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Simple School

By Architect | XL Design a Maker's School

Welcome Maker Faire friends!

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flickr.com/photos/edublogger Some rights reserved by Ewan McIntosh.

A school? That boring building where you spend most of your day? Most schools aren't designed for students today. In fact, the design of schools hasn't changed much since the days of your grandparents!

But in the School of the Future things could be different. Reimagine the design of a 21st school. A whole school where you are inspired to MAKE!

Let’s get started on the challenge to design a school for Makers.

Design Inspirations

Here's a collection of cool images that might inspire your ideas for the Maker Faire design challenges.

What else?

These innovative designs might also challenge your thinking.

The idea behind our project is that the school should be simple, but spacious, with plenty of natural light to better facilitate learning. It is split into a building for a cafeteria and administration and three buildings for different subjects.

Curious about the instructions for this Maker Faire School of the Future challenge? >>

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flickr.com/photos/menlophoto © All rights reserved by Menlo Photo Bank.

In this Collect Info step of the design process, you try to gather some information about environments for learning. Think about the existing problems with your current school facilities.

Try This

  • Make a list of all the things you would like to do in a maker school. How many people will be there with you? If you've logged in to DiscoverDesign and started this project, write this list of items in the text box for your project.
  • Make another list of all the things you love or hate about your current school and why. If you've logged in to DiscoverDesign and started this project, write this list in the text box provided. 
  • Search on Flickr.com for whole schools or parts of schools, like classrooms, labs and other learning environments. Try to find a photo or two that looks most similar to the school you want to create.
  • Save copies of these images and post them in the slides for your project. Include a hyperlink to the Flickr photo in the caption, to credit the photographer.

Discover Color

This colorful collection of images might inspire the colors you use in your design challenge.

Architect's work for the Collect Information step:

Summary
We collected information by being in school for 13 years (K-12), giving us ample time to gather data on school designs and analyze the pros and cons of certain designs.
We learned that small, overcrowded classrooms with no windows made it nearly impossible to be...
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We also found that narrow hallways make for an unpleasant, crowded environment that causes traffic...
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Inspiration for a good design.
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Curious about the instructions for this Maker Faire School of the Future design challenge? >>

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flickr.com/photos/elijahporter © All rights reserved by Elijah Porter.

What inspires you? In the Brainstorm Ideas step of the design process, you might gather some early big ideas of things that inspire you when thinking about a school for makers.

Try This

  • Schools aren't the only places where learning takes place. Search on Flickr.com for different types of places where you learn. How can you be inspired by ideas of these other spaces, including those in nature?
  • What kind of atmosphere supports creativity and innovation? Find images of creative atmospheres, both inside and outside. How will you create similar conditions in your school? 
  • Think about your list of activities that you and your maker buddies will do. (You made this list in the Collect Info step.) What spaces will be needed in your new maker school to support all these activities? Make a list of these spaces. 
  • Save copies of the images you find, and post them in the slides for your project. Include a hyperlink to the Flickr photo in the caption, to credit the photographer.

Cool Schools - Interiors

Here are some of the coolest interiors of schools around the world. The images might inspire your school of the future!

Cool Schools - Exteriors

Here are some of the coolest exteriors of schools around the world. The images might inspire your school of the future!

Architect's work for the Brainstorm Ideas step:

Summary
We brainstormed ideas by just saying what we liked and didn't like about our schools, past and present, and then turning that into features we wanted in our school.

Curious about the instructions for this Maker Faire School of the Future design challenge? >>

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flickr.com/photos/2020liverpoolarchitecture © All rights reserved by 2020 Liverpool Architecture.

In the Develop Solutions step, your rough ideas come together with drawings or models that can show others your solutions for the layout of a new school for makers.

Try This

  • Think about your list of spaces needed in your new maker school. Use words to describe these spaces. How big are they?
  • Use the school layout template provided for you in Google SketchUp to create a rough layout of your new DIY facility.  You can modify this layout in any way you'd like! Your new school doesn't need to include plain, square spaces.
  • Draw and arrange the spaces to support your maker activities.  Be sure to include ways to get to all of your spaces.
  • Export an image of your new maker school layout from your Google SketchUp model. To do this:

     a) In Google SketchUp, go to 'File' > 'Export' > '2D graphic'
     b) From this drop down list, change the export type to JPG
     c) Save as a JPG file and post the images in the slides for your project

Makers Reuse

A collection of interesting objects that were created for one reason and now are reused for an entirely different purpose.

Makers Sustain

A collection of green places and sustainable learning spaces.

Architect's work for the Develop Solutions step:

Summary
We looked at problems in our school and simply thought of ways to solve those problems.

Curious about the instructions for this Maker Faire School of the Future design challenge? >>

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flickr.com/photos/eriksimages Some rights reserved by Arjen Stilklik.

The final step of the design process is to create a more finished model that communicates your ideas to others.

Try This

  • Draw your maker school layout in 3D.  What does the building look like from the outside?
  • Include some human figures and trees in your final model, so we can see how big your school really is.
  • Export an image of your new maker school design from your Google SketchUp model. To do this:

       a) In Google SketchUp, go to 'File' > 'Export' > '2D graphic'
       b) From this drop down list, change the export type to JPG
       c) Save as a JPG file and post the images in the slides for your project

  • Upload additional images of your finished maker lab model to the slides for your project.  Write short captions explaining your ideas.

Our favorite Maker Faire projects

We've collected a gallery of our favorite Maker Faire projects from the past few years.

Architect's work for the Final Design step:

Summary
We didn't get to incorporate everything we wanted, but the final design is still a school that we think would be a pleasant space in which to learn.
our final design
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