Modern Architecture of School Buildings in Poland. Selected Design Issues on The Example of Two School Buildings Built in the 21st Century

Abstract

This article concerns the design and architecture of educational facilities in Poland. It presents selected architectural and spatial solutions for modern primary school buildings. The article is based on a juxtaposition of two school buildings built in the second decade of the 21st century, located in the central and southern part of the country. Contemporary buildings were selected to draw attention to the changing approach to design and the development of architecture dedicated to the youngest recipients, emphasizing important aspects of the school space in the era of growing demands and social awareness. The analysis of the buildings indicated in the article was carried out on the basis of the available literature on the subject, comparison with typical buildings in Poland, and in situ research in school buildings, with an emphasis on the key aspects of the functional and spatial arrangement in the presented facilities, determining the target educational space for students. A school building in Poland, in the minds of many architecture recipients, is associated with a typical building, such as 'millennial schools', created as part of the campaign to build a thousand schools - monuments related to the celebration of the Millennium of the Polish State. The typification period, abounding in many buildings that still function to this day, lasted almost twenty years until 1981, when the standard for typical schools was repealed. At that time, the search for the perfect form of the building as well as flexible and functional school spaces, tailored to the scale of the youngest recipients, began. The classroom, which used to be the only condition for the functioning of the school, turned out to be insufficient. Modern projects have started to be implemented, which systematically contribute to the creation of a new image of the school as a friendly and modern institution, maintained in an optimal and holistic development-oriented educational environment.