Archinect - News

Multistudio begins work on special infill housing project designed with the help of local schoolchildren

2023-08-31T12:12:00-04:00

Multistudio has broken ground on a noteworthy new four-residence supportive housing project in Lawrence, Kansas, which they say is evocative of their goal of pushing the limits of what’s possible within their community and the industry as a whole.

The project involved collaborating with clients of the nonprofit Tenants to Homeowners and two classes of local elementary school students from the Limestone Community School who sourced materials for the construction with help from the Parsons School of Design.

Image: © Multistudio

The project was enacted to create infill housing on a lot connected to an adjacent bike loop. The first home design features two bedrooms and an open-concept kitchen and living area in addition to a covered patio and bathroom that can be used as an emergency shelter in the event of a tornado. A solution involving a pair of donated solar panels that helped to make the home’s functioning all-electric is likely to be enacted later. Further donations to the project...

BIG and WeWork complete first WeGrow elementary school in NYC

2018-10-30T19:48:00-04:00

New York City now has its first WeGrow school. Bjarke Ingels Group and WeWork teamed up to design the 10,000 square-foot private elementary school, which is located in WeWork's Chelsea headquarters. The school will teach kids ages 3 to 9 a more “conscious approach to education,” BIG says. Envisioned as an open, nature-themed learning environment, WeGrow is “playful and transparent, yet home-like and structured”.

The school comprises of four classrooms, flexible workshops, community space, a multi-purpose studio, art studio, music room, and other nature-themed playscapes that encourage interactive learning, creativity, and collaboration. Carefully designed furniture, ambient lighting, and other details help create an optimal learning space.

Photo: Laurian Ghinitoiu.

Acoustic felt “clouds” on the ceiling were designed to resemble various patterns found in nature — like fingerprints, coral, and the moon — and are illuminated by Ketra bulbs that change color and intensity according to t...

First building awarded the Stirling Prize now slated for a primary school

2018-08-31T18:06:00-04:00

The first building to win the RIBA Stirling Prize – Hodder Associates’ Centenary Building for the University of Salford – could be converted into a new primary school. The plans for the currently empty 23-year-old building form part of 5plus Architects’ emerging 99ha development framework for the university’s existing campus and surrounding area.

Hodder + Partners's Centenary Building for the University of Salford was the first to be awarded the RIBA Stirling Prize back in 1996. Originally designed to be the School of Electrical Engineering, during construction plans changed for the building to house the Faculty of Art and Design Technology. Now, according to a consultation document, the structure is slated for reuse as an entry primary school.

Zaha Hadid Architects: a robot will help build the vaults of Lushan Primary School

2018-04-19T16:07:00-04:00

Zaha Hadid Architects just revealed a design proposal for Lushan Primary School, a new learning center for 120 children from 12 local villages in a remote rural area of Jiangxi Province, China. The campus is designed as a network of intersecting barrel and parabolic vaults that accommodate various school, housing, and utility spaces.

Image courtesy of ZHA.

From the project description: "The school’s curriculum is a synthesis of Chinese and international academic systems; combining an education in the creative arts with a comprehensive syllabus of STEM subjects that also includes advanced internet-based learning technologies. Visiting teachers and artists will make the school a focus for the community it serves."

Rendering by VA. Image courtesy of ZHA.

"Surrounded by mountains as well as the rivers and lakes fed by the Zhelin Reservoir, the school is within an agricultural region that also has a rich tradition in the production of ceramics. [...] The campus includes the school, dormito...

Environmentally-friendly design inspires education at Howe Dell Primary school

2016-08-02T05:06:00-04:00

Howe Dell Primary in Hatfield could well be the UK’s most eco-friendly school. It has toilets that flush using rainwater, sedum roofs made of plants and vegetation, and classroom sink-tops made from recycled yoghurt pots. But the school’s design doesn’t just help protect the environment, it also uses nature to improve children’s academic performance and behaviour.

Howe Dell Primary’s £10 million, eco-friendly design is used by teachers to promote sustainability to a new generation of pupils. Capita Architects were given free reign to push the limits of sustainable design in the project, which was funded by the council, and that was exactly what they did. The school features solar panels, a wind turbine, and a heating system that uses a series of pipes just below the surface of the school playground for passive gain that is then utilised to heat the school.

This groundbreaking design was awarded ECO Green Flag accreditation (the highest level awarded to sustainable schools in the UK) and places pupils in close proximity to nature. To this end, the design’s wetland area and sedum roofs are used to study birds and the school places sustainability at the core of the curriculum. This learning is even extended to the playground where learning stations allow pupils to examine the habitats of micro-beasts. In this way, the whole building is understood...

A girls-only summer camp for aspiring architects and engineers

2016-05-31T17:58:00-04:00

Girls Inc. was looking for ways to get their girls interested in fast-paced, high-paying jobs where women traditionally have been left out. Architecture and engineering certainly fit the bill. [...] the girls will travel to various construction sites and talk to professionals in the field. Girls Inc. also is looking to build a new, bigger facility, and the summer camp girls will play a large part in the initial design, even being given a chance to pitch their project