase for alternatives to classrooms, including design innovations, time sensitive approaches, and cost effective solutions.

Observation

Nationally, mobile classrooms are used in school systems across the country to supplement unavailable classroom space. Mobile classrooms are visually unappealing, generally poorly sited, and signify overcrowding.

Discussion

Located in the Piedmont of North Carolina, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School System, as of 2003, had 558 mobile classrooms in use, comprising nine percent of the available classrooms in the school system. This number of mobile classroom represents the equivalent of sixteen elementary schools, ten middle schools, or five high schools. The school system's dependance on this type of classroom makes its elimination implausable.

There is also the issue of the lifespan of a mobile classroom. In the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School System forty-eight percent of the mobile classrooms are over 30 years old. Mobile classrooms tend to age faster than permanent structures, therefore those that are over 30 years old need excessive maintenance to keep them usable.

While from a cost only perspective the benefits of mobile classrooms are understandable, it is also important to note the negative effects of mobile classrooms. It is in this regard that the initiative for an alternative mobile/modular classroom began.

Recommendation

Locally, the Civic By Design Forum (CBDF) is working towards a solution/alternative to mobile classrooms.

The CBDF plans to establish a site that will accomodate the building of 2-6 prototype mobile classrooms. These prototypes include traditional as well as contemporary solutions, such as the Katrina Learning Cottage and ProjectFrog. The School Innovations Square would be open to the public and to administrators as a study of alternatives.

The goal of this site is to create awareness of alternatives, while also showing design innovation, time sensitive approaches, and cost effective solutions. In collaboration with the design, development, and building industry, as well as school systems we can achieve this goal. From this momentum positive progress can occur in our school systems.

Left, a second elevation of a Katrina Learning Cottage. This traditional school building is the seed building for a school campus, which would adjust size as the school required more space. At right, a conceptual site plan of Schools Innovation Square displays the flexibility of the square to comprise a variety of innovations and styles. Each footprint represents a different type of design.

This ProjectFrog prototype is an initiative by a San Francisco based company that has a goal to change the education industry by creating a unit that is flexible in size and can be adapted to be more environmentally friendly as well.

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School Design Workshop

September 12, 2006. Open to the Public. 4pm - 8pm
Metro School, 405 South Davidson Street, Charlotte, NC 28202

Rapid population growth, neighborhood schools, site requirements, and trends in learning are but a few of the issues facing school design today.

education, the physical environment in which children receive their education has a proven effect on their level of success. This significance has sparked interest around the country, both on a national and a local level. The complexity of the issues combined with the variety of stakeholders has inspired the Civic By Design Forum to host the School Design Workshop on September 12, 2006.

While school design may not be the sole issue in public The workshop will explore issues and opportunities for innovation in school design. By involving students, parents, teachers, school designers, and school experts, the Civic By Design Forum hopes all participants will contribute to solutions for the complex problems in school design.

This after-school event will involve an Information Fair to give a brief overview of key issues facing school design today, followed by open discussion and hands-on activities adressing topics derived by participants in the program. This interactive environment will be certain to spark a variety of initiatives.

The School Design Workshop will address a variety of topics to lead to positive solutions for schools. All those with vested interests are invited to the after school workshop. The event will begin at 4pm and end at 8pm. This exciting event will be a first in the future of school design. We look forward to the difference you will make by attending this event!

For questions or to reserve your place email monica@dpz.com or tom@dpz.com or call 704 948-8141. Space is limited.

Schedule

Part 1: Introduction, 4:00-4:45pm

The first forty-five minutes of the School Design Workshop will be to welcome attendees and the introduce participants to the "Open Space Workshop." This includes time to brainstorm topics that will be discussed.  You decide the topics!

Part 2: Open Space Workshop

Session 1 - 5:00pm
Session 2 - 6:00pm
Light food will be available during the Open Space Workshop

Once the topics are decided, there will be an Open Space workshop, discussion, and hands-on activities. Open Space Technology is a format that prompts "ordinary people to work together to create extraordinary results with regularity." Participants create and manage their own agenda of parallel working sessions around a central theme of strategic importance such as improving the physical design of our schools. This will address the complex and diverse issues, while also invoking a passion for resolution.

Summary Presentation: 7:15-8:00pm

Potential Topics

• Mobile vs. Modular Classrooms? What is the difference in the two types of buildings? What can be done to address the problem of overcrowding?
• Stadiums, Trees, and Traffic? How do these issues requirements affect school site design?
• Rehabilitation of school buildings? When is it time to rehabilitate a building and when is it time for new construction?
• Can there be joint uses between community facilities and schools?
• Will the small schools trend influence the design of schools?
• What are the restrictions placed on school and site design by state and local standards?
• How can green architecture be incorporated into school design?
• How can schools be more pedestrian and bicycle friendly to encourage less dependence on the automobile?
• How does the need for school security affect school design?
• How do children's health issues play into the design of schools?
• How to use a Box City process to design a neighborhood with a school in it? This is an opportunity for children, parents, and teachers to be involved in the school design process.

Links

Rosenwald Schools
The Katrina School looks a lot like a Rosenwald School prototype. The history and theories of the Rosenwald schools are intriguing and appropriate to the post-Katrina circumstance. Here's an example.

Cusato Cottages
Cottages designed for displaced residents of the hurricane Katrina.

ProjectFrog

DPZ & Co.

Sponsoring Organizations

American Institute of Architects Charlotte

Levine Museum of the New South

Congress for the New Urbanism Carolinas

Institute of Classical Architecture & Classical America Charlotte

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Mission

The mission of Civic By Design is to elevate the quality of the built environment and to promote public participation in the creation of a more beautiful and functional community for all. The Civic By Design Forum is free and open to the public.

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