Next Gen School Design for Scholastic Renovation
21st century school design typically revolves around creating open and shared use spaces that utilize brighter interiors and seamless transitions between various spaces. Modernizing and scholastic renovation of existing schools is often well worth the effort, and NanaWall products are well-equipped to address those exact needs.
The library at St. John the Baptist Diocesan High School in New York is a great example of such a redesign and scholastic renovation. The previous library, which had been designed in 1966, was demolished to make way for the remodeled library. This redesign was recently acknowledged in the August issue of American School & University Magazine.
"We wanted a modern library that would serve our students now and well into the future,” said the school’s principal, Nan Doherty. “We were looking for a multi-purpose venue that would provide an independent study environment, an informal social gathering setting, a meeting room, and a collaborative and flexible classroom and testing overflow space.”
Transformation Strategies for scholastic renovation
After dispensing with a number of book stacks in favor of a smaller physical collection, a faculty conference room, graphic design classroom, and a multifunction room were added.
The multifunction room utilizes a NanaWall HSW single track stacking system (without a floor track) to provide physical and acoustical separation from the rest of the library when desired. The translucent panels allow for light transmission throughout the enclosed space and ensure no visibility is lost by librarians on-duty.
Burleson Elementary scholastic renovation in Dallas, Texas also underwent a remodel recently. At Burleson, the goal was to integrate a multipurpose room between two classrooms.
In the past, multipurpose rooms were often designed as separate classrooms – and sometimes located in a different part of a school or with a “garage door” type of overhead partition. The Burleson flex rooms, however, were designed to mesh with teaching methods that promote active participation, use of shared resources, self-direction, and interest group clusters.
Once the common wall between the classrooms was removed, teachers and students alike were able to access flex spaces. To accomplish this effect, architects used a V shape to cut into the traditional rectangular space of the existing rooms and insert two NanaWall SL45 systems. By creating three rooms out of a space that normally had only two, costs were reduced.
The architecture firm working on the project favored the NanaWall products over other options and brands. “It is a very elegant and simple system that is safe and easy for teachers and students to use,” said one architect.
Similar to Burleson, Kiski Area Upper Elementary School in Apollo, PA remodeled with the hope of creating more agile classrooms. Kiski Elementary is a STEM-focused institution in which classrooms often need to be reconfigured depending on the subject being taught at the time. This scholastic renovation achieved its goal.
“As the building principal, it is great to walk through classrooms to find students working in the “Flexspace” focusing on a particular lesson or activity. The classroom design [utilizing the NanaWall systems] has been a game-changer,” said Joshua Weaver, Principal of Kiski Elementary.
NanaWall has been featured in numerous school redesigns, from the elementary to the collegiate level. If your school is looking to create a more flexible learning environment, NanaWall might just have the solution for you.
Questions about what NanaWall systems can do for your scholastic renovation? Feel free to inquire at [email protected]