People and places
Collaborating with students to deliver a world-class international school Stefan Jakobek shares the outcome of a challenging and rewarding project International schools have played an important role in the development of many countries around the world. These highly regarded institutions have helped raise educational standards and driven valuable inward investment in emerging economies. Established as a centre of educational excellence in Malaysia for more than half a century, the International School of Kuala Lumpur (ISKL) is a thriving example. Yet, pressures on the school’s two separate campus sites made redevelopment in a new location inevitable. This provided a welcome opportunity to develop a K-12 campus that would exemplify the school’s spirit and ambition. The opportunity would also finally bring together its Junior and Senior schools, and create spaces that truly support ISKL’s approach to teaching and learning in the 21st Century. This also was an opportunity to build a school that embodied the institution’s values and commitment to environmental sustainability. Winter
Summer |
| 2020
In 2013, HOK London’s Studio was appointed to design the new school. A 23-acre site had already been identified close to the centre of one of the liveliest, most vibrant cities in Southeast Asia. The need for 60,000m2 of accommodation, an active sports program, and the arrival and departure of over 80 daily buses required ingenuity in planning the site. Yet the most fundamental design drivers arose out of interaction and engagement with the ISKL community. School design provides architects with rewarding opportunities to create buildings that shape young lives. These buildings must be supportive, nurturing and inspiring. The design team held multiple workshops that included 160 individuals, including the school leadership team, teachers, parents, administrators and facilities staff. Assisted even more by the school community’s collaborative attitude, these workshops enabled the team to establish a comprehensive design brief. This approach also captured the ethos and ambition of this distinct institution.
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