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The Seminar Building of Mukogawa High School was designed as a school building where "small selective lessons" could be taught, in line with the education policy of developing individuality. By creating a place where students could be made aware of the relationship between students and nature, and between each other, the school has tried to stimulate the students' sensitivity.
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Greenery, a breeze and sunlight
are drawn into the building from the central courtyard
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The block of small classrooms are laid out in a v-shape on the triangular site. There is a large central courtyard in a north-south direction, and a corridor crosses the courtyard to connecting the northern and southern points of the v-shaped building. The courtyard also draws greenery, sunlight and a breeze into the building, and with students moving along the corridor, the sense of activity within the complex is heightened. Large windows have been built into the southern sides of all the classrooms, which not only draw nature inside, but also make the students more aware of time passing outside. The slit windows in all the rooms allow natural breezes to flow inside, and create a flowing line of vision between the classrooms, the corridor and outside.
With regard to the building itself, it has been heat-insulated by planting greenery on the roof, and energy conservation has been achieved by using an ice thermal storage air-conditioning system. This has lead this "ecoschool" to become the first to be recognized as having met the requirements of the Ministry of Education's "Private School Ecoschool Improvement Promotion Work" in Hyogo Prefecture.
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