the 'school of originals' concept embraces rebellion, procrastination and failure

for this school competition entry, beau avedissian and sau van dong have totally rethought the education system. ‘the school of originals’ departs from traditional modes of classroom learning to envision an inclusive school that embraces rebellion, procrastination and failure. the concept does away with ‘one size fits all’ education and instead proposes a specially-designed building to encourage original thinkers and creative innovators. 

the school is split into three zones: instruction; procrastination; production. the instruction zone encourages rebellion as a way of thinking outside the box and going against the grain. students begin here, where they take their own creative stance with support from tutors who encourage them to challenge or question the norm. spatially, there are many devices that attract divergent thinking, such as newton’s apples – a giant apple where students can escape from the chaos and enter a realm of intense thinking. 

the school is split into three zones: instruction; procrastination; production

thermal comfort has a direct relationship to efficiency and the ability to learn and be productive. with this in mind, beau avedissian and sau van dong have designed ‘hyper space’: a place with varying climatic conditions to suit everyone. an example of this space is shown topographically through the undulating floor plates that separate the instruction spaces. the floor plates create different climates to allow students to sit where they feel most comfortable. hills are also created to divide areas for students who prefer solo study or group learning.

rebellion zone

immediately after the instruction zone, students escape to the second zone, a space for brief procrastination. procrastination zones are spaces to intensify distractions. students are encouraged to procrastinate. it’s a space that allows the students to dwell subconsciously on what was previously taken in consciously by distracting the mind enabling creative ideas to surface. there are various spaces that encourage procrastination such as the ‘ropes of insanity’ – a space for physical procrastination.

procrastination zone

the final zone is the production zone. each student undertakes a project over the course of a year, but due to its complexity, it’s impossible to complete. for example, it could be a student that is passionate about art coming up with an artwork that cures world hunger. original thinkers have many failures before success. since the project is long term and impossible, students are encouraged ideas, which sometimes fail. 

production zone

students are conditioned to accept failure as a learning strategy with projects that are showcased for other students and the public to see. however, a failure to one student may be an original idea to another student. failure is showcased within the open floor plates, with dedicated glass huts allowing for students to constantly gaze at others work across different disciplines, fostering inspiration and inter-disciplinary learning. these huts are adaptable and can also function as a gallery to showcase failure, with the students inside them act as a real-time performance of failure. the space can also be hired by creative professionals to use, also providing inspiration and business opportunities for up-and-coming students.

failure

procrastination

rebellion

ground floor plan

level 5 floor plan

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project info:

project name: school of originals

type: competition 

design team: beau avedissian & sau van dong (lead designers); jillian hopkins & william feuerman (consultants); ben slee (MEP consultant)

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: lynne myers | designboom