Rita Trombin: Biophilia as Teacher at the Green School Bali

The Heart of School creates a space for children to learn from nature

To make the world a better place, learning places must be open spaces. This is the idea at the center of the Green School Bali, which is a radical departure from the experience founder John Hardy had growing up as a child with undiagnosed dyslexia. School put a straight-jacket on his creativity, leaving him deeply disaffected. 

John and his wife, Cynthia, created the Green School to show a different way. Inspired to act after watching Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth, the Hardys believe that education is the best way to change the world. And the best education lets kids get their hands dirty and learn from experience. From this seed, the Green School grew. 

“Rather than containing its learning environment within four walls, the Green School embraces nature and integrates with the outdoors,” according to Rita Trombin, an environmental psychologist who is a former staff member at the school. 

From the choice of indigenous materials, including structural bamboo, to the natural sinuous shapes and patterns throughout, the Green School is designed with biophilia in mind. 

At its core is a building known as the Heart of School, which was inspired by fractal geometry, composed of interwoven spirals that draw upon the Fibonacci sequence that is so common in nature. From above, the roof forms three nautili spiraling into one another, which allows natural light to reach the spaces below. All classrooms are open air, with wide views to the nearby tropical forest.

“The Heart of School’s biophilic architecture was designed as a biological organism living in the community,” notes Trombin. “These spaces are restorative, healthy, and beautiful; they nurture a sense of affection and attachment.”

A three-storey building on steep terrain, the Heart of School is designed to inspire a bond with the surrounding environment, so students can think more expansively about it. The building encourages children and adults alike to seek adventure, connect with others and enjoy coming to school. 

Not surprisingly, the Green School has drawn luminaries such as Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, and primatologist Dr. Jane Goodall. The project has also earned a Stephen R. Kellert Biophilic Design Award from the International Living Future Institute.

The Green School practices holism. As founder John Hardy says about a smiling young student in his TED Talk, “If this little girl graduates as a whole person, chances are she’ll demand a whole world to live on.”

At the Heart of School, innovation and entrepreneurship flourish. Children are encouraged to embrace creativity, following a holistic model of sustainability built around a unique compass: nature (North), economy (East), society (South), and wellbeing (West). 

Every day the Heart of School reminds people that dreams do come true, which is the mindset we desperately need in tomorrow’s leaders to solve the big challenges facing humanity today. 

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