My Undergraduate Research Forum at Prince Sultan University, Riyadh, KSA -15 Feb, 2016

1. Kindergarten Design Focusing on
Creating Healthy and Comfortable
Environment
BY: SIHAM EL-SAADI
212410698
SECOND UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH FORUM
15-FEB-2016
SUPERVISED BY: DR. JULIANNA LIPTAK VARADI
Google: sustainable kindergarten Google: sustainable kindergarten

2. "Sustainability creates and maintains the
conditions under which humans and
nature can exist in productive harmony."
(Pinterest.com)
Kindergarten Design Focusing on Creating Healthy and Comfortable Environment- by Siham El-Saadi 1/18

3. In this research I will talk about Sustainable Kindergartens,
and how can we create a sustainable kindergartens for kids
through an important small part from the complexity of
sustainable kindergartens which is the Indoor Environment.
This research consists of three important parts that are
covered and taken into consideration, which are: Literature
study, Own on-site measurements, and Parent’s
Questionnaire.
Kindergarten Design Focusing on Creating Healthy and Comfortable Environment- by Siham El-Saadi 2/18
Google: sustainable kindergarten Google: sustainable kindergarten Google: sustainable kindergarten Google: sustainable kindergarten

4. Complexity of Sustainable Kindergarten
Kindergarten Design Focusing on Creating Healthy and Comfortable Environment- by Siham El-Saadi 3/18

5. Interior Environment Specialties of Sustainable
Kindergarten
• Interior Finishes
• Colors
• Facilities
• Fire and Safety Regulations
• Education Equipment
• Furniture Ergonomics
• Indoor Air Quality
Pinterest: sustainable kindergarten Pinterest: sustainable kindergarten
Pinterest: sustainable kindergarten Pinterest: sustainable kindergarten
Kindergarten Design Focusing on Creating Healthy and Comfortable Environment- by Siham El-Saadi 4/18

6. Interior Finishes-Materials
• Wall Finishes:
• Paint: must be Non-Toxic
• High-Build Coatings: by allowing time to off-gassing
• Glazed Coatings: suitable for wet areas
• Display Surfaces: such as Marker boards and Magnet Boards
• Floor Finishes:
• Carpet: It’s complex, fixed over large areas with underlayment pads for safety and allergy issue
• Sheet Vinyl: For Children’s Toilets, but allow time for off-gassing
• Linoleum: same as Vinyl BUT without off-gassing
• Rugs: Fixed on floor for safety by Underlayment pads
• Ceilings:
• Acoustical Ceiling Tile: economical and produce a home-like Environment
• Painted Gypsum Board: for areas with soffits, ceiling height changes, vaults, and wet areas
• Exposed Structural Ceiling: provide interesting environment and increase the height in low spaces
• Luminous Ceilings: Should NOT be used in areas occupied by children
http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/tta-system/teaching/eecd/Learning%20Environments/Materials%20and%20Equipment/edudev_art_00064_051606.html
Kevingrayinteriors.com
Pinterest.com
Kindergarten Design Focusing on Creating Healthy and Comfortable Environment- by Siham El-Saadi 5/18

7. Colors
• Welcoming Colors:Crisp, bright orange, yellow and green are the most
welcoming colors. Walls in a kindergarten classrooms painted in these shades create a warm
and happy space.
• Calming Colors:The use of vibrant blues and greens in classrooms for young
students gives an air of peace and calmness to the space.
• Blues symbolizes peace, harmony and wisdom.
• Greens symbolizes harmony and nurturing.
• Creative Colors: such as deep royal blue, it creates an excellent backdrop
for posters, pictures and artwork.
http://www.brighthubeducation.com/teaching-elementary-school/121471-the-importance-of-color-in-kindergarten-classrooms/
“Color in the kindergarten classroom and its use can determine how students feel as well as
how they behave.”
Google: Kindergarten colors
Kindergarten Design Focusing on Creating Healthy and Comfortable Environment- by Siham El-Saadi 6/18

8. Facilities
• Eating and rest facilities
• There shall be no more than eight children at one table at one time during lunch.
• A sanitary cot shall be provided for each child who spends more than four hours per day at the
school.
• There shall be at least two feet between cots at resting time.
• Sanitary facilities
• There shall be at least one flush toilet (open seat), stationary washbowl and a low mirror for each
group of 15 children.
• If these facilities are not child-size, low platforms or steps shall be available.
• A sink with running water shall be in or readily available to every classroom.
• Outdoor play area
• There shall be at least 18.6 m2 of outdoor play area per child.
• Outdoor play area shall be easily accessible to the classroom and toilet facilities.
• Enclosed by perpendicular wooden or wire fencing, a low wall or dense shrubbery.
http://www.p12.nysed.gov/nurseryschool/regulations/NurserySchoolsRegulations.html
http://www.edb.gov.hk/attachment/en/edu-system/preprimary-kindergarten/overview/Operation%20Mannal_eng.pdf
Kindergarten Design Focusing on Creating Healthy and Comfortable Environment- by Siham El-Saadi 7/18

