Compiled by Leah Linhares
Photography: Maxime
Brouillet; courtesy V2com
Sainte-Anne
Academy in Dorval, Canada is more a blank canvas for the students’ creativity than
an interpretation of the designers’ imagination! IAnD explores…
Focussed on
reinventing the educational space, Taktik Design has raised the bar of
institutional interiors with the transformation of an 1896 heritage building
into a modern-day elementary school.
The 1,20,000 sq.
ft academy is designed entirely from the kids’ perspective: from room layouts
to furniture design, where a smartly created efficient environment not only accommodates
the latest teaching standards but imbues fun-filled surroundings for the
students.
Utilising a
modern approach, the interiors reflect openness to interaction. With classrooms
spacious enough to enable wholesome communication and a wide range of
activities, spaces open up to clear sight lines and relevant connections
between functions, while allowing more light into the heart of the school.
Adding to this
bilateral element are the special signage and colours. Certain rooms like the
library, theatre and cafeteria are coloured in warm hues of red, yellow and
orange creating an energetic, cheerful and vibrant atmosphere; while
interactive signage sketched on walls plastered in cool colours of green and blue
promotes a sense of belonging.
Thematic rooms
like the greenhouse and theatre support holistic growth beyond the textbook
word, while the classrooms are endowed with a monochromatic colour palette to
guard against visual over-stimulation, allowing the children to actively
contribute to their wholesome environment.
Cafeteria |
Furniture is
especially designed and employs seven hundred sheets of plywood for a
cost-effective, solid and easy-to-clean solution; the sheets of plywood proving
to be economical and better suited than furniture available off-the-shelf. Every
aspect of the furniture is carefully considered; the colourful lockers in the
locker rooms and coatrooms are tailored for the size of the students, allowing
for easy access.
Icons
representing the institution’s values are posted on the walls and included on
signage, contributing to the unique character of each learning space. The same
shapes are used throughout, though varying in scale, to ensure consistency and
strengthen the visual identity of the spaces. The logo too is now a
progressive design.
Kindergarten Classroom |
Awarded Project
of the Year at the Grands Prix Du Design 2016, Taktik Design has pulled
out all stops to ensure a friendly yet nurturing environment for the young,
without compromising on the ultimate comfort level of the tutor.
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