TOTTO

Middle School Design Introduced in-between Formal and Informal Learning Spaces.

Education

Dual System

When

Nov 2018 - Jan 2019

Who

Instructed by Jin Ma & Zhaohui Rong

Project Overview

"In a school where every window opens to possibility, learning becomes a journey, not a task."
-- Little Girl at the Window, Tetsuko Kuroyanagi

Contemporary middle schools often adhere to the idea that students remain in the same classroom for all their courses throughout the year. However, the Japanese novel The Little Girl at the Window presents a contrasting vision, where students thrive in a free and highly individualized school atmosphere.

This design begins with a proposal to improve the school system by dividing learning activities into two categories: formal and informal. Formal classrooms are arranged orthogonally, reflecting the structured and serious nature of traditional schooling. In contrast, informal learning spaces follow an unorthogonal arrangement, emphasizing the dynamism and freedom that reflect the natural curiosity of students. Instead of following a rigid, prearranged weekly schedule, students are empowered to select their subjects and the sequence of their courses in the informal areas of the school. This approach fosters a more personalized and engaging educational experience, vividly illustrated in the renderings of One Day of Totto.

Behavior Driven Design - Classing Mode

Traditional class mode put a lot emphasis on holding students in the same classroom for whole day. While 'Little Girl at the Window' suggested classroom allocation is completely fluid. A combination of these two modes has been proposed to maintain both the serious and delightful aspects of education.

Similarly, students will have less communication, especially cross class ones, in the traditional class mode, while they will have more chance to interacting with each other in the proposed mode.

From Behavior to Architecture Language

The translation from behavior model to architecture language is happened on multiple aspects. In general, the combination traditional and innovation behavior mode implys a dual system, two set of architecture language, one strict and one programmalbe one. In this project we will call them formal and informal education spaces.

Formal and Informal Learning Space - Grid System

A formal orthogonal grid is places first, and an informal inorthogonal grid is generated based on the existence and limitation of formal grid, corresponding to formal and informal education spaces.

Roof System

Following the logic of the Inorthgonal grid system, shape of roof is yielded. covering the spine, while leaving the formal education spaces by them selves.

Informal Education Spaces

Informal education spaces is not that easy to clearly identify, since all spaces can potentially become it. But Informal education spaces is mainly the spine and the public spaces attached to it.

Courtyards

Courtyards are some outdoor Informal Education Spaces, with some solid functioned boxes inserted, and to make this rich in experience, some yards are lifted, to created blurring the boundary of indoor and outdoor, make it even 'informal'.

The Dual System

Putting everthing together, informal space giving more emphasis on experience, containing indoor and outdoor spaces, and different type of public spaces, while formal spaces focus more on efficiency, leading to extremely distinctive space effect.

System Axonometric Diagram

Ground Floor Plan

2nd Floor Plan

3rd Floor Plan

Formal space contains the normal classroom, while various classrooms are desinged for informal spaces.

One Day of Totto

A series of rendered scenarios showing a typical day of Totto studying in the school, from entering school in the morning to utilizing public facilities over the day, till afternoon end of school.