CHAPTER VIII Trend in Materials and Design

THE past three and a half years have produced marked progress in the conception and design of the school plant. The urgent need for educa-tional facilities, the necessity of economical planning, and an increased emphasis on function rather than tradition have all focused attention on a new and exciting design philosophy. It was quite encouraging to note the informal, friendly type of building which came into prominence at the expense of the more rigid, monumental type of structure commonly erected to serve as a school building. Great emphasis has been placed on safety, child scale, satisfactory illumination, and flexible arrangement of the component parts of the schoolhouse to permit joint use of the entire project by children and adults alike, either separately or simultaneously. There was a marked tendency toward proper cooperation between the educator and architect to produce schoolhouses which would further the educational program of a school district rather than serve as a question-able monument to either or both of the parties involved. Such a tendenc