Books I'm Reading...

101 Things I Learned in Architecture School, by Matthew Frederick

"Our experience of an architectural space is strongly influenced by how we arrive in it."

As I think more about the students' and teachers' classroom experiences, I can't help but to imagine what they think and feel when they walk through dark and dingy hallways to get to their classrooms. Though I'm not focusing on the school environment as a whole (that would be too much for a thesis project), it is a realization that not only does a classroom environment affect individual's psyche, but everything down to the dark hallways, and run-down playgrounds play a big part, too.

Tools of Teaching, by Fred Jones

"The key to room arrangement. The most important feature of room arrangement is not where the furniture goes, but, rather, where the furniture does not go. The objective of room arrangement is to create walkways. I do not mean little, narrow walkways. I mean boulevards."

Interesting concept. Of the classrooms that I have visited, many veteran teachers seem to like this solution as well. It's all about being able to access each student easily and quickly.