Neurodiverse pupils in Encino, California, will benefit from a net-zero school designed by the US architectural firm NBBJ.
The design of the Lower School site of Westmark School combines acoustic technology, as well as the incorporation of flora and natural materials, to provide a pleasant atmosphere for pupils with special needs.
According to NBBJ, “Designers chose a range of sound-absorbing materials for various locations, constructed reading nooks and other niches for creative learning both within and outside the classroom, and directed views to green space to improve multiple instructional modes.”.
These features will encourage calm study for the pupils.
NBBJ reported that the school was developed with a high degree of involvement from both educators and kids, who were given full-scale cardboard prototypes of the classrooms throughout the design process.
Aiming for ILFI Zero Carbon Certification and LEED Gold as a method of reaching net-zero status, which implies the building is carbon-neutral, was a priority for the architects working on the project.
Students will be able to grow their own food in gardens on the school’s roof, thanks to solar panels and other green space.
As part of the horseshoe-shaped building’s courtyard, a sycamore tree and a water collecting basin will be installed.
Outside sections of the building will be further cooled by a series of angled overhanging roofs. Massings cross asymmetrically under the roofs, producing rooms that overhang over public areas and allowing for a variety of outdoor paths to be built.
The different forms of the building will generate a range of interactions with the flora outside, another component of the comfort that the entire design aims to cultivate.
“All circulation channels are outside to promote healthy activity, while big patios and a sensory garden take learning outside to maximise tactile discovery,” stated Jonathan Ward, design partner at NBBJ.
NBBJ and Westmark engaged with developmental molecular biologist John Medina to apply neuroscience findings in the particular areas of the design that concentrate on nature.
One of these characteristics involves enormous hangar doors in each classroom that will open out to the exterior trees.
Mass-timber features will add both to the nature-oriented ambience and the sustainable aspects of the project. It will be utilized on the flooring and ceilings of the classrooms.
NBBJ also observed that the design is “best-suited to pandemic demands”, with the emphasis on outdoor learning as well as heightened attention to air quality and ventilation.
The project is now in the design phase, and the architects aim to begin ground later this year.
NBBJ was created in 1943 and has various foreign operations. The studio’s other recent projects with an environmental focus include the gigantic Net City, a car-free area in Shenzhen, and the projected Amazon headquarters in Virginia.
