Harmony Montessori School in Mumbai encourages autonomy for children

Having a legacy of over 20 years, Harmony Montessori, in Mumbai, has continued to provide Montessori education for children from age 14 months to 12 years. This new school premise is tucked into an old industrial complex with other commercial units. The school is accessed by an approach road which provides for favorable decibel levels for a school premise. Throughout the school, the selected material is carefully chosen for the décor and are sustainable as well as support local craftsmanship. The main entrance lead one through an interesting wall feature composed with flying birds, locally crafted in cane, that symbolize freedom and exploration, Montessori’s core philosophy.

The design development focused on reflecting the Montessori philosophy by encouraging children independent exploration, hence the design team was mindful of the physical proportions of children during the design process. With a priority to achieve openness, the school is developed with an open floor plan layout which imparts flexibility and provides unobstructed spaces of learning and play. The final layout holds three classrooms with a common play space and its supporting areas. The common play area provides for an informal learning space with continuous array of windows that floods the space with natural light and ventilation. The open plan layout also allows each and every classroom with a sliding door which can be fully opened and provide ample space for free play. Along the entire ceiling of play area, a baffle ceiling of non-woven polyester fiber acoustical panels is used to absorb the reflected sound during the peak hours of the school. This is made from recycled plastic bottles and have high NRC (Noise Reduction Quotient) which provided the appropriate sustainable solution for this school. This baffle ceiling is also part of all the three classrooms.

All the classrooms are of different areas but are well equipped with shelves at child appropriate heights to support the prepared Montessori environment for independent learning. While the design studio looked past the standard rectangular layout for each classroom, the design layout incorporated articulated niches to provide pocket spaces for multiple learning activities. The sensorial impact of the surroundings on children in a school affects the quality of learning and hence the design enabled in forming a blueprint for future preschool designs.