School environment: Architectural design and pedagogical proposal need to be aligned

School spaces can positively influence children’s education. At the Red House international School units, facilities are strategically designed by architects and educators to match the pedagogical proposal, favoring students’ learning, involvement and protagonism.

Denis Fujii, the architect of STUDIO DLUX responsible for Red House projects, explains that architecture and pedagogical proposals should always go hand in hand. “An architectural project goes far beyond simply considering how many students fit in a classroom or what is the minimum footage required. The architectural, furniture and interior design have to take into account the daily flows and dynamics of students and teachers, as well as the schools’ pedagogical guidelines to meet such needs”, he explains.

Therefore, the educators’ input is fundamental. “When we look at a space, we imagine what we can do with it, but without the pedagogical viewpoint, it would be empty. The collaboration of the pedagogical team makes the project richer and more livable, because they are the ones who are experiencing the school process every day, and this guides what we think for that space”, says the architect.

Student engagement and protagonism:

Another important aspect of Red House’s architectural projects, according to Denis, is the focus on students’ protagonism. “In classrooms, laboratories and maker rooms, we increasingly try to rethink the set position of teachers at the forefront of the learning process with desk rows facing blackboards. Today, education is increasingly shaped by teachers in the role of facilitators in the search for knowledge. We seek to decentralize this process in architecture to promote interaction among students and teachers, and to ingrain in children the message that work is always collaborative.”

The architect also draws attention to the fact that the school environment, followed by the domestic, is where children and adolescents spend most of their time. “The school and the household are the main spaces where life memories are built. To offer an environment with remarkable features makes learning engaging to children, and sews cherished memories of their education and relationships that took place in these spaces”, says Denis.