plant a seed. watch it grow.
reconnecting children + nature kirsten stabler | studio stannard | june 2013
a life inside F ingers that once dug dirt now click away on a keyboard. F eet that once climbed trees now lay idle in front of a television . Minds that once explored the outdoors are now trapped in a classroom. Exploration and understanding of the natural world is a vital part of being a member of this planet. Yet as the human race progresses, electronics and air conditioning has resulted in an increased complacency and disconnect with the natural environment. The average American child spends only 4-7 minutes per day outside in 1 unstructured play, yet 7+ hours per day indoors with 2 electronic media. This lost connection is especially detrimental to the growth, happiness and health of a child. Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods writes
“As the young spend less and less of their lives in natural surroundings, their senses narrow, physiologically and psychologically, and this
reduces the richness of human experience.�3 The effects of indoor lifestyles are alarming. One in three children 4 are overweight thanks to sedentary lifestyles. One in eight children take the ADHD drug Ritalin because of restlessness 5 and difficulty concentrating indoors. One in 5 American children have an emotional or behavioral condition, shown to 6 intensify when exposure to the outdoors is limited. To remedy these findings, a children’s center focused on a blending of the built and the natural environment is proposed. If children are educated and encouraged to enjoy nature at a young age, there is hope they will continue spend time outdoors and grow into healthy adults.
Like a seed, a child must be planted and nurtured in a healthy environment full of sunlight, water and room to grow.
2 Kirsten Stabler | Plant a Seed. Watch it Grow.
importance of early childhood education ”It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.” -Frederick Douglass The words of historical American-social reformer, Frederick Douglass, speak truth more so today than when he uttered them in the early 19th century. There is a growing advocacy for the importance and accessibility of early childhood education for all. Only a few decades ago, young children were left at home to play until they reached the ‘appropriate age’ for entry into elementary education. Today about 80% of children under the age of six spend part or full time in non-parental child care 8 settings. The importance of early education has been recognized by all: parents, educators, and even legislation. An individual experiences the most rapid period of .9 intellectual growth before age five Brain research has proven that “parental care, warm and loving attachments, and positive age-appropriate stimulation from birth onward makes a tremendous difference in children’s 10 cognitive development for a lifetime.” Early childhood education programs like preschool, provide children the opportunity for play, interaction with others, exploration,
creativity and language development. Preschool’s expansion can be attributed to many parents’ push for early childhood education. Parents increasingly recognize the importance of social interactions and diversity of play offered in preschool. Likewise, the growing workforce of mothers and single-parent households creates a high demand for more early education programs for childcare. Additionally, preschool gives opportunities for early intervention programs that can reduce behavior and social 13 problems. Commitment to early education has proven to reduce a child’s likelihood to be at risk for substance abuse, school drop-out and development of social and behavioral 14 problems. Lastly, preschools can be utilized as a central agency to deliver equal health, social, economic, and academic services to children. There is no doubt of importance of early childhood education. The challenges America now faces is the development quality educators and education centers. The quality of the built environment which children grow in has a large influence on children’s overall mental, emotional and spiritual health.
3 Thesis Synopsis | 2012-2013
site
south hills, san luis obispo The existing CDRC has outgrown its property on Bishops Street off Johnson and the new center will find a new home on Woodbridge Street near Meadow Park in San Luis Obispo, California. The site offers easy access from a socioeconomic range of housing developments, bus and bike accessibility, and an undeveloped space edging South Hills Open Space to be explored. The site is part of the South Hills Open Space, which is protected under San Luis Obispo Open Space, however exceptions to the reserve include childcare centers. The proposed center will celebrate the natural surroundings and will invite others to enjoy the South Hill Open Space. San Luis Obispo has a very mild Mediterranean climate. There are some seasonal variations to weather patterns but is temperate. Most days are sunny and offer solar power potential. South facing windows for solar heat gain with overhangs to protect in the summer are a strong design consideration.
4 Kirsten Stabler | Plant a Seed. Watch it Grow.
average high and low temperature (°F)
june- december wind composite january february march april may june
july august september october november december
comfort range
average rainfall (in)
sun path diagram and 55-75 temp chart
5 Thesis Synopsis | 2012-2013
precedents
These precedents were chosen because of there different design characteristics. Elements of each of these projects were incorporated into the final CDRC design.
the wall maryhill outlook, allied works goldendale, washington The 1998 Allied Works project is an 8-foot wide concrete form that cuts through the diverse landscape of the Pacific Northwest. The simple form rises and falls according to the terrain, inviting discovery and connects users to the landscape. The wall in 150 feet in length and in made of 8 main volumes.
inside out in between house, koji tsusui architects karuizawa, nagano, japan The InBetween House is a exemplary example of traditional Japanese building aesthetics and modern architecture. The design blends the indoor with the out with large connective overhangs and large window panes blur the indoors and out. The building is made of up of 5 cottages oriented towards the best view.
natural light the leimond nursey school, archivision hirotani studio nagahama, shiga, japan
The new child’s center has been called the “House of Light” thanks to its numerous roof light monitors. Light within the space moves according to time of day and seasons showing children the cycles of light within a year.
little houses kindergarten terenten, feld72 terenten, italy Sitting on a slope in mountains of northern Italy, this expressive yet simple new children’s center strives give children a sense of identity through architecture. The design is broken up into three different “houses.” This gives children a unique place and identity within the center. Children feel “at home” in their respective space.
