To What Extent Do Preschool Classrooms Match With The Architectural Design Considerations? Al-Khums City Centre, Libya as Case Study

Abstract

In the recent few years, there has been a continued increase in the number of preschools in Libya in general and in AL-Khums city in particular. The classrooms are crucially important in terms of child development during preschool education. There is a lack of prior local studies that deal with the architectural design standards of preschools. Indeed, most preschools in Al-Khums city were not standard and appropriately designed for children as preschools. They are originally residential buildings with switched usage. The main aim of this research is to investigate to what extent the classrooms match with the principles and design standards that specific to the Libyan context in the field of preschools design. These principles and criteria for the design of preschools in Al-Khums city will help decision-makers, architects, educational institutions, teachers, supervisors to ensure quality education that provided to children in a perfect indoor environment. To achieve the aim of this research, three preschools in the city centre has been selected. The results let to the conclusion that all of the classrooms are not enough for indoor children's activities. Hence, it is obvious from this small-scale study that the preschools in Libya do not respond to the needs of preschoolers. Thereby, the successful architectural design of preschools is the process that meets all the functional and educational requirements. This is done by taking into account the architectural design principles for the classrooms during the design process.