9. Fire and Safety Regulations
• Exits and Stairs
• Each floor used by children shall have two means of exit remote from each other immediately
accessible from all rooms.
• In schools with three or more classrooms, all outside exit doors shall open outward and shall be
lockable from the outside only.
• All stairs used by children shall be constructed of fire-resistive material or finished with fire
retardant materials or coatings, shall be in good repair, and equipped with hand rails of suitable
height and circumference for young children.
• Fire equipment
• Fire detection, fire alarm and fire fighting equipment, including an adequate number of fire
extinguishers, appropriate to the type of building and occupancy, shall be provided.
• Windows and Parapet
• The height of all parapets and window openings shall be at least 1.1 m above the level of the
floor
• Windows must provide effective protection against insects , such as window net.
http://www.p12.nysed.gov/nurseryschool/regulations/NurserySchoolsRegulations.html
http://www.edb.gov.hk/attachment/en/edu-system/preprimary-kindergarten/overview/Operation%20Mannal_eng.pdf
Kindergarten Design Focusing on Creating Healthy and Comfortable Environment- by Siham El-Saadi 8/18

10. Education Equipment
• Indoors
• A classroom shall include areas for block building, housekeeping,
water play, creative arts, painting and clay and collage, science
and nature study, cooking and music.
• Outdoors
• Outdoor equipment shall include permanent, well-anchored
structures for climbing and dramatic play.
• There shall be movable equipment, wheel toys, tricycles, wagons,
trucks, building equipment, ladders, sawhorses and a shed or
area to store this equipment.
Google: kindergarten indoor activity
Google: kindergarten outdoor activity
Kindergarten Design Focusing on Creating Healthy and Comfortable Environment- by Siham El-Saadi 9/18

11. Furniture Ergonomics
• Dimensions
• Adjustable and suitable for students and teachers
• Safety
• Safe and recyclable materials such as plastics and wood
• Curved and Smooth edges and corner
• Safe construction and joining
• Sanitary
• Durable
• Easy to clean
• Stain Resistance
• Provide Children needs
• Flexibility/movable
• Active sitting
• Comfort
• Excellent examples by VS for School Furniture and Office Furniture:
http://vs.de/kiga/en/
Kindergarten Design Focusing on Creating Healthy and Comfortable Environment- by Siham El-Saadi 10/18

12. Indoor Air Quality
• Healthy indoor air quality improve the
health of students, faculty and staff and
can result in decreased absenteeism.
• More time in school translates into
increased productivity and enhanced
student performance.
• Improve Attendance
• The CO2 concentration is the important
factor of good indoor air quality.
http://www.zyaura.com/products/ZGkb.asp
Kindergarten Design Focusing on Creating Healthy and Comfortable Environment- by Siham El-Saadi 11/18

13. ON-SITE MEASUREMENTS
Kindergarten Design Focusing on Creating Healthy and Comfortable Environment- by Siham El-Saadi 12/18

14. Kindergarten Design Focusing on Creating Healthy and Comfortable Environment- by Siham El-Saadi 13/18
ON-SITE MEASUREMENTS

15. Students age: 3 to 6 years
53.8 % Male and 46.2 % Female
Spent hours in kindergarten: 51.9 % 5 to 6 hrs. and 37 % 7 to 8 hrs.
9 different countries/cities
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PARENT’S QUESTIONNAIRE

16. PARENT’S QUESTIONNAIRE
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17. Improvement Suggestions from parents:
-Warmer indoor temperature in winter
-More natural light
-More indoor space for kids
-More time spent on fresh air
-Better building to have beautiful bigger
gardens space
Best thing in their kids kindergarten:
-Teaching and teachers
-Home like atmosphere
-Close to workplace, home, and in town
Environmental responsibility and respect:
- Average results, it differs from school
to another and from country to another
Parent’s Questionnaire Results
Kindergarten Design Focusing on Creating Healthy and Comfortable Environment- by Siham El-Saadi 16/18
1: Very Bad 2: Bad 3: Average 4: Good 5: Excellent

18. As a conclusion, what I have covered in this research is just a small
part to provide a safe, healthy, and productive environment for kids to
learn. For a successful sustainable environment, as a human beings we
must work as a team with each other and with nature.
And how pleasant our life will be, if we covered all the complexity of
sustainability whether for kids or for all the world…
“The care of the earth is our most ancient and most worthy, and after
all, our most pleasing responsibility”
-Windell Berry-
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19. Thank You
SIHAM FOUAD EL-SAADI
PRINCE SULTAN UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR DESIGN AND ARCHITECTURE
SFELSAADI@HOTMAIL.COM
HTTPS://SA.LINKEDIN.COM/IN/SIHAM-EL-SAADI
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