Creating efficient learning space: Interior design grads renovate classroom for kids with special needs

A classroom to learn real-world skills for students with special needs – how to fix a bed, work at a sari-sari store, to cook, and to garden --  has been renovated to create a safe and comfortable environment by a group of women interior designers as their special project for graduation.

The classroom is at the Villamor Air Base Elementary School’s (VABES) Special Education (SPED) Center. Located in Pasay City, the special education program center was established in July 2012, initially with only a few pupils but has grown to 101 special needs students, under the care of five dedicated teachers, according to VABES principal Glenda D. Tabaquiaro.

SUCCESSFUL TURNOVER of the Technical Vocational Room (TechVoc) at the Villamor Air Base Elementary School, with faculty and special needs students present last April (Photo courtesy Sibol '23)

The group responsible for the renovation is composed of 14 women student designers from De La Salle College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB). They call themselves “SIBOL ‘23,” or ‘sprout’ in English, which reflects their mission to be the "seed which guides learners to start a new chapter in their lives,” through “human-centered” design.

“As college students in our final term, we consider this capstone project as a lasting legacy that we will leave behind after we graduate,” said Angelica Jane Reyes, Sibol’s project manager.

“Our inspiration for this project stems from the desire to apply the knowledge and skills we have acquired throughout our previous years of study, particularly in designing for children with special needs. Above all, our ultimate goal is to improve the learning environment for these children and make a positive impact on their lives,” Reyes added.

The project, they said, made them feel like working in the “real-world” interior design industry “with frequent site visits, sourcing materials, and attending alignment meetings with our team.”

The renovated rooms will be used for the pre-vocational level of students aged 13 to 24 years old. According to Tabaquiaro, the pre-vocational level is the exit door of students to the real world where it gives “students an edge to prepare them to become independent as they can be.”

“This gift will surely be treasured…you are giving hope to our learners and their families by allowing them to be educated in the most conducive and comfortable classroom through your project,” Tabaquiaro said during the online unveiling.

The project

The 58-square-meter technical-vocational room of the school was incorporated with an “organic theme,” and features many sections designed to foster skills in different aspects.

MULTIPURPOSE DESKS for individual and collaborative learning (Photo courtesy Sibol '23)

The main area, which is the learning and multi-purpose stations is a space for lectures, arts and crafts, worksheet activities, tests, and other class activities. It has a whiteboard and TV a form of visual learning. It also features a wall mural that shows a variety of fruits, vegetables, cooking tools, and gardening tools to help students familiarize themselves with everyday equipment.

The room also features a collaborative seating design which can also be separated, or combined for individual and collaborative learning of students to encourage social skills and productivity.

SPACIOUS COUNTERS for the Culinary Area that extend up to the sari-sari store-inspired Selling Station (Photo courtesy Sibol '23)

A bed-making station is designed to give students actual experience in folding sheets and fixing bed linens.

Beside it is the selling station to replicate a sari-sari store where students can learn skills in entrepreneurship, selling, and money handling.

The culinary station is designed to teach students cooking, selling, and money-handling skills. It is equipped with a refrigerator, pantry, dishwashing station, cooking station, and preparation station. It is also positioned by the windows for proper air circulation.

The fourth feature is the plant station to allow students to learn gardening skills at the plant shelves with the use of tools from a gardening tool shelf.

There is an interactive wall that is used for spelling activities.

The room also has two lounges and waiting areas for parents who wait for the students.

The floors define the specific sections of the room through color-coded tiles, different for each section of the room.

“Our project aimed to create an inclusive environment for children with special needs, and

achieving this required us to conduct extensive research, observe, implement, and produce our design ideas,” Reyes said.

The renovation project took four months to complete from the survey and design phase, and construction, up to the unveiling on April 18, and the turnover event on April 20.

The renovation of the selected school is part of a program of DLS-CSB’s Interior Design Exhibit (INTDXHI) of the Bachelor of Science in Interior Design that puts the students’ “learning into practice through service-learning opportunities,” said IDr. Maria Celiza Sim, academic adviser for the Interior Design, School of Design and Arts of DLS-CSB.

INTERACTIVE WALL installed for spelling activities (Photo courtesy Sibol '23)

It is a program where “students are exposed to current situations and real-life problems that allow them to create proper design solutions to enhance the lifestyle of the users of the space and represent the program and the school with great responsibility,” she added.

The program is considered important as it “creates the opportunity for students to give back to the community through interior design and highlights interior design is for everyone, regardless of age, gender, disability, and status,” Sim said.

Since 2016, graduating students in the INTDXHI program have partnered with different communities.

“We have renovated spaces such as daycare centers, co-working spaces, a community library, a healthcare center, E-LRC for the blind, dining hall for persons with disabilities, and more,” Sim said.

LOUNGE AREA for parents and guardians (Photo courtesy Sibol '23)

The program teaches graduating students to design spaces that are useful and adaptable to equip children to learn skills by emphasizing accessibility, multi-sensorial, and usable design, which are inclusive, universal, and accessible to all learners.

The approach “prepares the students for a career in interior design that prioritizes social responsibility and community engagement, enabling them to create designs that not only look aesthetically pleasing but also function effectively and promote well-being,” Sim said.

“As a result, graduates of the program are equipped to contribute to the design industry with a strong sense of purpose and commitment to social and environmental sustainability,” she added. (Pancho Parian)