The 2020 school year has officially kicked off all across the country, but things look a little – a lot – different due to COVID-19. Pandemic life has every school district going back to the drawing board to reimagine the K-12 classroom to prevent the spread of the virus while still educating their students.
We’ve spoken with teachers at every level of our education system, and the challenges they’re dealing with often seem insurmountable. Limited space and resources of just about every variety are complicating every segment of the school day – for teachers and administrators, support staff, parents, and of course, our students. Each school has tried to put together a plan for their students – whether in-person or virtual learning, or a hybrid of both – but the reality is that our school systems were not built to suddenly be able to handle such a drastic change.
We came across two new designs that rethink the “trailer classroom” experience – a classic temporary solution for schools that are in need of additional space. The first is HEX POD Education Hub, designed by The Ventin Group Architects Ltd. (+VG). HEX POD has everything teachers and students could ever want, while also improving HVAC and air purification specs – and the $150,000 price tag reflects that. The HEX POD’s design features make it available only to those who can afford it – but we asked Dan Wojcik, senior associate at +VG and head of the firm’s Ottawa office, about options for the overwhelming number of schools that wouldn’t be able to afford something like it.
“We are exploring options to provide leasing or lease-to-own opportunities to school boards or other clients,” said Wojcik. “Where organizations are often operating on fixed budgets, this would allow them absorb the cost over a longer period or opt to only lease for a term.”
School systems can also partner with businesses in the community or other community entities to be sponsored for a pod, with the businesses picking up some or all of the cost through a sponsorship.
“The origins of the portable came from industrial use, and it’s design hasn’t really ever been revisited,” Wojcik said. “The status quo for the portable is almost no air filtration. They also typically have a very constricting grid design.”
“We had two major goals with the design of the HEX POD. First, we wanted to provide more access to daylight. And second, we wanted to give its owners the ability to adapt the pod to their needs, through a flexible design.
Where a traditional portable classroom has a one-size-fits-all design, Wojcik says the HEX POD is more a kit-of-parts solution that can be scaled as needed.
“We took inspiration for the design from the naturally occurring structures and patterns in nature. We wanted to give people the ability to organically grow outward in multiple directions. We also wanted to provide adjunct outdoor spaces that tie into the original structures. The end user has the ability to take these modular pieces and manipulate to suit their needs.”
The second learning pod structure is called OUTSIDE the Box, designed by Weiss Architecture & Urbanism / Wonder Incorporated.
OUTSIDE the Box offers a simpler reinvention of the traditional portable learning environment. Instead of bringing an expensive air filtration system to the interior, it relies on fresh air alone, opening the classroom directly to the outdoors. This model obviously has limitations for geographic regions that only have a few months of warm weather each year. However, the concept offers a practical, easy path toward a better portable learning environment.
These concepts highlight a new conversation we should be engaging in – a new opportunity designers have to tackle a very real need for design innovation. Beyond the pandemic’s immediate call to action for temporary learning and working environments, these portable designs can continue to serve as improved temporary outposts for many occasions in the future.
Below, you’ll find full notes from each firm on the two learning pod concepts.
HEX POD Education Hub
The HEX POD™ education hub, designed by The Ventin Group Architects Ltd. (+VG), “improves on traditional ‘portables,’ those prefab classroom buildings to provide a temporary solution to overcrowded schools. Our pod offers natural light and fresh air. It combines eco-friendly design with solar panels, grey-water systems, green roofs and energy-efficient mechanical and electrical systems.”
A little bit more about the pod’s envelope, geometry, materials, sustainability and safety features:
“A portable is constructed as a stick frame wood assembly with insulation in the wall. Our proposal uses structural insulated panels (SIPs), a high-performance building system for residential and commercial construction. The lightweight panels comprise an insulating foam core sandwiched between two structural facings, typically oriented strand board fabricated with timber from sustainable sources. SIPs use less timber than the portable’s stick frame and are one of the most economical and eco-friendly forms of construction. IPS buildings are also more energy efficient, strong, quiet and airtight. Less air leakage means less drafts, fewer noise penetrations and significantly lower energy bills with a consequent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions. The continuity of the rigid insulation within the system enhances thermal reliability and inhibits the passage of water vapour, reducing susceptibility to mould-causing condensation.”
