The Island Private School. Landscaping

In the landscaping project for the temporary campus of The Island Private School, we created an environment that accommodates the needs of children of all ages — from preschool to high school.

This project was completed under a tight schedule, while maintaining our core principle: the environment must be flexible, safe, and inspiring.
Given that classrooms and administrative spaces are pre-fabricated containers, the outdoor environment not only assumes the role of recreation but also becomes the heart of school life.

Designing a schoolyard is an art of balancing physical and psychological needs of children, educational requirements, and climate conditions.
Cyprus’s southern climate allows a significant portion of school life to take place outdoors. We therefore included outdoor zones for studying, resting, and playing.
All active areas are equipped with shade structures, and the equipment is selected to withstand heat, intense sunlight, and sandstorms.

The school grounds are divided into three age-specific zones:

• Kindergarten

• Primary school

• Middle and high school

  
  

Each zone is designed according to the developmental needs, activity levels, and the balance between solitude and teamwork.
An essential principle of the design is passive safety — maintaining visual openness and clear sightlines across the site.

The main need of younger children is movement. We designed:

• Running tracks

• Routes for scooters and bikes

• Zones for 3D movement: climbing, jumping, swinging

• Sensory play zones with sand and water

The architect’s work always starts with understanding the school’s mission and values. The school’s culture shapes its architecture.

Natalia Kaurova, Partner and Lead Architect at the architectural studio NF

As children grow, so does the complexity of movement. In the primary school zone, we introduced climbing cubes, large-scale construction sets, and table tennis. Special attention was given to quiet zones where children can rest, work on projects, or read. Mobile furniture — poufs and bean bags — allows children to arrange the space to suit their needs. An outdoor café area with tables, a canopy, and a board that doubles as a screen supports both socializing and learning.

All playground elements were designed not to duplicate each other, but to expand the variety of options. Children can decide for themselves what to do at any given moment — play, study, rest, socialize, or be alone. This helps them develop skills of self-organization, spatial orientation, and conscious behavior.