Позитивные изменения. Образование. Школа будущего (Тематический выпуск, 2022)/Positive changes. Education. The school of the future (Special issue, 2

But the concept of a 50-seat public school in the village of Manasaul in the Republic of Dagestan, which we developed in 2020, is a completely different story, both in terms of architecture and ideology. It is asymmetrical, i.e. almost symmetrical, reminiscent of a city manor house: the stone facing, which is in tune with the historical context, the powerful avant-corps with arched window openings, the stepped facade configurations — the building is monumentally tectonic; its image is both restrained and solemn. Large glazing area smooths this effect of monumentality, so it does not look massive, stumpy. The ideology of the project is that the building functions as an educational institution in the morning and afternoon; then, after the classes are over, it becomes a local community center that is open to all visitors. A school as a point of attraction outside of school hours is an unusual idea for Russia, although we don't have a problem using educational facilities as polling stations on election days. Maybe our authorities should think about adding new functions to the schools? This is the kind of openness that I'm sure would foster the formation of sustainable local communities.

THE FUTURE OF OUR SCHOOLS

If we talk about my view on the future of our schools, or rather what I want it to be like, I can describe it in three words: Flexible, Open and Original. By flexible, I mean moving away from a corridor system with closed classrooms toward something friendlier, a layout that encourages students to communicate, to have informal conversations with teachers and with each other.

I, for one, really like some modern Norwegian schools where classrooms "float” in the middle of a large public space.

Being open to me is not about removing the fence around the school perimeter, but, let’s say, redefining it. The facade of the building can play the role of the fence, while the school yard can easily be "moved” inside the school. What makes us leave these huge empty areas around the schools? It’s the regulations. Alternatively, the school can be raised on a podium, which would house a public library, cafes and stores. Alas, this also goes against our regulations.

And I have already described being original in previous paragraphs. The problem is not that we don’t have our own architectural geniuses, like Zaha Hadid, who built the magnificent Evelyn Grace Academy school in London; the problem is that our architectural geniuses don’t have the freedom that is necessary to create truly unique objects.

SPATIAL DRAMATURGY

Our bureau, IND Architects, however, has designed several schools that could well be called unique. The IQanat high school in Burabay, which I already mentioned briefly, is located on the shore of Shchuchye Lake, surrounded by a large forested area. The main challenge here was to blend the building into the natural context as tactfully as possible. We decided to proceed from the topography of the area — the cross-shaped plan of the school and its orientation to the four winds are conditioned by both insolation and topography. One axis of the «cross» is perpendicular to the access road and shoreline, the other is parallel to them.