Paper presented in Asian Conference of Inclusive Education Children are the ‘little adults’ but they think differently from adults in their own way. The adults do possess the responsibility to provide the suitable environment needed for children to develop into normal adults, the spaces promoting their whole development. While designing a space for children, architects generally think about the physical comfort of children using that place still dwelling on the ‘cell and bell’ concept. The whole development of a child has rarely been considered while designing primary schools whereas primary schools are the place where children from 5 to 12 years old spend most of their daytime. In Bangladesh more than 19 million children attend 66345 primary level institutions in which 37692 are Government Primary Schools. The world is few steps away from the agenda ‘Education for all by 2015’ where we are still fighting with high drop-out rates, repetition of children in school. There is research on how these issues can be addressed but the issue of an improved physical environment facilitating child development is missing from discussion. Is the physical environment of these primary schools favorable to the development of the specific children group targeted? Are the spaces designed in such way which can encourage carrying out of proper way of learning these children demand? This study aims to the achievement of some design guidelines for a suitable physical environment in learning spaces for child development and their implementation in Government Primary Schools in Bangladesh. This paper intends to work with this children group to achieve criteria for proper learning environment in schools by the studies of child development, education and environment behavior. By studying the morphological structure of the primary schools in a selected area, visual survey of the schools, open ended discussion with the children some design criteria and actionable ideas will be formulated and with respect to that alternate design solution will be suggested.

1. Rethinking Learning Spaces for Child-
Development: Government Primary
Schools in Bangladesh
Matluba Khan
PhD Candidate, The University of Edinburgh, UK and
Assistant Professor, Department of Architecture, BUET
Mahmudul Anwar Riyaad
Assistant Professor, Department of Architecture, BUET
Mohammad Nazmul Haq
Professor, IER, The University of Dhaka

3. CLASS ROOM
16'-11" X 19'-6"
CLASS ROOM
17'-4" X 19'-6"
CLASS ROOM
16'-11" X 19'-6"
TEACHERS'
ROOM
8'-3" X 19'-6"
VERANDAH
RAMP
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A
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4. When we design school
We are still dwelling in the CELL AND BELL CONCEPT
Play field classrooms
classrooms
Play field
classrooms
classrooms

5. The School
Attractiveness
Programme
Motivating
Students to go
to school
regularly
Making the
Schools
Student-
Friendly
To provide poor students
particularly girls, with
educational materials, school
uniforms, sports equipments
and occasionally nutritive food
??

6. Objectives of the research
• To formulate criteria for effective learning
environment in schools by the studies of child
development, education and environment
behaviour
• To propose alternative design solution for
physical environment of primary school focusing
on child-development

7. Research Plan: Case-study approach
How children develop How children learn
Interpretation in terms of space
Analysis of spaces of
primary schools
Review of cases
General findings about
spaces
Feedback from children,
parents and teachers
Formulation of design guidelines
Formulation of program
Implementation in design
+
+ +

8. How a child develops
Cognitive development
Socio- emotional development
Physical development

9. Space for cognitive development
being active
agents not passive
learners.
Development of
social brain
through
co-operation
Space for large &
and small group
activities
Active spaces /
Space for
exploration
Naturalistic
intelligence
Being
observant
and sensitive
to nature
operational thinking.
think in an organized
logical fashion
Spaces having
connection
with nature
+
+
+
interpretation observation implementation

10. Space for socio-emotional development
- peer relations
- social community
relations
interaction+ Interactive
space
- self esteem
- intra personal
intelligence
+
self reflection or
passive thinking.
- the need to
express their self-
identity.
+
Personalization,
growth of sense
of belonging
Passive
space
Personalized
space
- Understanding of
children’s culture
and tradition
Familiarity , cultural
background
and ethnicity
+ Building as an
image of culture
and tradition
interpretation observation implementation

11. Space for physical development
The development of
- healthy bodies
- motor
development
play+ Space for
playing
interpretation observation implementation

12. Active Space
General findings Criteria of Space
Limited scope for
exploration and
experiment
Classroom size
inadequate for
working actively

13. Space for Group work
General findings Criteria of Space
- Field for large group
activities- sports, cultural
program, picnic, play
etc
-no space for small
group activities
- no space for any group
activities in ‘char’ areas.

14. Space having connection with nature
General findings Criteria of Space
- open field
-classroom through
window
- corridor : the
linkage between
indoor and outdoor

15. Interactive Space
General findings Criteria of Space
- open space/
field (under a
shading tree)
-Corridor
- near tube well

16. Passive Space
General findings Criteria of Space
-no designed passive
space
- interface of two
activity spaces work
as passive space
classroom
Playfield
Interfaceofindoor
andoutdoor

17. Interactive Space
General findings Criteria of Space
There is no scope
for personalization
of students’ own
space display area
play shed
locker for
individual
student
individual working
table

18. Building as an Image of Culture and Tradition
General findings Criteria of Space
-The building does not
stand for local culture
and tradition
- the home scale is
missing in most of the
schools.
- the previously built
structures are made of
local materials with
pitched roof of C.I. sheet

19. Space for Play
General findings Criteria of Space
-play field ( one total
space- no separate
space for different age
and sex)
- No indoor space for
play except classroom
-shaded corridor during
scorching sun and rain
(insufficient)
hierarchy of open spaces
play spaces at different levels

20. Rich and Stimulating Environment
Variety of places –
provide a variety of
places of different
shapes, color, light,
nooks & crannies
As a whole the environment of the
school must be rich and stimulating
Color- The best way
is to engage the
children to paint
their school, it will
create sense of
belonging in them.
Changing displays –
changing the
environment,
interacting with the
environment stimulates
brain development.

21. Proposed Program
existing condition proposed condition

22. A proto-type design in a rectangular site

24. A proto-type design in a rectangular site

25. A proto-type design in a rectangular site

26. A proto-type design in a square shaped site

27. THANK YOU