Future Schools of Kuwait

The Public Authority for Housing Wealthfare (PAHW) in Kuwait has embarked on a programme to radically redesign schools within the country to offer more student-centred, technological and experiential forms of learning. The vision for this project was to design a school for Generation Alpha - those that will live through the next 50 years – whilst transitioning Kuwait’s outdated schooling model into the future of education. Generation Alpha is born entirely within the 21st century and has experienced a borderless world full of constant new experiences. Pace designed a prototype model to be replicated for schools across the country to address this new way of learning. The design challenge was also to ensure that the prototype could be adapted to different sites of varying shapes and dimensions, and that can also be expanded upon according to programme. The designs are established to ensure that they are highly functional as well as adaptable, sustainable and inclusive of future change. The designs achieve this by building the flexibility to modify spaces to suit different needs and house multiple activities. The designs ‘break’ down the boundaries of conventional learning by extending the functionality of the building to spaces such as corridors, staircases or outdoor areas. These spaces are then modified to accommodate the additional activities that are to be housed. Spaces such as cafeterias and libraries can also take on multiple purposes, becoming presentation spaces or theatres. The designs focus on creating open and transparent spaces to foster a safe and secure environment. Eliminating “dead areas” that are more hidden and concealed from sight helps to create a more controlled environment where students feel safe to learn and explore. Both designs are also led by the belief in creating spaces that are completelyaccessible and inclusive of people - creating comfort and accessibility to individuals with learning and developmental difficulties by introducing various forms of tactile and audio-visual learning. Following the same principles of modularity that are employed in the design of the schools’ built space, the façades are also based on the principles of modular design. This not only reduces cost, but makes the design easily adaptable to different building shapes and sizes as required by the client’s ambition. By creating variation within the system, whether in terms of colour, grid or size of panel, while still maintaining the same module, schools can achieve different characters. Sustainability is achieved primarily through passive cooling methods such as shading and the extensive use of vegetation. This creates a pleasant environment for play and outdoor exploration, while being friendly to the environment. Sustainability is also used as a learning tool by providing space for outdoor classes, planting gardens and other green areas.