In this project, the main spaces are the studios which the students will create their work. For this I think that it would be best to use north light, to avoid glare and overheating of the spaces.
This studio at ITESO University uses up-lighting through the louvres to let natural light into the building and allow natural ventilation for the fumes created in the building. Although my client will not need to allow toxic fumes out of the building, I think that using up-lighting is a good way to reduce glare but still allow natural light into the building.
These renders for proposed studios in Germany have a 'pod-like' feel and allow direct sunlight into the building at different times of the day depending on the orientation of the 'pod'. They have been created from shipping containers. I like this idea and I think that allowing light in at different times would be a very good idea. However, this requires the spaces to be used at the same times every day all year and this may change depending on the timetables of the students and whether or not the time is scheduled (they might use the spaces after school or during lunch or a free period).
There are also the traditional workshop spaces which have north facing windows. Historically, they were used on factories and workshops.