BDES1020 <Sarah Creedy>

Abstract

Venice is a city renowned for its creative culture. The narrow, unpredictable streets and alleyways of the city create a sense of adventure and imagination. These qualities and characteristics have been drawn upon and act as the criteria for the design of a primary school that seeks to bring about a space in which children can explore, imagine and create. The lower external facades of the school sit nicely within the context of the surrounding buildings, while the interior is a dynamic space of various shapes and colours, which can be glimpsed through the windows of the school. The shapes of the rooms are dictated by their function. Rooms that require calm and focus (such as the library) are circular in shape, while classrooms for children to interact and be energetic take on random angular forms. The roof of the school acts as the mergence between internal and external, as the external part of the building carries forward the theme of the interior, riddled with colours and abstract shapes. The process of designing the school was one which developed and evolved over the weeks, and was guided by key principles. These key principles included: that the interior spaces which were to be utilized by the children had to be conducive to imagination and creativity; and that the external façade was to maintain the integrity of its Venetian context, while still communicating the concept of imagination, creativity and enjoyment which defined the interior space. Through much consultation and experimentation, the final results of the project successfully satisfies the criteria which was set forth at the beginning of the semester to design an educational environment conducive to creativity, imagination and exploration within children.