The new educational community, the Choice School, reimagines school architecture in India, creating a prototype that will help revitalize rural communities, empowering future generations. The Choice School takes advantage of defined and focused spaces for learning and development as well as transitional spaces to encourage interaction, thus creating an environment that inspires education.
Pedagogy and learning styles:
Building on the close-knit society of rural India, the prototype houses grades 1-12 in one building, fostering relationships between students of different ages, and allowing for a continuum of learning. The new Choice School in Thiruvalla has three sections -- Primary School Block, Middle School Block and High School Block -- each containing its own entry, school administration offices, classrooms, library and student commons. These blocks create a progression of independence as students move from a more dependently organized Primary School to a more independently organized High School, fostering leadership skills among older students, preparing them to become successful citizens.
Physical context:
Taking cues from the region's cultural and climatic contexts, the new Choice School mirrors the landscape of Southern India, reinforcing the sense of identity among students, faculty and the community. Specific influences include the Kerala House Boat; local materials such as stone, clay tiles and Palmyra Palm; the area's use of vibrant color and texture; and the regions wide range of weather conditions.
Fusing these cultural and geographic elements with modern sustainable technologies and practices, situate the Choice School in its contemporary context. Relying on local construction, building techniques and materials to mitigate costs, ensuring the facilities' durability, the prototype's design embodies the school's case-by-case educational philosophy. The prototype's modularity will allow the Choice School to build additional campuses that adapt to varying sites and local programmatic differences while maintaining its core principles and functions.
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