R.yo
Otsuka
Architects

CONCEPT

Every school usually has a large courtyard with displaying classrooms around it. 
It is a common building typology for school that students gather in one space. But apart from that, we would like to propose to create small community spaces can be used for various personalities of students and for various situations that happen in the school life.

“The loops” has flexibly been shaped by many kind of perspectives, such as education, sustainability, communities, building method, and funding. It keeps growing up as same as students who grows up by education and communication in school, and it would be a symbol of education which never stops and is unshaped in the life.

A village-like school 
The school offers a sense of relief like small village by concentrically displaying small units that have curved roof. All the buildings are composed as same construction way and just change their sizes according to program. Small independent units allow a flexible construction in phases in order to the budget.

"Open Courtyard" + "Harvest Alley Gardens" 
Our proposal includes to create harvest alley gardens at the perimeter while creating an open courtyard. These space are connected through the voids between the units, and are freely accessible from anywhere. The reason why creating the gardens are mainly three. First of all, we think that an open courtyard may force kids to always gather   in one place.  A school needs centripetal force to gather but also centrifugal force to let them free. Kids may find a quiet space to secretly chat with friends, run around with friends, or sometimes want to be alone. Each can find each favorite spaces. Secondly, fruit trees can be planted in the area, and maintained by Kafountine’s Youth Association. We imagine the area would be a communicational space between students and others, and financing for the project in phases by selling fruits. Finally, the area works as construction zone to separate from usual school life.  Kids can play at the courtyard, while under construction.

Existing trees are important resource!
Respecting Nature is a first step of sustainability.  
Instead of cutting all the trees, the building has been cut into human scale. These are placed to avoid the trunks, and shape like an imperfect loop which offers a sense of flexibility of architecture.