Classroom of the Future by Gollifer Langston Architects
Gollifer Langston Architects, winner of the RIBA Awards 2007, is an architectural studio for commercial, education, arts, media, residential and public design. The proposal for the Classroom of the Future was to create a prototype highly ICT resourced demountable “clip-on” classroom for use throughout Camden to optimize investment and availability to a wide group of school children.
It is now a fully transportable space that provides music and film making facilities to secondary children in Camden. The classroom arrives onsite as an enclosed box. Computer control systems activate hydraulic legs that position the container onto the ground, and allow sections of the wall and roof to expand and open.
The side wall of the container also opens out to enable an external audience to view films on a (small cinema sized) monitor from within the shell. Therefore the classroom is not only a learning environment; it is also a presentational facility.
It will be able to adapt and change to suit future scenarios and robust in technology and form. An opportunity exists to facilitate the use of advanced and developing ICT in an innovative school based environment, different and complimentary to current provision and representing a window on the future.
August 19, 2008 - Category: Architecture, Latest - Posted by: Hans - Comments: 18
August 19th, 2008 at 11:50 am
Hi there,
Why is there no mention in this article of what the portable is made of? I checked out the Gollifer Langston Architects website and there’s no mention of materials or equipment. No mention of costs either. It’s a spiffy looking portable that for all we know might just be a costly indoor air quality high-VOC nightmare for school kids, with most of its materials arriving in container from China. Or it might be a cost-effective green portable that uses FSC-certified woods, zero-VOC materials and have a green carbon footprint. Who knows?
August 21st, 2008 at 8:12 am
James you are why most Americans so strongly dislike greens, this story has NOTHING to do with being green. It is about a new form of temp classroom.
You know as well as the rest of us that it is no green project or else they would have been bragging about it. No it is supposed to be a neat portable classroom that’s it.
Now go back to your hybrid car whos carbon footprint is larger then many SUVs while the rest of us hope this means a better education for our kids.
August 21st, 2008 at 8:25 am
It seems we Americans are incapable of a rational approach to anything. We spend years ignoring the environment, then when it suddenly becomes trendy, we have these nuts who can’t think about anything besides carbon footprints, no matter how irrelevant it is too the topic at hand. Chill out please, if we obsessed over carbon as much as you would like us to, then life on earth would not be worth saving.
August 21st, 2008 at 8:26 am
It looks like a 3D rendering. I’m assuming it’s just a concept. Nice graphics work though!
August 21st, 2008 at 8:34 am
Woah Love Greens, step on the breaks, look in the mirror and drop the kneejerk reaction.
James mentions:
1. Costs: obviously, as its a critical factor to determine whether this is merely a proof of concept, just a design sample form the firm, or actually a viable idea.
2. The quality and safety of the product As obviously, lets say formaldehyde treated woods are probably not a very good idea to have kids exposed to. Particularly if the vehicle is going to heat up from time to time.
3. And yes, as a bonus, how green is it. In fact if it has some sort of solar panel and good insulation, not only it could potentially reduce operating costs but it could also give the politicians involved a nice item for their campaigns. He’s actually wondering about it, and you’re the one saying “no no it’s not green so piss off”
Frankly, his post makes more sense than yours.
August 21st, 2008 at 8:59 am
Nice classroom. I wonder if it’s ‘green’…
As for the carbon footprint of a hybrid car vs. a SUV… if you really believe that one research report (which was ’shot down’ with arguments very quickly after it was released, even by ‘neutral’ press)… *roll eyes*
August 21st, 2008 at 9:06 am
Yeah HE is not the reason people hate “the green movement”. He is pointing out one function of the design that he feels is lacking. Aside from the fact that everything should be environmentally sustainable, this design should be especially since it is transportable architecture (& Architecture then transportation are the most highly environmentally damaging areas of the economy). People with your (Lovegreens’ & Nick’s) attitude are part of the resistance to environmental responsibility and are holding us back! Anywho it’s kinda disappointing that a mere suggestion that it should consider environmental impact has filled the rest of the comments with criticism of that instead of discussion of other design features.
I think this design would be better if the compartment could remain on the transport vehicle or was somehow part of it. It seems unnecessary to expend energy and use space to enable it to detach from the truck if it is meant as a temporary space. I guess it depends on how long that temporary period is.
I wish the articles talked about how specifically the space was laid out because classrooms are so often generic open spaces with chalkboards on the walls. It would be more interesting if the design was oriented around certain subjects and reflected that in specific design changes. Right now its kinda vague!
-drew
August 21st, 2008 at 11:22 am
These would make nice homes for people in refugee camps.
August 21st, 2008 at 12:02 pm
Forget ‘green’. Education is higly important, and if these can be literally rolled off a production line and shipped around the world to needy areas, then any environmental impact does not hit the equation.
August 21st, 2008 at 1:48 pm
I kind of agree with Ryan G; but to me, their IS a limit to how much of an impact on the environment occurs.
And speaking of education…will they learn facts, or the government approved propaganda that’s being taught in schools now?
As for the contraption itself, I like it; especially if they can easily be converted into something else, such as a homeless shelter, like Mojo mentions.
August 21st, 2008 at 2:11 pm
So, is it green or not? Damn thing just looks silver to me.
August 26th, 2008 at 11:41 pm
I think this is a very functional design. Even if there are no indications whether the building is green, there are other still a lot of ways to incorporate green designs in an existing structure. I think the concept of a portable classroom is very useful especially in places where classrooms and schools are scarce.
September 6th, 2008 at 2:38 am
What nonsense. This unit will have to be very good indeed to work properly with all its moving parts, and that will make it expensive.
Camden Council would be far better providing proper school space…they have years of Demographics yet still cannot predict Classroom numbers.
The whole Green thing is nonsense too, some people just cannot see the wood for the trees
November 10th, 2008 at 6:00 am
[...] – bookmarked by 3 members originally found by TheRealCrazyLady on 2008-10-22 Classroom of the Future by Gollifer Langston Architects http://cubeme.com/blog/2008/08/19/classroom-of-the-future-by-gollifer-langston-architects/ – [...]
January 12th, 2009 at 1:33 pm
does the new classroom feature adaptations that make for a better teaching environment in this new information age? does the classroom support professional learning community work within the classroom?
February 28th, 2009 at 9:07 pm
‘Shopped. I’ve seen quite a few shops in my time – you can just tell by looking at the pixels – they’re all wrong, and there are too many of them.
March 23rd, 2009 at 11:46 pm
I think people who leave opinionated comments have too much time on their hands.
April 20th, 2009 at 9:33 am
Actually, it’s silver, not green.