Now you see me, now you don't...

A question that has confounded us for some time is the quiet war against windows. A mound of research is piling up on the benefits of natural light and views to the outside. It can improve moods, shorten healing time, reduce eye strain and help students focus. If you are interviewing users in a building that currently does not have windows, it is one of the most passionate requests, "just give me a window and I will be happy." CHPS, the Collaborative for High Performance Schools, has both access to daylight and views as possible points in the Indoor Environmental Quality section.

So why when we tour and assess schools are windows most often covered?

We go around the state, for that matter the region, and see this covering time and time again. High windows, low windows, north facing, south facing, interior, exterior... you name it, someone has covered them. In the attempts to understand this dichotomy of those who have windows, cover them and those who don't have windows, want them, we have started an informal investigation. We ask, and ask a lot, "so...why are the windows covered?"

The most common answers to date have been:

GLARE: the sunlight during some part of the day creates a glare on work surfaces, whiteboards, screens, etc.
HEAT GAIN: It gets too hot so we block the windows. Normally this happens the most at older facilities where the windows are single pane but can happen on newer buildings too.
SECURITY: In a lockdown, we need to have the windows covered or if the windows are not covered and someone sees computers, they break in. Also at night, people can see me working alone in my room.
DISTRACTION: Either people looking in are distracting or students looking out are distracted.
NEED FOR SPACE: The last and least common reason is the lack of space to pin up student work.

These can all be valid concerns. Most can also be solved by operational window coverings and architectural design.

Surprisingly the places we see uncovered windows are the places that have policies against it. One new building we visited recently has instructed all custodians to remove any paper on windows.

So where are you in the window war, wishing for one or covering it? Are you a holdout with uncovered windows? Do you have a favorite window covering? Tell us your story so we can work to make functional windows that have no need for improvised covering.

Comments

Changing an Icon

Changing an Icon I draw. Little doddles cover cards and note pads at large and small gatherings. It was a note taking technique I was taught and gratefully adopted early in my career. The reason, beyond my lack of spelling talent, is really to distill the spoken word into the most basic pictorial concept because when gathering information from so many, it needs to be contained and expressed in the most condensed form. The smallness allows all input to be displayed at once. Most of the drawings are well accepted icons to today’s texters, our culture’s emogies. These symbols hold strong association. A “house” is often drawn with gable roof and two symmetrical windows on either side of the door in the middle. We faithfully hold that image in our head even though very few, if any, have ever lived in a house that looks like the icon. We have many of these connections imprinted on our brains. Think of trains, building types, flowers and genders, which all have the easy mental imag...

Expecting the Worst

I recently listened to “ This American Life ” radio episode on expectations. The episode focused on the visually impaired and how societies’ expectation of what they can do is holding them back from what is really possible and it got me thinking how are our expectations of students holding us back from designing and implementing schools? I remember a programing meeting in particular, which one of the more common debates of classroom design was debated: visual connection. I have always been fascinated by how this discussion goes because our standard structure for programming goes as follows: Meeting 1: Discuss overarching goals of the facility Meeting 2: Define in general each space needed and the size and quantity of those spaces Meeting 3: Prioritized the spaces to fit budget and arrange the “pieces” functionally to meet the adjacency needs of the facility Meeting 4:Define the specifics of each space such as the cabinetry, need for sinks, accessories and amen...

Why is it designed that way?

Why is it designed that way? It can be a common question when touring facilities on assessment or in a recent case during an interview. Still I wonder why more people do not ask that question on a day to day basis. I do. It is common fascination when touring facilities. Looking a strange cabinetry and realizing the room was originally for a sewing class or once in Mexico, showing a whole group of guys that you need to pull a pin out to release the spare tire from under our stuck vehicle. Designers normally do not place things willy nilly yet understanding the function of a design can be elusive. No matter the effort in programing and design, new users are always present for when the building opens, who don’t know why decisions were made on the placement of switches and amenities or arrangement of spaces. On the operational side, including servicing heating and air conditioning and cleaning finishes, there are manuals that are created, but,...

iep2 - Pondering Facility Planning

Search This Blog