classroom of the future award - architecture for humanity

earlier this week architecture for humanity announced the eight finalists for
the 2009 open architecture challenge - classroom of the future award. 10,000 architects,
teachers and students came together to develop designs for more than 500 schools
in 65 countries all seeking a solution to a common issue - how can we create innovative,
sustainable yet affordable and adaptable learning environments?

designers entering the competition were given a simple mandate: collaborate with
real students in real schools in their community to develop real solutions.

the need for safe, sustainable, smart classroom design has never been greater.
worldwide, 776 million people are illiterate. with less than six years left to meet the
UN millennium development goals, the world bank estimates ten million new
classrooms are needed to reach its target equal access to primary education.

the eight finalists entries were:
the blurred classroom
teton valley community school
teksing bamboo school
classroom for the salt pan community
a sustainable community classroom for uganda
extending the classroom
justified architecture in a landscape of transition
adaptable hillside classrooms

the overall winner will be announced in august.


justified architecture in a landscape of transition
design team: arquitectura justa - wolfgang timmer, fabiola uribe, t. luke young, bogota, colombia
partner/ location: waldorf educational & social organization, ciudad bolívar, bogota, colombia


classroom for the saltpan community, cohesion foundation
design team: rajesh kapoor, prashant solanky, bharat karamchandani, kiran vaghela, gujarat, india
partner/location: cohesion foundation, kutch, gujarat, india


bamboowod school,
design team: petr kostner, martina sobotkova, sona huberova, czech republic
partner/ location: antarastriya yuba barsais, kavre, central nepal


blurred classroom
design team: gensler, new york, united states
partner/ location: future leaders’ institute, new york,  united states


house in the wood / rowe elementary school
design team: built form, LLC / northwestern university settlement house, chicago, united states
partner/location: northwestern university settlement house, delavan, wisconsin, united states


adaptable hillside classrooms
design team: feilden clegg bradley studios & afh UK
partner/ location: bunyonyi community school, kabale, uganda


a sustainable community classroom
design team: gifford, london, UK
partner/ location: building tomorrow, uganda


teton valley community school
design team, section eight design, idaho, united states
partner/ location: teton valley community school, victor, idaho, united states

the open architecture network was created by architecture for humanity, a non-profit
organization co-founded by cameron sinclair. the network is an online community
‘dedicated to improving living conditions through innovative and sustainable design’.
the 2009 open architecture challenge was hosted by architecture for humanity and principal
partner orient global in collaboration with a consortium of other partners around the world.