Special needs school Universum – Teachers see behavioural change in their special needs students after greening their schoolyard
Project information
Year: 2017
Status: Construction Completed
Location: Amsterdam Noord, The Netherlands
Surface: 2950 m2
Client: Stichting IN NOORD
Team: Renet Korthals Altes
Description
One of Space for Play’s first 3 schools for the Amsterdam Impulse Subsidy to re-design existing schoolyards into climate adaptive schoolyards creating green cool oases in the city, stimulating active play behaviour, many more would follow. At this special needs school, teachers testify how they noticed a positive behavioural change within the children when playing outside in this natural play area.
Challenge
Could you change these grey tiled vast surfaces into green schoolyards, to bring back our children’s positive behaviour which we see in the outdoor schoolcamps?
Process
In depth study of requirements for the diverse special needs, resulting in a detailed zoning, with many extra’s.
Result
Happyer kids, choosing type of play they need at that time, e.g. in :
the multi sensorial garden/ the low stimulus hang-out between blossoms / the challenging play elements/ on the discovery pathways. When entering or exiting the school, they stroke&smell the herbal table-planters. All classes have adopted a small part of the schoolyard to take care of.