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SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS
Recommendations for Braes High School
Voids
Bring light into corridors without physically linking spaces. Consider installing glass block floors or structural glazing (preferably fire rated) and removing the balustrades.
Doors
Investigate possibilities to improve efficiency of circulation, ease operation (especially for disabled) and reduce maintenance costs of doors. Where doors have the sole purpose of fire protection, investigate whether stand-alone magnetic hold-open devices can be fitted.
Classroom Storage
Work with teachers to improve in-class storage provision in certain areas. Design any additional fitments necessary to suit materials used for teaching and learning.
Access to Toilets - Staff
Review the number of toilets provided for staff, who all have to use them at class break times. Consider providing unisex toilets for staff.
Toilet Conditions
Keep toilets clean and serviced especially at the start of the day and before lunchtime. Regularly check and ensure that water pressure, towels, dryers, soap, fixtures, fittings and services, etc are available.
Social Space in General
Use participatory briefing techniques to involve students and other stakeholders to examine the purposes of the social space and to develop a design brief to provide the necessary facilities. Consider using the existing space and/or other locations, taking account of aspects such as light, air, acoustic conditions, seating and size. Invite students to consider places for social interaction (outside schools) and discuss design issues and the behavourial codes there.
Lockers
Refurbish existing lockers that are not currently in operation.
Provide sufficient lockers for the number of students who need them.
Locate lockers well clear of windows, so that the windows can bring light into the room.
Secure lockers to walls to avoid them toppling over.
Dining Hall / Assembly
Initiate a project to provide comfortable, clean, convenient space(s) so student dining can be a relaxed and pleasant experience.
Address stakeholder concerns about reverberation, light, crowding, ambience, conflict of use and thermal comfort.
Vending Machines
Move the vending machines to reduce congestion.
Perimeter Doors
Ensure that the building security features are convenient and workable and operate them in accordance with the security plan.
Modify door hardware to ensure that locked doors cannot be entered.
Thermal Comfort
Brief architects to give design priority to thermal comfort in support of learning, in preference to computers. Locate heat-generating equipment in naturally cooler parts of the school. For example, locate computer labs in north facing rooms or basements while taking care of other considerations such as glare on screens.
Home Economics Ventilation
Provide ventilation to the home economics room so students can use the cookers while maintaining comfortable and healthy air quality. Investigate installation of high and low level openable windows to enable cross ventilation. Expel exhaust air to the exterior, not to other rooms. Ensure that noise emitted from any mechanical ventilation equipment does not interrupt verbal communications between teachers and students.
Recreational Learning During Break Times
Establish a project to work with stakeholders to create various comfortable, pleasant, interesting and fun spaces for students during break times. For example consider the student request for tiered seating for watching sport.
Engage the architect to design, covered outdoor space(s) for use during mildly inclement weather.
Bicycle Storage
Provide a bicycle storage facility designed and located to be convenient and secure for cyclists. Consider, for example, a locked cage with surveillance.
Sports Fields
Investigate options to minimize the ponding and mud reported to inhibit use of the fields.
Fire Assembly Area
Check with fire authorities that the fire assembly points are sufficiently far from the building (and kitchen and rubbish bins) and adjust if necessary. Consider also safety issues if fire engines and evacuated people are both in the bus area.
Recommendations for Future Projects
Site
Select future school sites with good public transport connections and close to retail and public services as at Braes High School.
Main Entrance
Brief architects to employ conventional architectural language so visitors subconsciously "read" the entrances in the building form, without reliance on signage.
Exposed Mechanical Plant at Main Entrance
Ensure that the architects have sufficient time and control of subconsultants' work to maintain its consistency with project objectives (including school presentation).
Instruct architects to conceal mechanical and electrical plant, conduits, ducts and pipework unless otherwise authorised.
Circulation
Design circulation routes for the peak flows of people using them in schools during changes in class. Consider managing flows to minimise peaks, for example by staggering movement times. In the design, take into account the possibility or student misbehaviour.
Staff Workbases
Ensure that all staff have suitable workbases for non-teaching work to prepare lessons, mark work, deal with administration, work with colleagues, and store personal and professional material. When workplaces are occupied less than full time, establish protocols for sharing spaces and resources or use alternative areas, such as the library after school.
Library
On future projects, strive to achieve the high levels of satisfaction experienced by Braes High School library users.
Pool
Brief architects to design fenestration for good daylighting without glare on the pool surface, for example by bringing light in at high level and having mid-to-dark tones at low levels on the walls.
Games Hall
Strive to achieve the high level of stakeholder satisfaction evident with this gym. Ensure that any heavy moveable objects, such as goal posts, are designed to avoid injury.
Quality of Light
Ensure that architectural briefs pay attention to the quality of light in learning areas. Provide for design to control light at various sun angles.
Light Switching
Brief architects to include simple, effective conservation strategies in light switching.
Interior Finishes
Continue to specify robust materials to create pleasant spaces.
Suspended Ceilings
Brief architects to design ceilings that will withstand the deliberate impact of objects such as balls and school bags.
Glazing Design
When designing windows, avoid unnecessary transoms that can be used by students for climbing, and can gather dust.
Cladding
Brief architects to design long life materials to minimise maintenance.
Energy
Brief buildings to minimise CO 2 emissions in their production, operation and disposal.
Brief architects to consider energy available at the site, for example, sunshine, biomass and other renewable energy. Brief them to design buildings that are energy efficient.
Water Consumption
Brief architects to include basic water conservation measures in designs, such as low flow fittings, rainwater harvesting and permeable paving.
Provision of Sports Facilities in General
Endeavour to provide the ample sports facilities at Braes High School.
Corridor Obstacles
Ensure that corridors are designed to minimize bottlenecks and injuries for heavy flows of people pushing and jostling. Relocate fittings such as fire extinguishers and meal card machines with sharp corners, as well as those that obstruct traffic, to quiet corners.
Ambience
Endeavour to replicate the fresh and clean feeling of Braes High School. Avoid corridors that give rise to feelings of sterility and stairs that prompt feelings of oppressiveness.
Planning
Consult stakeholders and decide on contact between staff, managers and students. Brief the architects on future projects accordingly.
Consider using space syntax to assist matching school design with community preferences for organisational characteristics.
Issues Recommended for Further Research
Air Quality
Engage an architect with specialist expertise to analyse building conditions and operational management of environmental systems and propose options to achieve comfortable and healthy air quality in the school.
Brief the architect to consider naturally ventilated and user controlled means, for example high and low level opening windows with shelter from rain and drafts. Brief for design that is responsive to changing conditions and adapted to different parts of the building.
Staff Car Park
Consider developing a school transport programme nationally or locally, to encourage staff, parents and students to reduce use of unsustainable modes of transport.
Classroom Furniture and Equipment
Engage an industrial designer to advise on furniture design and manufacture with a view to sourcing ergonomic, robust and practical products available for the current school building programme.
Embodied Energy
Establish performance standards to minimise environmental damage resulting from production, transportation, assembly and disposal of building materials. Design with consideration for reducing consumption, re-using materials and recycling materials.
Waste Materials
Establish (or promote existing) sustainable resource management and recovery programmes for Scottish schools for the benefit of the students' future environment. Incorporate principles of sustainability such as "reduce, re-use and recycle".
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