Title of Works

Yano-minami Elementary School

Organizer / Architect

Atelier Zo

Award

1999 IES/Section Award

Address

Hiroshima Chugoku Region

Completion

1998

Category

Educational Facilities

Summary

Although an elementary school is often a memorable place in every one's life, when it comes to lighting, this kind of building yields to dull conformity. The scene needs to be a home where children can develop their own talent, rather than to be a factory that standardizes them.

Regarding the serious impact that the lighting environment can put upon little ones, we made our approach by taking up three occasions. First, each classroom should be a home which pupils can belong to and share. Second, the teachers' room has to be a place that welcomes children as well as teachers. Third, every common facility of the school, such as the gymnasium or the music hall, ought to be open to the public in the local community.

In each situation, we acted upon the scene with illumination. Every one of classrooms is furnished with a series of illuminators varied from grade to grade in its design. The whole space of the teachers' room is embraced in gentle reflective lighting while concealed sources of light supply workers with ample luminance. Any facility of the school is no longer unsafe or scaring even at night with the exterior lighting being carefully planned.

Furthermore, the designer introduced warm colored light to the school instead of cold luminescence of Japanese ordinary style.

The mild atmosphere generated in Yano-minami elementary school diminishes mental stress among people and would have a fundamental effect upon current educational problems, such as bullying.