The Animas High School Class of 2020 got tasked with something very difficult yet ultimately rewarding-- designing the future new AHS Campus. Our teachers and the Board of Directors saw something in us that they wished to have for the new school... innovative, brilliant ideas. We, as the students and primary users of the school, are arguably the most important stakeholders. To begin this project, we had to learn a little bit about architecture and design, so we started by reading and annotating “In Praise of Shadows,” the very same college-level reading given at CU Boulder on their first day of architecture school. After this, we were assigned groups and started launching into ideating. No idea was a bad idea. We conducted empathy interviews, observations, and gained feedback from the community about what they value. We were then able to translate this information into what our users value in a space. This process is called Human-Centered Design. After the use of what seems like a million sticky notes, we began to prototype based on what our users wanted. We later displayed our prototypes at All School Exhibition, and gained lots of feedback from other stakeholders- community members and parents. Our end product was a sketchup model of our ‘shared space’, a full-campus blueprint, the budget for our shared space, and a design proposal. We presented these professional, high-quality pieces of student work to the Board of Directors, and they promised to use our ideas in the future campus of AHS.
When I began this project, I knew next-to-nothing about sustainable building, and the materials and practices that go along with it. When I thought about sustainable building, I thought about solar panels. Just solar panels. However, now I know that there is a lot more to it than just that. I now know more than ever about how important sustainable practices are. After we had several sustainable design experts and architects visit, I started to think about ways we could implement sustainability into our campus design, and my group and I decided that green roofs were very interesting to us, and we wished to research them more. When I began my research, I learned that green roofs are a lot more than just grass on the roof. They reduce the Urban Island Heating Effect, can be a home to plants and animals in cities where they normally wouldn’t have a home, and can be very beautiful. We decided that we would like our Cafeteria to have a green roof on top, in addition to the solar panels on our classrooms.
Through this project, I grew exponentially as a collaborator. I believe that in the end, this project and my group were a huge success, and our final product is evidence of this. We all contributed to it, and we could not have done it alone. This project was way out of my comfort zone in terms of group work. I have always preferred to work independently, so I could hold myself accountable if work didn’t get done, and I wasn’t relying on a group member. I felt this way especially after some bad experiences with group work in middle school. In the past, my ideas have been disregarded and rejected. I have also been stuck doing all/most of the work in the past. However, this experience was different. My group shared the workload evenly; for the most part. We also all had different strengths that we brought to the table, and we were able to utilize those strengths to create our final product. In addition we all had weaknesses, but we were able to encourage each other and help each other grow from these weaknesses. At times things were difficult, because our group was easily distractible, and once I got very frustrated and left the room to work elsewhere. I have gotten a lot better and more mature about handling situations like these, but there are still areas for me to grow.
I believe that student voice is very important, especially in schools and other facilities where youth are the primary users. Since students spend 8 hours, 5 days a week at school, it should be a campus that they actually want to attend; a campus where they feel inspired. A campus with a lot of outdoor space, open space, and places for students to be creative. Students and young people are the future of this society and this world, so they need spaces where they can be innovative and productive. That's why this project was so important. After all, who better to create a school than the people who will use it?
When I began this project, I knew next-to-nothing about sustainable building, and the materials and practices that go along with it. When I thought about sustainable building, I thought about solar panels. Just solar panels. However, now I know that there is a lot more to it than just that. I now know more than ever about how important sustainable practices are. After we had several sustainable design experts and architects visit, I started to think about ways we could implement sustainability into our campus design, and my group and I decided that green roofs were very interesting to us, and we wished to research them more. When I began my research, I learned that green roofs are a lot more than just grass on the roof. They reduce the Urban Island Heating Effect, can be a home to plants and animals in cities where they normally wouldn’t have a home, and can be very beautiful. We decided that we would like our Cafeteria to have a green roof on top, in addition to the solar panels on our classrooms.
Through this project, I grew exponentially as a collaborator. I believe that in the end, this project and my group were a huge success, and our final product is evidence of this. We all contributed to it, and we could not have done it alone. This project was way out of my comfort zone in terms of group work. I have always preferred to work independently, so I could hold myself accountable if work didn’t get done, and I wasn’t relying on a group member. I felt this way especially after some bad experiences with group work in middle school. In the past, my ideas have been disregarded and rejected. I have also been stuck doing all/most of the work in the past. However, this experience was different. My group shared the workload evenly; for the most part. We also all had different strengths that we brought to the table, and we were able to utilize those strengths to create our final product. In addition we all had weaknesses, but we were able to encourage each other and help each other grow from these weaknesses. At times things were difficult, because our group was easily distractible, and once I got very frustrated and left the room to work elsewhere. I have gotten a lot better and more mature about handling situations like these, but there are still areas for me to grow.
I believe that student voice is very important, especially in schools and other facilities where youth are the primary users. Since students spend 8 hours, 5 days a week at school, it should be a campus that they actually want to attend; a campus where they feel inspired. A campus with a lot of outdoor space, open space, and places for students to be creative. Students and young people are the future of this society and this world, so they need spaces where they can be innovative and productive. That's why this project was so important. After all, who better to create a school than the people who will use it?