“The pod’s hexagonal shape is the most flexible and economical container known to nature. Such a configuration does not permit 90-degree corners. Instead, the system is built around 120-degree corners so that installations of multiple pods cluster into honeycombs instead of grids. Liberated from the right angle, the layout encourages casual communication and collaboration. A hexagonal space feels more welcoming, spacious and informal than a portable of comparable floorspace. When you sit in a box, you are either up against the wall or facing a corner. In a HEX POD™, you sit amid the flowing, organic geometry of ‘open arms.’”
“Pods can be erected near schools on existing sites such as playing fields and parking lots, individually or in clusters. Readymade pods can be delivered, already laid out to the user’s specifications, to the site. Individual pods can supplement existing facilities and be augmented with additional units as needs dictate. Pods can serve as overflow classrooms, administration areas, office spaces, support and prep rooms, collaboration areas, temporary washroom and storage facilities as well as medical examination and quarantine areas.”
“The HEX POD™ features an integrated HVAC (heating, ventilation, air-conditioning) and air purification system that includes a HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filter to remove airborne viruses and other contaminants such as dust and allergens.”
“Pod materials are certified to be nontoxic and free of off-gassing from formaldehyde and other volatile organic compounds. These can trigger asthma and other debilitating symptoms of so-called sick-building syndrome. The HEX POD™ incorporates recycled, reusable and ethically sourced materials. Washable finishes on all surfaces ensure maximum protection against COVID-19.”
“The HEX POD™ provides at least 50 percent more fenestration than a typical portable. Thanks to its full-height windows, operable clerestory windows and operable central skylight oculus, the interior is light and bright and filled with naturally circulating fresh air.”
“Each side is 17 feet long and 12 feet high, for a perimeter of 102 feet and surface area of 750 square feet.”
“The price of a typical conventional portable is $100,000. The estimated cost for a HEX POD™ is $150,000. However, its greater durability and lower operating and maintenance costs make it a better value in the long run.”
OUTSIDE the Box
“Medical experts have provided important guidelines that weigh the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection and transmission against the physical and mental health issues associated with effect of school closures. Along with hygiene, screening and social distancing, the provision of good ventilation is understood to be an essential measure.”
“Healthy building ventilation is provided either mechanically with fresh air supply systems that are integral with the building HVAC system, and/or windows that provide a continuous cross flow of outside air. In older schools, mechanical systems and windows that provide a comfortable and healthy cross breeze are very often lacking. Unfortunately, upgrading systems and buildings to provide adequate fresh air carries great cost and takes considerable time.”
“Students of history know that as traumatic and terrible COVID-19 is, the world has learned to live with and survived other pandemics. A century ago, on the tail end of severe tuberculosis outbreaks, the so-called Spanish Flu struck in three vicious waves. By the time it ended a couple years later, tens of millions of people had died.”
“Theories and practices of outdoor education were explored throughout the world during the tuberculosis and Spanish Flu health crisis. Educators became more conscious of the risks of stale air recirculated by students boxed together in a classroom. Understanding the health benefits of fresh air in relation to illness led to the use of outdoor classrooms as a safer teaching environment.”
Modular ‘Front of Class’ Teaching Support Unit
“Building upon this important history lesson, Weiss Architecture & Urbanism Limited, an experienced school architectural firm, has collaborated with modular design specialist, Wonder Incorporated to create OTUSIDE the Box. This ‘front of class’ modular teaching support unit facilitates and supports outdoor teaching. With two back to back outdoor classrooms, it can be easily placed down on school lots or fields. It is a lockable unit that effortlessly swings open to provide generous chalk and whiteboard presentation surfaces. Inside the unit, closets and cabinets provide teachers with storage and organizational space. Space for stackable desks, recycling bins, and other items is also provided.”
“OUTSIDE the Box is equipped for best practice student and staff hygiene practices and COVID-19 precautions. Bright, graphically marked hand cleaning stations are provided on the exterior for easy and safe access by the students. The interior is fitted with a Cleaning Centre to wipe down chairs, assignments, and supplies commonly handled by students and staff. An Assignment Chute provides a safe, physically distanced way for students to turn in work. OUTSIDE the Box is bright and colourful, and can be customized for each site or client.”
“OUTSIDE the Box is a simple, historically proven response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It provides a practical and alternate solution for facilities where the interior environments may not be able to provide the indoor air quality needed. Its durable design will continue to provide support for healthy outdoor, fresh air teaching and learning long past the end of this pandemic.”