6 Kirsten Stabler | Plant a Seed. Watch it Grow.
Progress through year took many routes. Initially different elements, like lighting and play were explored, then overall schemes were designed.
process
lighting sources In the beginning stages of design, day lighting models and colored light wells were explored. Through a simple day lighting model, these experiences were tested. A single model was used with different light wells, scoops and monitors attached to the roof. A fish eye lens was used to get the full interior experience. The most desirable light was the final experiment, a reflected color from a back painted panel.
inside out In preparation for the section show, the design was zoomed into a classroom to understand structure, materials and sections. The classroom was initially designed in two predominant zones– play and service. The play zone is open, free and with obstacles for play. The service zone is the kitchenette, storage, and bathrooms. A drawn section was taken laterally through the classroom with colors being very vibrant within the center and desaturating when while moving towards the street.
natural light Further examination of the wall proposed the wall to be connected to the existing topography. Topography lines were taken from the site and mirrored or rotated to produce a wall for that worked with the site conditions and maximized solar gain. The wall works as a connective piece with classrooms and offices nestled within.
little houses Thanks to a critique of the wall being too fortress-like, the design changed drastically and the program was broken up into smaller pieces. This differentiation in program allows children the opportunity to venture through the site to get to place to place rather than walk linearly along the wall. The rammed earth walls became accent walls protruding from the buildings, connecting landscape to built.
7 Thesis Synopsis | 2012-2013
final design site plan
The finalized site design is determined by environmental and planning factors. The steep slope, southern orientation, westward winds and existing road contributed to the footprint of buildable area. The campus was design in five separate buildings: three classroom clusters, the art center and kitchen and the counseling center. The buildings were separated to first breakdown the massiveness of the center and allow children to feel safe in the child-scaled design. Secondly, the differentiation in buildings gives children the opportunity to understand their place in the center and learn more about their bearings. And lastly, the buildings are separated to promote outdoor experiences when traveling from space to space. An existing water source runs through the site. All buildings within the campus are connected to the source and face the central stream. From there, a central piazza was created upon entry to the site. The piazza is meant create an outdoor ‘living room’ for families and children to interact before and after school and as well as host events in the adjacent amphitheater built into the hillside.
sun exposure
westward dominant wind
existing water source
piazza to connect
array from piazza
outdoor classroom
communal lawn
rainwater collection shading/
natural play structure classroom cluster
play
public art center counseling center
entry drive
human sundial
n 2 0
1 0 0
2 0 0
1 / 3 2 i n c h e s = 1 f o o t s c a l e
rammed earth retaining walls
hardscape area
connective paths
amphitheater
public trail entry piazza
communal gardening
green roofs
rock outcropping
9 Thesis Synopsis | 2012-2013
final design shared spaces
While emphasis was placed on the classroom schemes, the central shared spaces were not ignored. These spaces included a central piazza, family counseling center, public natural arts center, teaching kitchen, parent resource center and teacher’s lounge. The foci of the public spaces is the invite creative interaction for children of all ages yet to provide outlets for individual and smaller play. This can be seen by the art center’s design in which a large central art area is design with an adjacent smaller art studio for individual exploration. In effort to reconnect children and nature, outdoor areas are given emphasis while indoor areas a minimized. All indoor spaces are fueled with natural light and views to the natural outdoors.
10 Kirsten Stabler | Plant a Seed. Watch it Grow.
tower plan
individual creativity zone
counsel center
teacher’s lounge
second floor plan admin
teaching kitchen individual exploration area kiln
group exploration n 2
1 6
8
3 2
entry n 2
8
1 6
3 2
foyer
parent resource center admin
ground floor plan n 2
8
1 6
3 2
Thesis Synopsis | 2012-2013
11
12 Kirsten Stabler | Plant a Seed. Watch it Grow.
sun
wet
open
quiet
individual
indoor wet
open individual play
quiet sun
ground floor plan
loft floor plan
n 2
8
1 6
3 2
final design
classroom clusters The six classrooms were broken apart into three classroom clusters. These clusters consisted of two classrooms, a service space and shared flow space. The clusters were designed to mimic little homes, each cluster with the shed room and gable roof. The flow space acted as a entry
to the cluster and indoor-outdoor flow space. These central areas were glass covered breezeways between the classrooms with nana walls for full flow on temperate days. Other element within the classroom design were the pop out zone spaces and rammed earth accent walls. n 2
8
1 6
3 2
13 Thesis Synopsis | 2012-2013
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS After analyzing the Vasari energy calculations it appears that a 30% glazing with glazing shaded is the most efficient design. More windows could have been added to the proposed design because the design had less than 30% glazing. Although the energy calculations were effective, they were not entirely accurate. The level of detail the A.
• •
rotated 15° 40% glazing
•
B.
• •
program could not adjust for different types of windows and different shading techniques, as used in the proposed project. Likewise, the large slope that the center is nestled below could not be modeled properly in Vasari for accurate results. This slope is an additional shading factor not taken into account.
rotated 15° 30% glazing shaded
C.
• rotated 0° • 20% glazing • shaded glazing
D.
orientation
A.
B.
energy use / cost
fuel
heating load
16 Kirsten Stabler | Plant a Seed. Watch it Grow.
C.
D.
• rotated 0° • 30% glazing • shaded glazing