Dissecting the Frog

The only frog I saw in school was in a 9th grade biology classroom filled with a clammy smell of formaldehyde.  The FROG Zero classroom may change that, by bringing a healthier, energy-efficient “frog” into the classroom.  At Greenbuild 2008, the Project Frog company constructed a modular school classroom to exhibit under the awning of the Boston Convention Center in 6 days.

Project Frog classroom

Configured for LEED Silver rating, the 1280-sf space uses 75% energy reduction.    A good photo tour of the Greenbuild structure can be seen at Jetson Green.  This structure is filled with natural light, technology, and thoughtful design.  Who wouldn’t want to learn here? 

The central spine of the classroom is taller than the side wings, making the front of the classroom the visual focus, and creating a sense of space and expansion.  Head room. These photos were taken after sunset, without benefit of daylight brought in through clerestory windows. 

The side wings have whiteboards, bulletin boards, and power strips for banks of computers.  The wings created a sense of shelter within the larger room, for hunkering down on a project.  The effect, on micro scale, is not unlike a cathedral, where attention is drawn to higher things, and great thoughts seek the light.  

classroom interior, Jetson Green

This year it’s my 3rd-grader’s turn to attend classes in modular classrooms, affectionately called “les chalets.”   Some teachers prefer the modulars, because awindows can be opened, and classrooms have greater connection with the outdoors. 

However, traditional modular buildings have a trailer feel–low ceilings, tight quarters, inadequate bathrooms for 2 classes’ worth of kids.   I have to resist the urge to stoop in the chalet, when volunteering to help children with worksheets on symmetry.  I wonder about air quality in the classroom when windows are closed in winter, and if the chalets were constructed with as much formaldehyde and VOCs as are used in trailers and modular homes.  

Modular classroom buildings are the pragmatic reality of crowded schools and lean school budgets.  They’re popular as the less-expensive alternative to building additional classrooms.   I suspect that savings in construction cost for standard modulars is offset with expensive operations cost—it can’t be cheap to heat a trailer with inadequate insulation, or light a room with few windows.   

As I sat in the FROG zero classroom in Boston, I thought about how design can become part of the curriculum.  Can a bright, well-designed space inspire a child in her learning, and her perceptions of the  importance of learning? 

Can a classroom built for a healthy environment, stretching the concept of energy efficiency and green building, ignite a child’s vision of the natural world, and how he relates to it?  Maybe it’s time to make that leap, and say yes.