SCHOOL SECURITY
SCHOOL SECURITY
Ø INTRODUCTION
School security is on everyone's mind recently, however
there is a lot of to security than metal detectors and alternative hardware. If
your district is building new colleges or renovating previous ones, bear in
mind that sensible faculty designing and design — alongside integrated
technology — enhance building security and facilitate forestall the sort of
violence that has been creating headlines.
Working closely with the big apple town Board of Education
and therefore the big apple town faculty Construction Authority, Gruzen Samton
used these ideas in developing a example style for elementary schools settled
on tightly strained sites in an exceedingly sort of urban neighborhoods. The
paradigm relies on a system of study parts consisting of standard room
clusters. Each module consists of 4 L-shaped lecture rooms that area unit
sorted around widened areas within the corridors. These passageway nodes are
given a range of glazed openings into the adjacent lecture rooms, thus allowing
teachers to keep an eye on the activities in the corridor or
"street." Linking these modules consecutive provides the fascinating
straight lines of sight; the articulated corridors lend a spacial richness to
mitigate against a sterile institutional setting.
Ø Inside and out
Working closely with the New York City Board of Education
and the New York City School Construction Authority, Gruzen Samton employed
these concepts in developing a prototype design for elementary schools located
on tightly constrained sites in a variety of urban neighborhoods. The prototype
is based on a system of architectural components consisting of modular
classroom clusters. Each module consists of four L-shaped classrooms that are
grouped around widened areas in the corridors. These corridor nodes have been
provided with a variety of glazed openings into the adjacent classrooms, thus
allowing teachers to keep an eye on the activities in the corridor or
"street." Linking these modules sequentially provides the desirable
straight lines of sight; the articulated corridors lend a spatial richness to
mitigate against a sterile institutional environment.
Ø Open to the public
Should colleges be designed as public areas for the
community at large? There square measure security issues on either aspect of
this issue. Making a faculty quite simply an academic facility that closes at
three p.m. is a method to create it safer for college kids, many designers say.
A school that's thought-about a civic building and valued by adults throughout
the community is seen during a special method and treated that way--as a hall
or police building or court. For example, graffiti is rarely found on buildings
that are valued and central to a community. Scheduled activities within the
evenings and on weekends signal that the varsity could be a community facility.
And keeping the varsity open once mid-afternoon creates a security internet for
those students UN agency opt to keep later. If the varsity could be a
perpetually active place, children won't be isolated
Ø Movement and scale
Other security issues embody control and college size.
Stuyvesant high school, located in New York City's Battery Park City, includes
a 10-story classroom wing that was revolutionary when it was designed in 1988.
A major useful drawback was a way to enable large numbers of scholars to
maneuver quickly through the building between categories. Gruzen Samton, in
association with Cooper Oscar Robertson, resolved this issue by providing
stacked escalator banks that connect 2 floors at a time. The advantage of this
arrangement is that there's constant activity and vision on every floor and
more room, that reduces state of affairs and shove. Advice for planners
I.
There is no single formula for planning safe
colleges, though some principles apply in several instances. First and
foremost, the designer has got to be knowledgeable the coed body and therefore
the wants of the community.
II.
"Architects, and school administrators who
work with architects must realize that design comes second, and functionality
comes first," says Howard Koenig, superintendent of the 6,271-student
Central Islip district. Koenig has many items of recommendation for architects
and faculty directors for coming up with safe schools:
III.
Shorter corridors on a sq. building set up
create the building easier to secure via clear lines of sight. With a sq. plan,
2 employee’s members will see the complete building at anybody time. With a
circular set up, it would take five or six hallway personnel to secure the
school. Central Islip's high school was built in the 1960s with a circular
central wing with curved corridors surrounding the auditorium. The school is
tough to secure as a result of the corridors have constant blind spots. The
room additions at Central Islip were designed to supply clear lines of sight.
IV.
Schools should be planned with sufficient locker
space so students can put their coats or other outdoor wear away when they
arrive. No student ought to ever wear outside gear within the lecture rooms or
alternative tutorial areas. In addition, students ought to perceive that
lockers area unit faculty property, and as such, are on loan and are subject to
inspection at any time.
V.
Internal and external TV monitors ought to be
put in in colleges. At the Central Islip faculties, all major assembly
areas--cafeteria, hallways, auditorium, parking lots — have closed-circuit
cameras constantly monitoring activity. In addition, a uniformed patrol force
is on constant watch at the schools and on school grounds.