Dream School: Russian students will be able to design school spaces

Russian Minister of Education Sergey Kravtsov proposed to organize a competition for young architects and designers

Young architects and designers will be able to become direct participants in the modernization of Russian schools. The Minister of Education of Russia Sergey Kravtsov proposed to organize a competition for novice specialists during the presentation of the projects of educational spaces of the participants of the Dream School expedition at the E.M. Primakov.

“Today it is important for us to form our own style when creating spaces for educational organizations. There are already many domestic developments in this direction, professionals have been trained, there is a unique experience and cultural traditions. A good initiative would be a competition or a creative workshop from architectural firms interested in young professionals. As a result, the guys could be invited to participate in real projects. We can help with this – to connect companies and specialized educational organizations. It is important that the guys can see the embodiment of their ideas,” said Kravtsov.

He stressed that modern architectural and design solutions are needed in organizations at all levels of the education system – in kindergartens, schools, colleges. Today, almost 70 universities in the country train in the direction of “Architecture”. This is a great resource for helping the Russian school to find a new, more modern sound. Moreover, a large-scale federal program for the overhaul of schools is in full swing in the country. Expectations from this program among children and parents are very high.

“A year after the start of the school overhaul program, the first wave of repairs has been completed. We already see the results, it turned out best where from the very beginning professionals worked with school teams on the image of the result. The “Dream School” program consists in the fact that we offer novice specialists to drive around the country’s schools and see what schools can be. And then apply this knowledge to rethink other schools. This applies to both classrooms and public spaces. The students are very motivated. In a week, we received about 300 applications,” said Natalya Vasilievna Kravchenko, head of the Federal Public Control Headquarters for the overhaul of schools and the development of school infrastructure, chairman of the Commission of the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation for the development of preschool, school, secondary vocational education and educational activities.

The winner of the Teacher of the Year 2022 competition, Dmitry Lutovinov, noted that ideas related to space planning remain very popular at the school, since both the students themselves and the teachers spend most of their time in the school building. It is important to pay attention to the security and functionality of the environment, as well as its external appearance.

The participants of the expedition “School of Dreams” were students – architects-designers and students of the children’s art school “Start”. During the event, third- and fourth-year students of the faculties of architecture and design of the Moscow State Pedagogical University, Moscow State Pedagogical University, Far Eastern Federal University and other universities told what projects they had already managed to take part in and what initiatives in the field of education they plan to implement. The guys developed design projects in public and private schools, designed school buildings taking into account the different climate in Russia, including for regions where children go to school in conditions of extremely low temperatures. They presented their solutions for organizing the educational process in a changing environment in the so-called nomadic schools. Students of the Start architectural school also presented their ideas for school spaces.

“We saw burning eyes, heard many interesting ideas on how to improve the school space, how to make it more comfortable and convenient. This is very important, because now there is a large program of building new schools, major repairs. When creating a school design, the opinion of everyone should be taken into account: both teachers and schoolchildren themselves, ”concluded Kravtsov.

Recall that the Dream School expedition was organized on the initiative of the Federal Headquarters of Parental Public Control over the program for the overhaul of schools “Modernization of school education systems”. This is a practice-oriented intensive course for young designers and architects, 3rd-4th year undergraduate and graduate students in specialized areas.

Photo: Press Service of the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation

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