Criteria for good school design

Accommodating the educational agenda
Is this successfully accommodated in the internal arrangement of spaces?
Is there a clear understanding of the school’s educational agenda and its organisational implications?

Spatial organisation
Is there a clear spatial diagram for the building?
Are the learning spaces arranged well across the school?

Movement routes
Is there a clear hierarchy of circulation routes?
Are links between indoor and outdoor spaces optimised?

Questions to help you meet the criteria

A successful scheme will bring together the educational brief and physical organisation, and create clear routes around the school.

Our questions to ask about organisation can help you meet the assessment criteria.
 

A good example

This scheme was commended by the panel for its clear diagrams that explain the education vision for the project, and how this is translated into building form.

Three plans from the scheme are included to show how the scheme meets the assessment criteria - organisation diagrams, a ground floor plan and the resources section.

Examine drawings and plans for this scheme

Another good example

The panel commended the scheme’s well-organised and coherent layout. The scheme has clear circulation routes which are primarily daylit with views out to the surrounding landscape.

The scheme allows the school’s educational vision to be successfully accommodated in the arrangement of the spaces.

Examine drawings and plans for this scheme

Yet another good example

The scheme shows how the school’s educational vision has been translated into the organisation of the school.

It has clear layout with two bands of teaching accommodation between a central covered street which creates a large space for circulation, informal learning and dining.

Examine drawings and plans for this scheme