Page 40 - spaces4learning, Fall 2020

spaces4learning INTERIORS
IT’S ALL IN
THE DETAILS:
WALLS, CEILINGS AND FLOORS
Walls, ceilings and floors must meet budgetary, acoustic, resilience, sustainability and maintenance requirements, among other factors. Here are some ways that schools are making their interiors stand out.
By Scott Berman
WHILECOVID-19HASSHUTTEREDSCHOOLBUILDINGS coast-to-coast and globally, some things remain. There is the keen anticipation of students, educators and staff members to return to their schools, where there will be a need, at least for some time, for social distancing, stepped-up cleaning and other practices.
Responses to COVID-19 may continue to extend the class- room virtually in the spring. Even with expanded remote teach- ing and learning, school buildings and campuses remain crucial centers, beacons in a sense, of learning and community. Projects to maintain and construct such beacons, including their interior features and finishes, continue and will go forward.
Without a doubt, districts and their designers will continue to seek spaces of distinction. And in terms of the interiors of K-12 school buildings, including their walls, ceilings and floors, the distinction is in the details.
The devil is in the details, too, as iconic modern architect Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe said about architecture decades ago. Today, K-12 decision makers must wade through many details, with much at stake, for renovation or new construction projects.
Walls, ceilings and floors, along with all interior and other building elements, must meet budgetary, acoustic, resilience, sustainability and maintenance requirements, with builders weighing such factors and others. Tools such as evidence-based
design, life-cycle cost analysis sometimes are marshaled to point ways toward solutions. It is a complex process but well worth the effort. Concep- tually speaking, combin- ing design with educa- tional missions is no easy task. But it may be helpful to consider some ways that schools are making their interiors stand out.
Flooring
One way is to select flooring and walls with patterns, colors and graphics that can serve as aspirational palettes, so to speak. For example, many schools are using bright color schemes for lower grades and more conservative tones for upper levels, laid out in a manner so that youngsters can see where they are headed, and want to be, in the near future. At higher-grade levels, the aspirational dynamic may suggest higher education and corpo- rate settings.
The color palette of walls and floors make a related point at
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