PROBLEM 39

ECONOMIES IN ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN, PLANS, AND SPECIFICATIONS 1

1

Problem: A new school building is to be constructed in Jonesville, N. K. Criticisms have been made that the school buildings have not been properly designed and planned and that they have cost too much money. Where shall the superintendent and his staff look for economies in design and plan?

School buildings are subject to frequent and varied criticism because of real or fancied extravagance in their construction. Few of those who offer such criticism realize that the architectural ornamentation and other visible details of the average modern school building are a comparatively small factor in its cost and that approximately nine-tenths of the total expenditure is for structural necessities such as foundations, walls, floor slabs, girders, heating plant, plumbing, etc. Therefore, it is obvious that the only practical method of reducing building costs without lowering the standard of construction is to reduce the volume of structural parts; in other words, to make the building smaller.

This does not mean a reduction in the pupil capacity of the building, or that any of the educational requirements of the school be omitted. It does mean that all waste areas should be eliminated, that unnecessary length or height of walls and partitions should be avoided, and that each room or subdivision of floor space should be carefully designed for its specific purpose.

To attain this desideration, the first essential is that the superintendent or educator in charge shall have positive and accurate knowledge of all educational requirements. He is the

Problem prepared by George F. Womrath, Business Superintendent of Schools, Minneapolis,

Minn.

general manager of the school system and he, if anyone, should know exactly what is needed in the building.

The working out of the details may be delegated to subordinates who are specialists in various activities, but the final responsibility for correct and economical planning falls upon the superintendent.

This is not a suggestion that the superintendent should be a combined educator and school architect. It simply means that as director of the business of education he should be thoroughly informed on all details of his housing problem. He should know the exact necessary size of each room in his proposed buildings, the working space required by each article of equipment, the probable percentage of use of the various parts of the buildings so that the necessity for same can fairly be evaluated.

This information he transmits to the architect, whose function is to translate these specific needs into terms of floor

area.

If the educator knows exactly what is needed, and if the architect will strive for an efficient building rather than an architectural monument, the product is bound to be satisfactory. It is not suggested that good architectural appearance should be disregarded or even slighted, but all too frequently the architect has warped his plans to fit his preconceived idea of what a school building should look like. All of which suggests the inevitable fact that an ideal school building is possible only by the closest coöperation of a well-informed educator and an architect trained in the solution of school problems. The educator will know the least dimensions of rooms necessary to house his various activities. The architect will know how these rooms may be assembled in the most compact form, the tendency being toward less cubic contents of building, a reduction in the volume of structural parts, and a lower cost.

The following quotations are from authorities in this field:

Mr. Frank H. Wood, director of School Buildings and Grounds for the State of New York:

We require a 12-foot ceiling in all cases where there are to be five rows of desks. We also require a width of approximately 22

feet. In our opinion a width of 21 feet is too narrow for five rows of desks and particularly so with upper grade size. We want at least 3 feet on the window aisle and 3 feet on the blackboard aisle. A closer proximity of desk to radiators on the window wall is objectionable. Radiators also take up a portion of this aisle and there are other reasons why this aisle should be wider than the interior aisles. The inner aisle on the blackboard side in our judgment should be wider by reason of the additional uses to which that aisle is to be put. Another reason for not narrowing down any of the aisles is the desirability of having sufficient space so that pupils can go through simple physical exercises without hands coming in contact. In the City of Rochester a width of 24 feet is required for five rows of desks in order to get more room for general exercises that they demand.

We accept lower ceiling heights than 12 feet for schoolrooms where the capacity does not exceed thirty. In that event we accept the lower height of ceiling, a narrower width of room, a width ample for four rows of desks instead of five, and a length sufficient for the requisite number of pupils, based upon the unit of 200 cubic feet of air space per pupil. In many of the small district schools that we have with a maximum attendance not exceeding fifteen or eighteen, we accept a still lesser ceiling height with other dimensions adjusted accordingly.

The air space and floor space standards with us are statutory. The window placement and glass area are not. All in all, we find the following dimensions recommended by us two or three years ago are almost universally followed in both city and village schools and also in rural schools where the attendance is twenty-five or more. By adopting this unit we have room for five rows of desks, an average of 3 feet for the outside aisles, 18 inches for the inside aisles, 16 2/3 square feet of floor space per pupil (1 2/3 square feet above statutory standard), and 200 cubic feet of air space per pupil.

