Texas A&M University, Department of Architecture
Architecture 605-602: The Firm Studio
Project Description
(Preliminary, Updated August 28, 1996)
Goal: The goal of this project is to design a Montessori school. This
will be a short project, so you will need to converge on a solution quickly.
Client involvement: Our clients for this project will be Ms. Kamy Kryger
and Ms. Kim Oeheme of Keystone Montessori School, 2320 E. Villa Maria Rd.,
Bryan, Texas, tel: 823-4751. Ms. Kryger and/or Ms. Oeheme will discuss their
views of the goals for the project early in the semester. Together we will
develop a rough program for the school.
Site: Texas A&M West Campus Research Park area. Roughly 2 acres, 10
parking spaces and play space, drop-off area. Site drawings will be made
available to the class in hard copy and .dwg formats. To view a QuickTimeVR
image of the site, click here.
Grade levels: Pre-Kindergarden through 2nd grade (ages 3 through 8).
Size: 4,000 gross square feet.
Number of Students: 100 in two shifts, 50 per shift.
Emphasis: Working walls, availability of realia to children. Child scaled
space. Ability to group and regroup children. Possibility of independent
work. Economy. A Prepared Environment for Education.
School observation: You will be asked to spend about one hour observing
Montessori teaching at the Keystone Montessori School. This hour will be
scheduled in advance to occur between 8:30-10:30 am, M-F.
Final presentation requirements (minimum): site plan, floor plan, drawings
that convey the character of the building (e.g., sections, elevations, axonometrics),
and process drawings and diagrams. Your final presentation to our "clients"
should be well organized and professional.
Kohn, Sherwood. The Early Learning Center. Profiles of Significant
Schools (New York: Educational Facilities Laboratories, 1970).
Required: Handout
Osmon, Fred Linn. Patterns for Designing Children's Centers. (New
York: Educational Facilities Laboratories, 1971).
Required: Handout, complete material in CRS Center
Skutch, Margaret and Wilfrid G. Hamlin. To Start a School. (Boston:
Little, Brown and Company, 1971).
Optional: Available in CRS Center
Anderson, Robert H., ed. Education in Anticipation of Tomorrow: The Lamplighter
Seminar. (Worthington, Ohio: Charles A. Jones Publishing Company, 1973).
Optional: Available in CRS Center
Center
for Montessori Studies
This is the Center for Montessori Studies at the University of Seattle,
partially supported by the American Montessori Society. Contains useful
information on Montessori education and Maria Montessori.
Dealey Montessori Academy
This is the web site of a Montessori school in Dallas which is part of the
Dallas public school system.
Index
to Montessori school web sites
This is a general Yahoo index to a number of Montessori schools. This may
be useful to see how other Montessori schools are organized throughout the
country.