Dr. Howard Elementary School
Type: Academic
Teammate: Joshua Saeger
School: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Professor: Dr. Yun Kyu Yi
Studio: High performance and Responsive architecture
Year: Spring 2018
Site: Champaign, Illinois
Nominated for Graduate Student Excellence Award
Buildings should be dynamic and respond to the environment of where they are located and the program they are meant for. Responsive architecture aims to optimally respond to a range of needs within multiple contexts and is capable of self-modification, regulation, and adaptation. High performance buildings are never inert and react intelligently to changes of various kinds.
We approached the design of the elementary school with the intent of creating a space of community for the children and staff. We explored how best to create spaces of collaboration as these students transition from grade to grade. These transitions are a journey that all students go through and our aim is for our design to reflect this. Our goal was to create spaces where the students could be active while still learning.