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The Project
Effective schools and educational spaces create an environment where students and teachers can effectively learn. With large numbers of people working together, sharing information and practicing new skills, acoustics play a crucial role in comfort and comprehension. On top of this, education spaces need to foster creativity within their pupils. This is often achieved through the use of color, shapes, and textures.
Project Team
ODAA
G and S Acoustics Inc.
Tamara Heimlich
Su Sazama
These concerns played a factor in the renovation work completed by ODAA architecture & interiors at the Milken School in Los Angeles, California. With the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic meaning that staff and students were unable to use the campus. In anticipation of the return to this space being used, the school wanted to achieve two things.
- Improving collaboration across the school
- Modernizing the design of the school
To make this possible, there would need to be a range of elements designed to work cohesively together. This is often easier said than done, and requires a keen eye for details.
The Process
The role of acoustics in collaboration can not be understated. When effective acoustics are installed in a designed space, they help to improve the inhabitants comfort, comprehension, and overall ability to collaborate. Whether you’re working in pairs or in a large group, you need the acoustics to provide a platform for you everyone to listen and be heard.
Particularly in schools, the visual themes used play a big impact on creativity. Bright and vibrant colors can bring a space to life by adding character and giving the space a positive energy which is only improved when you use shapes and patterns not usually found indoors.When used effectively this can add depth, break up a plain space, and create unique forms when interacting with light.
To achieve this, ODAA looked to utilize the ceiling spaces in the library and faculty workspace ‘hubs’. While these spaces can often be overlooked, when utilized correctly, they can be a powerful element of your designed space.
The Resolution
The solution selected for these spaces was Frontier™ Fins in Tundra and Dune profile. The Muralla and Opera colors chosen continue the use of the school’s colors, blue and white, while adding depth into what would normally be an empty space. Ensuring these colors selected matched the spaces in which they were used allowed them to give the rooms a deeper feeling.
Additionally, the Fins styling in Dune and Tundra bring subtle lines to their ceiling. These aren’t too engaging as to distract the inhabitants and help to create an engaging working space for all.
Most importantly, this Frontier installation helps to keep unnecessary noise to a minimum. Designed for open-plan spaces, this acoustic baffle system has been created to target the ever-changing sound that these spaces can encounter.
Designing a Modern Learning Environment that Promotes Collaboration
The Result
The final result is a truly functional space designed to promote collaboration across the student and teachers at the Milken School. ”This project exemplifies creating aesthetics with functionality,” Su Sazama, Autex Acoustics representative on the Milken project, said.
The Team
Great spaces are created through collaboration. Explore the team behind this project and the contributions that brought it to life.
Frontier Acoustic Fins
Elegant and refined, Frontier Acoustic Fins offer excellent acoustic absorption with sleek, gentle form—at once a design feature and a functional necessity.
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