CREATING THE VISION for the Inner Courtyard

at the Cape Elizabeth Middle School:


“I do not understand how anyone can live without one small

place of enchantment to turn to”

- Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings from: “Quotes”


Each student will have the opportunity to participate

in planning the Vision, The Design, and doing the Hands-on

Creating of the Inner Courtyard. The purpose of which is to

create a space that is fitting for the needs of the students,

the school, and community.


Key points to remember when coming up with ideas for

the usage and look of this space:


You, as designer, have a responsibility to all who enter this

space. You must realize that every architectural space has a

profound affect on the human senses. The purpose of this

space and the design elements of color, shapes, images,

forms, and symbols, all have impact on the human psyche.


“Architecture has responsibilities to minimize pollution and

ecological damage, responsibilities to minimize adverse

biological effects on occupants, responsibilities to be sensitive

to and act harmoniously in the surroundings, responsibilities

to the human individualities who will come in contact with the

building, responsibilities not only in the visual aesthetic

sphere and through the outer senses but also to the intangible

but perceptible ‘spirit of place’.

- From: “Places of the Soul: Architecture and Environmental Design as a Healing Art”

by Christopher Day


“Architecture is the thoughtful making of space.”

-Louis Kahn (1901 -1974), Professor at the University of Pennsylvania,

who was a philosopher-architect


Worksheet for developing The Vision, the purpose

and look of this space.

Click here for the printable page.