STUDENTS REDO THE PORTABLE CLASSROOM.

Byline: Jennifer Hamm Staff Writer

Architecture students at Woodbury University in Burbank have spent recent months thinking outside the box - the portable classroom box.

Transforming the bare-bones, movable construction module into innovative, well-lighted and inviting spaces for learning was the charge given to the nine students in a class assignment sponsored by Southern California Edison.

The project results include two-story portables, portables with solar panels, portables with bright classrooms and a portable greenhouse.

Students rethought energy efficiency, aesthetics, teaching environment and the ways recycled materials are used when it comes to portable classrooms, said Deborah Weintraub, a project manager for the design and engineering services division of Southern California Edison. Five portable classroom designs are now on display at the Form Zero Architectural Books and Gallery in Santa Monica.

The idea was that improving the design of the much-used and often drab classroom alternatives could stimulate learning, the students explained.

``I think kids would actually want to go to school,'' said student Sandra Gonzalez, who made sure there was extra window space in the model she designed. ``That's what we talked about - how these would affect learning.''

The students started their projects in January, visiting schools and builders of portable classrooms. Then they talked to teachers and students to discover how the classroom users felt about teaching and learning inside these structures.

``At best, (portable classrooms are) functional. At worst, they're nightmares,'' said Phillip Steele, a Tujunga resident who worked on the project. ``It's just disappointing. You'd think a city that has a reputation for creativity would do a little better. They're just boxes.''

Steele's alternative design took several regular classrooms and turned them into a two-story complex, complete with two classrooms, a science lab and wall panels that rotate and pop out to allow for extra light. The roofs are slanted to make room for more natural light.

Gonzalez said improving light quality was important in her design too. The 23-year-old Los Angeles resident said young students learn better when there is plenty of light.

To increase energy efficiency, her design included solar panels that would generate 100 watts of energy every hour and store it in a battery. Inside, the model shows an area for classroom instruction and a separate space for arts, crafts or reading.

A portable greenhouse called the green-mobile is also among the students' designs.

Although some of the architectural concepts would be costly to implement, many of the principles could be used to make simple, effective changes, said Weintraub, who worked with the students at the Burbank university.

Once the exhibit is complete, Weintraub hopes to take the designs to the administrative offices of the Los Angeles Unified School District and then to legislators in Sacramento and Washington, D.C.

THE FACTS

--WHO: Woodbury University architecture students who have designed new versions of portable classrooms.

--WHAT: An exhibit featuring five designs.

--WHEN: Monday through Thursday, 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Sunday, 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.

--WHERE: Form Zero Architectural Books and Gallery, 2433 Main St., Santa Monica.

CAPTION(S):

photo, box

Photo: Woodbury University architecture student Sandra Gonzalez puts the finishing touches on her portable-classroom model.

Eric Grigorian/Special to the Daily News

Box: THE FACTS (See text)