Oakland/Berkeley color consultant reveals: It's Elementary, my dear. Elementary.

I am working on a project for a small elementary school in the area, and have been poking around to see if there are any good examples out there of appropriately colored schools.

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You see a lot of this

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and this.
Does no-one ever consider the exterior of a school as contributing to it's image? What about the interior, and how it affects the attitudes of students and teachers?

Here's a excellent example I learned about: Carlin Springs Elementary School in Virginia.

Notice the nice tonal variations used? Middle value brick on the bottom balanced by a lighter peachy tone in the middle, topped by a strip of white. All this warmth is balanced by little bits of green here and there in window shades, awnings, and roofs. A nice cohesive, balanced palette that is pleasing to the eye.
The school's missions is to strive for excellence. I tip my hat to the architecture firm, who knew that the exterior (and interior!) of this building could help develop that image, promote the school's message, and make a more encouraging, inspiring learning and working environment for students and teachers alike.


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The school theme is “Making a World of Difference", and as it serves an international community of children in grades pre-K through 5, this is a nice touch. The building features a “Main Street,” where flags from the native countries of students and their families hang. 40 in all, I've read.
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The main staircase is walled with tiles depicting 3-d hand prints made by the students. The hands represent the many cultures and nationalities among the student body. Notice the use of color in this space, from the stairs, to the cheerful blue walls, to the yellow accents here and there.
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I wouldn't mind curling up with a good book in the organic reading area. Cozy with the natural light and warm light wood, and calming with shades of blue and gray in the carpet.
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The custom-designed vinyl floors throughout the school are meant to represent the idea of one world connected through natural resources. Here, we have a "stream" flanked by "beaches" in the cafeteria/performance area. I love the ceiling treatment with "cloud" panels- how whimsical

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To convey the concept of global ecology, the architectural team designed a number of corridor floors to represent blue and brown snow-capped mountains.
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The "streams" that run down hallways all eventually "flow" down to the main hall area. Nice idea for way-finding: can't figure out how to get to the main area? Follow the stream!

What do you think of the concept? How do you think it was executed? While we're on the topic of schools, and since education is so vitally important for shaping the minds of the next generation, why do you think so little emphasis is placed on nurturing them? From budget cuts for teachers and classes, to the total disregard for physical learning environments, I'd like to hear your thoughts.