PIPS has always thought outside the brick box when it came to its learning spaces. Our school consistently challenged the typical brick and mortar concept of what school should be. It had to. We didn’t have the usual “trappings” of typical school as most know it. A lot can be achieved with imagination, creativity, patience, love and a refusal to accept that schools are limited by walls.
In fact, it was this refusal that led to the launch of our “outdoor classroom,” one of PIPS most unusual learning spaces. It is used to study science, host poetry-slams, create social studies simulations, film or map Students of all ages find that is both an adventure and a compelling learning experience.
The challenge was to create spaces that allowed for innovative, flexible and modern methods of learning. The school design team included a high school student as well as members of school leadership, and together they worked with architects to infuse exciting new ideas. As a child psychologist, she shared her deep understanding and appreciation of how children best engage and learn, and she had a very clear vision inspired by the creative workplace culture of innovative companies.Already used to experiencing space differently than others, the possibilities were indeed limitless as the team considered ways to combine the concept of learning and exploration. How to encourage whimsy with adult-size slides, themed rooms and climbing walls while enabling productivity? Taking a cue from Google offices, the reasoning was to create “the happiest and most productive workplace for kids in the world.” PIPS endeavored to blur the lines between work and play with an unconventional configuration of spaces into a work environment designed to ignite imagination, foster innovative thinking and encourage collaborative working for its students.
People often exclaim they feel like they’re in a design office when they enter our High School campus. It hums with quiet productivity and was an initial test bed for many design ideas. We installed walls which were moveable and foldable allowing for dynamic spaces which can be configured according to need. Flexible classrooms have modular whiteboard tables nestling together like puzzle pieces so that teachers and students can arrange them the way they want depending on task or activity. This flexibility also allows for group or individual work. Students love brainstorming, writing and drawing their ideas on these whiteboard tables or walls and working with smart boards with digital whiteboard function and seamless synchronisation to teacher and student laptops and iPads. Everywhere on the two-floor campus, there are comfortable nooks for students as well as formal meeting rooms designed to look like the ones in conventional offices.
At PIPS, our school’s maker space where students have collaborated on design thinking projects as varied as boat-making, construction of video-game controllers for a student with coordination challenges, the design and construction of artificial or prototype design models.
From out of the box within our first school setting to redesigning the box for our current spaces, it has been a real privilege to be a part of the exciting discoveries our students have made as they embark on each adventure, whether indoors or out. Part of progress means navigating new territory and unconventional features within our school spaces create those twists and turns along the learning journey and entice students to use all five senses. The road should never be predictable, and rigor should always be this much fun.