Towards a more hospitable learning environment : a design exploration of public, private, and the zones in-between for an elementary school in Boston

This thesis is the design exploration of an elementary school in the urban setting of South End, Boston. The intention is to arrive at a socially oriented learning environment by addressing the multiple use of space from the collective, to small group, to individual, both inside and outside the classroom. There should be "capacity" built into these zones to allow for a multitude of activities to take place, thereby fostering social interaction among children and adults. A delicate balance between the public, the private, and the transitions in-between can help accomplish flexible use of space. This balance should occur at the classroom level, the hallway level, and the school level. The thesis focuses on this issue in a design exploration for the elementary school, where children first encounter learning as an institution. The assumption is that a rich experience between the public, private, and the zones in-between, for both the students and the teachers, will result ultimately in a more healthy and joyful environment conducive towards learning.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Architecture

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

1994

Author dc:creator

• Chang, Cathy Yen-Lin

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Rosemary Grimshaw.

• Architecture

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/65038

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/65038