OPA Design and Architecture . Rural Classroom

	We looked at construction prototypes for buildings in the region, particularly pole frame buildings and incorporated framing technology of pole barns and barn raising into our scheme.
Rural Classroom Prototype
The basic building type embodies the vernacular while employing modern technologes.
	Many students expressed the feeling that students respect their environment if they're provided with a good environment in which to learn. We developed a modular classroom that can be oriented for maximum solar gain, daylight, and natural ventilation.
Prototype using one modular unit.
	Expression of the pole frame allows deep overhangs to create outdoor rooms. Sliding panels open the classroom to an adjacent deck where a class can move in good weather.
Protoype variation using two modular units.
	Natural lighting is important. Students need full spectrum light. The color and flicker of fluorescent lights cause seizures in some ‘special needs’ students. Our scheme utilizes passive solar design such as light shelves and clerestories to maximize interior daylight.
Rural Classroom Prototype using two modular units.
	For our faculty, the ideal classroom is “500 square feet” and the room shouldn’t be directional. Using their requests, we developed a classroom plan flexible enough that instruction can happen with chairs in a round, or with an instructor standing at a board, or at a seminar table, or with small groups in clusters....even outside.
Modular Classroom Site Study
	Both students and teachers need storage. Teachers need secure storage. Students have places to stash skateboards, laptops, etc. and charging stations for their laptops, ipods, etc. Teachers have rollaway storage for sensitive equipment (computers, kindles, etc); smart boards also slide into wall pockets.
Teaching Wall based on Faculty Wishlist

OPA recently developed a modular classoom for a small rural school in Northern California. Our commitment was to design a sustainable self-contained classroom, a flexible learning environment that also provides an opportunity to utilize ‘smart technologies’ and enable simultaneous in-class sessions with off-campus students.

The proposed classroom design minimizes the boundary between inside and outside. Expression of the pole frame allows deep overhangs to create outdoor rooms.
Sliding panels open the classroom to an adjacent deck where the class can move in good weather. The deck is raised enough to define the classroom area. the deck edge also serves as seating when the instructor chooses to expand the ‘room’ even further out of doors.