Takaharu Tezuka explains the choices he made while building a school in Fuji Kindergarten, one of his best known works. In his TEDxTalk Building towards the future Tezuka discusses the ideas and methods behind his work and how they allow him to create amazing structures.
The school is built as a large hollow oval, because children love to run around in a circle. Trees present in the build site have been maintained and jut up through the roof - Tezuka discusses the design tradeoffs that had to be made so that the trees could be left, the children could be happy playing in the trees and the state could be happy with the safety requirements.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvSZ1MtaXME&list=PLsRNoUx8w3rOUd-XNg7DppfvOQnMz_mlF
Wide open architecture is one aspect of the school that allows its students many freedoms and a lack of boundaries. Being stuck all day in a white box can make students very nervous and agitate students with autistic tendencies.
Noise level is also a consideration designed into the architecture of the school. Tezuka says that ambient sound is important to students so that they're comfortable learning and are able to concentrate under many different conditions.
A more interesting idea from this talk is that kids need a small dose of danger in their development. Takaharu also built a large play structure next to the school and allowed his two children to be the stunt testers.
Low crawlspaces, jumps that were high but not too high, and a tree for climbing in the middle of the structure all give the students an element of adventure while maintaining a safe environment. Challenges inherent in the design require the students to team together and help each other to overcome obstacles.
Tezuka is a great speaker - he has a laid back attitude and dry wit with great comedic timing. He is able to discuss all of the constraints and requirements of a complex and high visibility project at an easy level.
This talk would benefit from more technical details about the construction and project management sides of the school. Many details are available on Tezuka's incredibly detailed website along with discussions of his other high profile projects.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvSZ1MtaXME&list=PLsRNoUx8w3rOUd-XNg7DppfvOQnMz_mlF