Mr. F. R. Scherer, Assistant Superintendent of School Buildings, Rochester, New York:

Rochester has attempted, on several occasions, to reduce the size of its standard classroom to a width less than 23 feet 9 inches. A very careful study was made of this less than three years ago, following the suggestion of an "expert" employed by our city administration to point the way in reducing school building costs. Sketch plans were made showing furniture arrangement in the various classrooms and special rooms, several conferences were held with the directors of the various branches in education, the superintendent

of schools and his staff, and the conclusion reached was that if any change be made it should be to increase the width rather than to reduce it. In order that you may understand, however, why a room of this dimension is essential, it must be related that the classrooms are along the corridor walls; there are relaxation drills held in each room two or three times a day; and radiators are placed under the windows along the outside walls-all of which demand additional room, for example:

In placing the wardrobes along the corridor wall, it is necessary that this aisle be made about 1 foot, 2 inches wider than usual to permit of egress while some of the pupils are at the wardrobes; the relaxation drills demand sufficient width of aisles to permit the children's marching in double time and doing other setting-up exercises; and the radiators placed on the exterior walls demand additional width in that particular aisle.

Our classroom length is 30 feet from wall to wall. This is very satisfactory in our room arrangement. Should the wardrobes be placed at the rear of the room, however, additional length would be necessary. The writer has knowledge of some cities that use classrooms 32 feet long, but the general standard is 30 feet.

There is considerable to be said with reference to the height of ceiling. Up until a year ago, the Rochester schools were built varying between 12 feet, 4 inches and 12 feet, 6 inches. Our buildings now under construction and design are for ceiling heights of 12 feet, and we expect that this will remain our standard for some time to come. We have one school building which has a ceiling height of 11 feet, 4 inches. Here we constantly experience difficulty in obtaining proper ventilation by a central fan. Tests made in this school show that the diffusion is poor and the air motion too variable to assure comfort, notwithstanding the fact that the air enters at a velocity of less than 300 feet, bottom of the inlet register being 8 feet from the floor. For academic work we are following the rule that a room should not exceed in width twice the height of the window head jamb from the floor. We shall exceed this width, however, for laboratories and shops.

My leaning at this time would be towards a classroom 30 feet long and 12 feet high, of a width not less than 22 feet and whatever is necessary by reason of special factors in your curricula.

Professor Moehlman of the University of Michigan:

The reason we decided not to decrease the ceiling height below 12 feet in the Detroit schoolrooms was due to the fact that this would automatically cut down the width of the room because the refraction of the natural lighting does not permit of a lower lighting than 12

feet in a 22-foot wide room in order to get perfect lighting on the last row of seats. If you desired to cut down to 20 or 21 feet I could see no objection to it, but I am not certain it would be satisfactory. At any rate Detroit decided against transferring because the 22-foot wide room gave the best opportunities for unit instruction.

Mr. Hubert C. Eicher, Director of the Bureau of Buildings for the State of Pennsylvania:

We consider a 22-foot width minimum for elementary school purposes. Little people must have greater freedom than the more mature pupils. A congestion of seats, narrow aisles, and limited. space about the walls is not conducive to the best results.

In regard to the ceiling height, we have made various investigations and from the results obtained we cannot justify a ceiling height of less than 12 feet in Pennsylvania. In certain types of construction some architects have difficulty in securing the required amount of glass area and its proper placement even in a 12-foot ceiling. I am not, therefore, able to go along with those who would advocate an 11-foot ceiling, at least for the present.

We have made some studies in regard to proportionate length and width of classrooms. From our studies it would seem that a width of 21 feet with a length of 30 feet, 6 inches is approaching the abnormal in regard to proportions.

Mr. C. M. Hirst, Supervisor of Buildings and Grounds for the State of Arkansas:

We have been requiring 12-foot ceiling heights for grade rooms in this state.

I know of no state or community that accepts lower ceilings for grade rooms than 12 feet.

Mr. H. W. Schmidt, Supervisor of Buildings for the State of Wisconsin:

The state code calls for a 12-foot height, and we have never found it necessary to reduce this. The ratio of room to height of window seems a good one, and in practice has given adequate illumination on the seats farthest removed from the window. We have also found the 22-foot width necessary in order to get adequate aisle space. I do not know of any other municipality which accepts a ceiling lower than 12 feet. It would seem with modern ventilating requirements that this height is necessary to give adequate air movement without serious vitiation, and at the same time, permit a reasonable amount of air for recirculation.