SIK-Holz_Schulhof_2016_en

06
SIK-Holz® › The Schoolyard
The Schoolyard
From barrack square to adventure space
School is an important element of our society. Everyone
has spent a great part of life in school. Alongside with
family, school is where values, skills and mindsets are imparted
for the whole life. Everyone has been influenced
by school and remembers schooldays and the schoolyard
to a greater or lesser extent.
The elder generation might remember it as a place with
trees, shrubs and paths to hidden places, an adjacent
school garden and a sports ground. This might have still
been the case in the 60s. Over time, these schoolyards
have been transformed to barrack squares for the sake
of improved orderliness and tidiness. It became apparent
that such schoolyards are more prone to causing
accidents. To avoid accidents, supervision during breaks
is intensified, which in turn calls for improved visibility
of the area. A vicious circle! What can be done? The
vicious circle, that is the clean, tidy and paved area, must
literally be broken up and designed in a way that is
attractive to both students and teachers. This redesign
requires active involvement from students and teachers,
which is to a greater or lesser extend the case in many
places. There is no norm that specifies how this participation
should be carried out. And that’s how it should
be. Else, the result could be standardised schoolyards
with little individual character. There are, however, some