Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Architecture Firm Studies K-12 School Security, Publishes Report

  • 06/25/18

Greenville, S.C. –  For years, American citizens with a deep and abiding concern for the future of education in our country have been on high alert in the wake of constant threats to school safety. Out of this sense of concern, the K-12 Studio of community-based architecture firm McMillan Pazdan Smith has published a white paper detailing the role of Environmental Design in creating safer campuses.

The paper began as an examination of how comprehensive, integrated, and systematic solutions can address the multi-faceted set of problems that continue to lead to violent attacks on innocent people. Focusing on the promise of environmental design, the team applied conceptual layers of security systems and overarching strategic measures to arrive at conclusions. Ultimately, the paper’s purpose is to identify a clear path forward for architects and school districts to work together in achieving a greater culture of safety on campus.

“As community-based architects, this problem demands our attention,” says the paper’s author, Susan Baker, AIA, Senior Project Architect. “We see very clearly our obligation to face this question squarely and thoughtfully while proposing an integrated approach to its solution. This is not an issue we can put off to another generation of architects, but rather a statement of what we value today as a society, and how we will protect the most vulnerable among us — our children.”

To download a copy of the whitepaper, visit the firm’s website: www.mcmillanpazdansmith.com/about/expertise/k12-campus-security.

About McMillan Pazdan Smith

McMillan Pazdan Smith was recognized nationally as #6 on the Zweig Group’s 2018 “Hot Firms” list and #12 in the Architecture category of Zweig Group’s 2018 “Best Firms to Work For” list. In 2016, the firm won The McConnell Award, the Association for Learning Environment’s highest international award, for their educational planning and design work on one of South Carolina’s leading-edge STEAM middle schools.

Featured

  • Designing the Bridge Between Inclusivity and Independence in K–12 Schools

    Fostering independence is fundamental to learning and development for K–12 students. It offers many proven benefits, such as enhanced confidence, problem-solving, decision-making, and social skills. However, this foundational objective loses its impact if it’s not accessible and adaptable to all students. Inclusivity plays a critical role in cultivating independence and healthy autonomy for students, fostering positive student learning outcomes by uniting pedagogy with the physical learning environment.

  • Rethinking K-12 Schools as a Continuous Learning Experience

    Most students move through three or more separate facilities during their K-12 journey, yet the built environments they encounter at each stage have traditionally been designed in isolation, with little continuity in spatial language, learning philosophy, or physical resources. Each new school is a reset with different layouts, learning models, expectations, and ways of moving through a building. The next generation of school design is making the case that the first day of kindergarten and the last day of high school can and should feel connected through common support systems and infrastructure in the physical environment.

  • Minnesota District Converts Middle School into Community Hub

    White Bear Lake Area Schools in White Bear Lake, Minn., recently announced the end of a major renovation project that converted a former middle school into a new centralized district and community hub, according to a news release.

  • ed tech conference calendar

    Upcoming Awards, Events & Webinars