about the tool

a school that grows.

The Made to Grow planning platform lets you lay out a modular timber early-years school on a hexagonal grid. As you place each piece, eleven studies of daylight, air, sun, water, habitat, carbon and cost update alongside it.

It is built around matter make's Made to Grow kit of parts. The kit is a small set of timber modules that can start as a single classroom and grow into a full school and community hub. The platform is a tool for early conversations between schools, communities and designers. It is not a substitute for a design team.

how it works.

The grid. Everything sits on flat-topped hexagons with 4.43 m sides, which is the size of the kit. Landscape islands of 24 m² sit 2.4 m apart, and ground levels change in 24 cm steps. A single step between islands is taken by a 1:10 slope across the gap.

The kit. The type 1 classroom is a Y of three wings around one room, with nine wall panels you can configure. The amenity building is a 50 m² hexagon with six wall panels for foyers, restrooms, kitchens, halls and the community centre. Canopy trees, courtyards, pavilions and playhouses make the covered outdoor rooms, and landscape modules shape the ground. When two buildings meet, the shared wall becomes an internal partition automatically.

Your layouts. There are no accounts and no server. Your layout is saved in your own browser. share link puts the whole layout into a link you can send, and study report prints a summary to PDF.

the eleven studies.

1. solar irradiance & shadowsThe share of roof area in direct sun, ray-cast against the 3D model on four dates at four hours each.
2. natural lightingThe BRE average daylight factor for each room, from its glazing, the sky it can see and its rooflights. Good is 3 % or more.
3. cross-ventilationA single-zone envelope-flow model (CIBSE AM10 / BS 5925) covering wind pressure, stack effect and shelter from neighbours. A room passes at 8 L/s per person (BB101).
4. rainwater harvestingRoof catchment against flushing, irrigation and water-play demand, plus storage in ponds, weather trees and tanks.
5. biodiversity & habitatWeighted habitat area from ponds, gardens, planters, green roofs and habitat cladding, plus green corridors.
6. shade & outdoor comfortSummer shade over outdoor space against a target set by the climate, with a winter-sun check where it matters.
7. accessibility & circulationStep-free reach from the entrance, how close classrooms are to restrooms, and how much of the route is covered.
8. capacity & programmeInternal, semi-outdoor and outdoor area per child against targets of 9, 4 and 12 m².
9. material take-off & carbonThe volume of timber in the kit and the carbon it stores, with frames, panels and truck loads.
10. PV yield vs demandElectricity from PV roofs against the school's estimated use, for the chosen climate.
11. cost & growthModule, option and landscape costs per child, plus a growth ladder from a starter school to a full one. Unit costs are editable.

what the numbers can and can't tell you.

we don't claim perfect predictive certainty.

The studies are quick, transparent first reads for comparing options. They are not certified simulations.

• Ventilation uses a single-zone envelope model, not CFD. It doesn't model internal partitions or airflow between a classroom's wings. Occupancy and the openable share of each window are assumptions, and doors only count when doors open is switched on.
• Daylight uses the BRE average daylight factor, not a full simulation. It only accounts for obstructions from the cells and trees directly next to a room.
• Solar and shade are ray-cast against the real model geometry, but only at sampled dates and hours.
• Rainwater, habitat, carbon, PV and cost come from rules of thumb and per-module rates. Costs are indicative and editable.

Use them to compare layouts and ask better questions. Then bring in a design team to check them properly.

who made it.

The Made to Grow kit and this platform are by matter make, a design studio in Malta. If you'd like to talk about a school, a site or the kit itself, get in touch through mattermake.com.