Redesign your school library | 2013 National High School Architecture Competition #168: Recent activity

I think your instinct to tackle the functional aspects of the interior and not the architecture feels appropriate. There's a lot of design work that can be done when considering the overal usability of an existing space

What's going on along the wall here? Are there windows looking to the outside? I'm just trying to visualize this better. Also, I think a row of individual workspace is a good idea but I wouldn't do it for the whole length of the wall. I don't think it would be used efficiently. Maybe remove some of that area and utilize it for something interactive or more collaboration space.

Excellent. I love this idea!

I like the use of lounge seating for a collaboration space. This is increasingly popular in commercial interiors as well. I would like to see more seating arrangements like this one integrated throughout the space. Use a variety of configurations. This soft seating can be used for both individual studying, as some people work better in a lounge setting, and collaboration areas too. By grouping seating, you create opportunities for collaboration.

I think this is a very good start. If I were you, I would start showing how you expect to solve the problems you addressed in your overview such as poor lighting and inefficient use of space. How do you expect to solve these problems? For example, start discussing where you would like to add the natural light and what were some of the obstacles you've encountered along the way?

Redesigning spaces is more frequently not about increasing the square footage, but about making the space you are give more functional. This is done through careful space planning. Think about the different activities that go on in your library. For example, areas for reading, spaces for groups of students to study together and work on group projects (collaboration areas), computers, librarian's desk, book storage, etc. Based off of the categories you come up with, you can start to see what activities go together (maybe keep the computers near the collaboration area, so that students working on group projects can easily access the computers for their work) and which activities you would need to keep separate (you wouldn't want the reading area to be right next to the collaboration area because it would be too loud for the people reading). Also, I think that bringing natural light into the space is very important. I will be interested to see how you achieve this!

That is great that you were able to take some pictures and survey the librarians and some teachers. What kind of questions did you ask them? This will help us understand what direction you were going and get into your thought process a little more. Doing research is very important to understanding the end user's needs and goals for the space. Also, don't forget to check your spelling and grammar. Keep up the good work!