Kilbirnie Learning Suite
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The Learning Suite (a pilot scheme by the Ministry of Education, incorporating the ideas of 21st Century Learning Environments as developed by Prakash Nair and Randall Fielding) is made up of a group of Learning Studios that are flexible classrooms designed to accommodate multiple activity centres.
The Shared Learning space forms an integral part of the environmental and architectural design for the building and acts as a transition space between the Learning Studios and the exterior. The central Shared Learning space is oriented north-south and has a direct visual and physical connection to the outdoors. The space is designed to enable flexible use by the entire cohort, or for a variety of small-group activities. It also provides a Watering Hole Space (a place for social interaction).
Each Learning Studio is accessed via the Shared Learning area and has a sliding door leading to their individual Outdoor Learning Courtyards via a glazed roof canopy. Interconnecting doors between pairs of Studios allows further flexibility.
The Learning Suite incorporates significant Environmental Sustainable Design (ESD) features including the use of the Shared Learning space as part of the natural comfort control system for the building. An emphasis is placed on providing an indoor environment of high standard and to Greenstar NZ levels.
