Turning Confined Spaces Into Agile Classrooms

confinged spaces

This private girl’s school has seen the transformation of cramped spaces in agile learning environments with new ergonomic furniture.

Miss Edgar’s and Miss Cramp’s School (ECS) is a private girl’s school in Westmount, Quebec, Canada. ECS was ready for classrooms and furniture that would allow for multiple learning styles while offering the utmost flexibility to rearrange the room depending on the lesson plan of the day.

ECS’ hurdle with creating a flexible learning environment in the middle school was the small classroom sizes—these classrooms are just 439 square feet—and need to support 22 students. ECS reached out to Aquest Design, who specializes in forward-thinking educational spaces. Aquest Design knew from previous projects that VS America furniture would be able to transform the classrooms into agile environments. VS America’s ergonomic furniture inspires motion and has the flexibility to adapt to every changing need—giving educators the freedom to easily create spaces for every type of learning style.

A few key changes helped transform the small classrooms:

  • Stepping away from the 1:1 student to desk ratio opened up the learning space and increased classroom possibilities.
  • Implementing wall storage along one wall allowed the learning area to be free of clutter and for ECS to really benefit from ergonomic, agile furniture, while still having plenty of storage space.
  • Removing the designated teacher area freed up even more space. To engage with the students in a one-on-one setting or in groups the teacher can use the mobile, height-adjustable Shift+ Interact lectern to maneuver throughout the room as needed.

Now the space can quickly be rearranged to be used as a Socratic learning space, the soft seating is a more relaxed area, and window sills are a favorite. Since the teacher space is not defined, teachers will sometimes sit at the back, other times amidst the students.

Working creatively to design and furnish the small space resulted in truly agile learning environments that meet the needs of each student and educator.

www.vsamerica.com

This article originally appeared in the School Planning & Management October 2019 issue of Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • Spaces4Learning Announces Winners of 2025 Product Awards

    Spaces4Learning has just announced the winners of the 2025 Product Awards! The award program recognizes innovation and excellence in products that enhance learning environments in K–12 schools and institutions of higher education.

  • i-PRO, NovoTrax Partner for New School Emergency Response Solution

    i-PRO Americas, Inc., which manufactures edge computing cameras, recently announced a partnership with NovoTrax, provider of end-to-end life safety and mass notification solutions, to address gaps in emergency response workflows at K–12 schools, according to a news release.

  • AP Construction Breaks Ground on Two Projects for Austin ISD

    Adolfson & Peterson Construction (AP) recently announced that it has broken ground on two renovation projects for the Austin Independent School District, according to a news release. The work at McCallum and Anderson High Schools totals 97,350 square feet and is scheduled for completion in January 2027.

  • cutaway view of a modern school building, showing various rooms and zones

    Layering AI into HVAC Systems Shows Reduction in Carbon Emissions

    Heating and cooling systems are just one of the many new ways that AI can be integrated into schools. According to a new study from Schneider Electric's Sustainability Research Institute, AI-powered HVAC systems in schools can lead to significant carbon emissions savings.

Digital Edition