Innovation: We created a place to play, learn and discover, with our Learning Landscapes principles as a starting point, which is based on 6 pillars: be playful, inclusive, resilient, connecting, healthy and biophilic. The design is focused on the needs and wellbeing of people using it (children, teachers, parents and others involved). In this case it is based on the ‘persoonlijk leren’ teaching methods of the TOV school, which it enhances and supports. Including the intrinsic desire of the school to be ‘open to everyone’ and a valuable visible part of society. The school is therefore specifically developed from the inside-out, thus reversing the ‘standard’ principle of designing a school to optimize connections with its surroundings and making good use of daylight. All rooms are focused towards the outside, surrounding a central core, without using doors. In this way we created almost a single open and flexible space. And, because of the shapes that are used, it has a natural positive influence on acoustics, sense of security and wellbeing. The layout is also done is a way that it is easy to adapt and change the use of certain spaces. Thus making it applicable for various (future) educational methods, and a shrinking or growing amount of children. Sustainability: 
 With a good story to tell for the children, circularity plays an important role in this project. D/DOCK partnered up with Furnify and HumanOffice to be able to create a sustainable landscape, which is a leading example for the kids, parents and the larger school community. As with every non-profit organization, it’s not easy to realize your ideals and meet the requirements with minimum budgets, as well as collaborating with all stakeholders. But we’ve established a beautiful and warm environment for everybody in the school. It’s supported by several organizations which donated their furniture, creating an interesting mixture of elements that worked out very well, creating a more homelike and inviting mood, not using standard school furniture items. Teachers, children and parents feel very comfortable in it. Creativity: In our work, we took into account that children will mostly be working in smaller groups and are being coached by their teachers. There is no focus on traditional classrooms or on a central square, but on many smaller places to gather, work, learn or play. Though each group does have a personal space that is their safe haven and place to return to for group meetings. The open façade and the square sized floors are used to our advantage and each corner is made functional. No corridors can be found and each space flows into the other, without disturbing each other. Walking around in the school, you always discover something new or unexpected. It doesn’t let you see everything at once at any time. This enhances the feeling of play and discovery and boosts creativity. Also included is a small roof top terrace for teaching outside, growing some plants or just relaxing. Teaching can be done outside just as well as inside. In general we gave the school enough tools to make the space their own. A day at school is never the same, so moving furniture around or changing the function of a space should be easy to do for the teachers, and intuitive in its use. Inclusivity: It’s a diverse environment that considers unique individual needs, such as different types of working and a sheltered environment for each of its users. From little corners and rooms, to big windows overlooking the schoolyard and the neighborhood. This big diversity in places to work, allows every specific child to be free to choose the spot that feels good for them at that time. And this way of working gives the opportunity to use all spaces at all times. Meaning we make optimal use of the m2’s the school is given, and let children of different ages mingle and learn from each other spontaneously. So the building itself is also used as an organism that changes and adapts to the users that inhabit it. This symbiosis is very important in our eyes to create a future proof environment. An environment that can also grow into something else in the future, when education changes, when the needs of the local neighborhood changes, or when the amount of the children needing education diminishes. An inclusive design for a building goes a long way. Functionality: The physical surrounding affects people’s way of learning just as much as the educational process does. We belief that the school building should not only support but especially strengthen the educational system. In our processes and design for the TOV school, we’ve first acquainted ourselves with the educational methods of this particular school, to be able to support their ideas and bring it to a higher level. For this we have started the process by created a program of requirements based on the use and experience of a building, as an addition to the general m2 requirements of such a program. This has been our starting point for the design, co-creating with the architect and many people involved in the TOV school and the other organization with whom they share the building.