All cisterns go! Rain flushes the loos at futuristic college

The toilets flush using rainwater harvested from the roof. The walls are brightly coloured to keep students awake and oxygen may even be pumped into the building.

Corridors are broad and spacious in order to prevent bullying. In some schools, passageways are being taken out completely.

Welcome to the school of the future. Some of these modern concepts are incorporated into the design of Piper's Hill college, a Kildare VEC school that is considered one of the most innovative in the country.

At the school near Naas a rainwater harvesting system has been put in place and this flushes the toilets. Solar panels are used to heat the water.

Until recently, design in Irish schools was not considered to be of great importance. For decades, most schools followed a familiar pattern with a rectangular building, with long corridors flanked by block-like classrooms -- and perhaps a few prefabs tacked on. Heating systems blast away inefficiently and heating immersions might be left on indefinitely.

Now with energy efficiency a priority, school authorities and Department of Education officials are placing a greater emphasis on design.

There is also a growing recognition that the architecture of a school can affect behaviour and learning.

"A lot of care went into the design of Piper's Hill," says Sean Ashe, chief executive of Kildare VEC. "The corridor is very broad, because it is accepted that that can help to prevent bullying when students are shuffling around the school.

"The pastoral offices -- such as the room of the guidance counsellor and assistant principals -- are placed in strategic locations such as locker areas.''

The layout of corridors is now an issue that school managers and architects look at closely.

There is a growing recognition that funnelling large numbers of pupils through a narrow opening can create friction.

British researcher Professor Stephen Heppell has pointed out that most of the major incidents of children being injured or stabbed in schools have happened in corridors.

Some radical school designers have gone even further and removed the walls between classrooms.

According to the jargon of modern school designers, classrooms are being replaced by "flexible learning spaces''.

At the Hellerup school in Copenhagen classrooms are replaced by 'home areas'.

These consist of a mixture of large and small spaces with hexagonal bases where children are "briefed'' together before finding their own space.

Spaces can be subdivided or combined using movable partitions, depending on the teaching situation.

With computer equipment becoming more common, the modern learning space may begin to resemble a television studio rather than a traditional classroom.

The teacher does not always have to be there to preside over a lesson.

At St Fintina's post-primary school in Co Meath, some students already log on to science classes through an internet link with another school.

At Piper's Hill college, classrooms are designed to face east and south in order to avail of natural sunlight in the morning. Maximising sunlight brings substantial energy savings and is also said to improve the concentration of pupils.

There is similar use of natural daylight at Gaelscoil an Eiscir Riada in Tullamore, Co Offaly. As a result, lights can be turned off for most of the year.

Artificial lighting should not be required in classrooms for at least 80pc of the year during daylight hours.

In a recent article in Construct Ireland magazine John Dolan, senior engineer at the Department of Education and Skills, emphasised the importance of natural daylight.

"Studies have shown that daylight can positively affect health and productivity in a work and learning environment.''

At Piper's Hill College, the architects McCarthy O'Hora also took the colour scheme into account: "We wanted to give the colours a certain vibrancy, because that is uplifting for students,'' said Paddy O'Hora. "Bright colours work better than ordinary pale walls.''

At the new Naas school a special emphasis was placed on creating decent social areas for the pupils.

Principal Colm O'Connor says: "There is a large high-ceilinged foyer and a fine courtyard where students can feel comfortable. This has a positive effect on the atmosphere of the school.''

"We moved from a school building that was very small, the pupils felt very hemmed in. Here there is a feeling of spaciousness.''

Good ventilation is crucial in schools, according to the Meath-based heating expert Andrew Treacy of Versatile Agencies.

"In some classrooms CO2 levels are much too high, because they are not sufficiently ventilated. This could be improved by installing oxygen units.''

Irish Independent