In the categories of the ARCHIMATIKA company, the PSI school is quite a PRO-school. PSI is one of the few in Kiev working under the International Baccalaureate (IB) programs: teaching is in English, a lot of attention is paid to art and sports, children are taught to think critically, with tolerance, and the school environment as a whole contributes to the disclosure of their personality. Children from 3 to 18 years old study at PSI, a third of them are Ukrainians, the rest are from other 40 countries of the world, 450 in total. The school received its name from the district in which it was originally located - Pechersk, its founders considered it appropriate to refer to the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra as historical education center.
PSI Pechersk International School from Archimatika on Vimeo.
The school is located in a residential area of the early 2000s, between the Goloseevskaya and Demeevskaya metro stations. The old building, to which ARCHIMATIKA was to add new blocks, is an elongated typical two-story building, according to which it is difficult to understand that there is a progressive school inside. According to the director of the ARCHIMATIKA company Alexander Popov, it rather "reflected the value of the outgoing era - the school as an equalizing gray barracks." In addition, the administration wanted a building that met IB standards and functionality: at that time, there were not enough spacious classrooms, a large assembly hall, a sports pool and a suitable environment for extracurricular activities.
ARCHIMATICS has set itself the task of linking the new building with the old one and highlighting PSI's innovative approach to the educational process, in which creative and sports activities play an important role.
Alexander Popov says: “The new building was supposed to reflect the new era. We did not want to cross out the outdated style of the previous building with a contrasting solution. But they also did not want to fall under his influence. Therefore, we came up with the idea of evolution: to develop the old architecture to a new quality. We left the number of storeys, beige and brown colors, and introduced new materials, bright colors, a variety of plastic techniques."
The new building consists of three interconnected buildings. The first is a connecting link that continues the "corridor" of the typical block. The border turned out to be clear, but at the same time respectful and quite natural. The new building is executed in approximately the same proportions and colors, but it conveys a completely different idea: among the windows, assembled in the frame of a brick belt, there is not a single one that is alike. In this part, the classrooms of the early development center are located.
The main volume - a functionally rich four-story building - is a little stricter. Here, the sound of bright colors dies down to thin inserts in the walls, red brick begins to prevail, the material of classical English schools and the most coveted campuses, where PSI students are likely to go after graduation.
In the basement of the building there are swimming pool changing rooms. Outside, the ground floor is highlighted in white; there is a hall with a public meeting and waiting area, a sports hall with telescopic stands, two climbing walls and a cafeteria.
The second floor is dedicated to creative pursuits. There are studios for music, drama and dance classes. One of the auditoriums is called the Black Box - all walls, floors and ceilings are black for a better perception of stage effects. On the third floor there are laboratories and spacious rooms up to 100 m2 for practicing chemistry, biology and physics. The fourth floor is occupied by a multifunctional auditorium that can be used for meetings, theater performances and other events: inside there is a mobile stage and movable lighting.
The last, third, building is a sports hall. This is a simple volume, but rather solemn due to white columns-piers and sonorous due to dark window openings, reduced by color inserts to "keys" of sharp / flat.
In the basement of this building there are two swimming pools for children of different ages. The rest of the space is occupied by a sports hall, again multifunctional. The stands are made telescopic, that is, they can move inward, freeing up space. There is also a special partition, thanks to which the hall can be used simultaneously by two classes. The school administration plans not only to train its teams here, but also to invite pupils from other countries to the competitions.
A courtyard was formed between the old and new buildings, which was also landscaped by ARCHIMATIKA. Here, kindergarten and elementary school pupils meet with older students: playgrounds side by side with an amphitheater, where you can conduct extracurricular activities, outdoor activities, or just meet and communicate.
By the time of design, most of the engineering networks had already been created, and the electricity limit limited the selection of engineering equipment. ARCHIMATIKA decided to install a heat pump, which not only saves energy, but also makes the school autonomous in terms of heating. An operational 6-dimensional BIM model was also prepared - we are talking about three dimensions of space plus a work schedule, an estimate of their cost and, finally, an information model that allows you to manage energy costs, monitor the operation of engineering equipment and monitor its maintenance.
The interior of the school was designed by
SVOYA Studio. The designers tried not to overload the space, placing accents mainly with the help of lighting. Their solutions also meet the demand for quick changes: modular furniture in the hall, sliding panels for announcements on the walls, behind which there is a plasma model, and on the opposite wall in niches, awards and student cups are stored. One of the non-standard solutions is white tiles in the pool bowl. So the designers wanted to emphasize that the school takes care of children, and the water will always be clean.
Through architecture and design, PSI has gained a space that works in tune with modern pedagogy. The premises are spacious, bright and beautiful. Wednesday encourages communication, observation and walking. There is every opportunity to practice, train, demonstrate your skills and, just as important, relax. Space does not set rigid boundaries, but allows itself to change, adapting to the needs of the new generation.
Recently, the school building was awarded the first prize of the Ukrainian Urban Awards in the category "Architecture of public facilities".
