Participatory design for a sustainable environment: Integrating school design using students' preferences

Our environment is an essential factor in designing a user-preference-based place. This study investigates the effects of the environment on users in determining their preferences for schools. The school environment/surroundings affect students in terms of their behaviour and achievements. It can be an advantage if students' take a liking to their school building, as this emotion can motivate them to attend the school eagerly. Consequently, since a child's view of a space is different from an adult's view, a school space should be built according to the requirements and factors that are specific to the children and important for them in this environment. In this study, female elementary schools located in District 1 of Tehran, Iran have been investigated qualitatively using card sorting techniques followed by semi-structured interviews in order to determine their preferences regarding their school buildings' attributes. The results were analyzed using content analysis. It was revealed that students preferred having playgrounds, colourful buildings, big interior spaces, wide windows, curvy shaped facades, articulated facades, and stairs in school buildings; they did not express a preference for tall buildings and being near streets. The results reveal that having these spaces could influence the student's evaluation of the school.