Perhaps the most important issue that many schools face is that of security, especially now. With school shooting becoming a growing concern in our world, architects must strive to find the balance between safety and a pleasant atmosphere. On one hand, having the doors wide open to the public and located right off the road poses a danger to both student and stuff. On the other hand, having every entrance to a school campus behind a locked gate makes these feel less like a school, and more like a prison.
When addressing safety in schools one of the first zones to address are the entrance points to schools. In numerous shooting and incident reports within schools, a major issue is how easy it is for people along the outside of the schools to get access to classrooms and hallways along the inside of the building. With how big schools are, and how many entries
and exit points are required just to meet fire codes, this should come as no surprise to most people, but the solution is not actually as complicated as you might think. The new Sandy Hook Elementary School, built in the wake of one of the most well know school shooting in history, redesigned their school with safety in mind by strategically placing their exits along platforms that would force people trying to enter the building to cross and be seen easily. They also created a wide garden surrounding the building like a moat, enabling the classrooms to be nearly unreachable from the outside while creating a pleasant and natural atmosphere for these classrooms. By limiting access to key locations that could be easily locked well before a potential shooter got in, and forcing pathways that are easily seen, they were able to redesign the school to be much safer while still creating a pleasant atmosphere.
Another key problem with school security is allowing students, especially those of younger grades, access to outdoor playgrounds and collaborative spaces, something that is becoming more popular in recent years. Many school’s have problems where the students are expected to play in parking lots or playgrounds that have almost no security and intentionally easy access. While this can seem like a difficult task to overcome, a simple and often architecturally pleasing solution is to create courtyards or patios that sit within the building itself. These playgrounds can be surrounded by multiple, if not all, sides by classrooms or common collaborative spaces, and serve to both ensure the safety of students who are at play while also making them a place of focus, where kids actively see their peers together and collaborating, encouraging them to do so in the classrooms as well. Another solution is to follow the growing trend of making green roofs for the buildings. These roofs, while many know to be a more economically friendly alternative to the basic materials typically found, can double as a space for students to play and explore without being limited to the ground plane. Gyms and recreation spaces can be brought off the ground floor and given rooftop access to allow play to continue safely both in and out of the school.
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