Components & Materials
Walls, ceilings and floors, along with all interior and other building elements, must meet budgetary, acoustic, resilience, sustainability and maintenance requirements, with builders weighing such factors and others. Here are some ways that schools are making their interiors stand out.
Reopening Schools
The fall of 2020 will be different. Nobody knows for sure what it will look like, but most would agree that it <em>will</em> be different, which raises many questions for those of us involved in the construction and design of academic facilities.
- By Steve Cunningham
- 05/01/20
Reopening Schools
While the attention so far has been focused mainly on ensuring that all students continue to receive a high-quality learning experience from home, leaders are now shifting their focus to how they can safely and responsibly reopen schools. Here are eight key suggestions for keeping students and staff safe when schools reopen.
Healthy Schools
Pre-K and kindergarten students at Centner Academy in Miami begin their school day with a mindfulness practice. Here is how it's helping students cope with changes due to coronavirus and some tips to incorporate mindfulness in the classroom.
- By Yvonne Marquez
- 04/22/20
Cleaning and COVID-19
This cleaning process provides more thorough coverage, essentially leaving no place for germs and pathogens, including those that cause COVID-19, to hide.
- By Robert Kravitz
- 04/20/20
Episode 3
In this episode, we talk about the short-term and long-term goals of keeping school facilities clean amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
- By Yvonne Marquez
- 04/15/20
STEM
When students return to school at Richardson Independent School District near Dallas, Texas, they will be able to utilize a brand-new state-of-the-art STEM facility that is open to all K-12 students in the district. Designed by Perkins and Will, the Berkner STEM Exploration Center was created for students of all ages.
- By Yvonne Marquez
- 04/01/20
Interior Design
In Bothell, Washington, Dykeman, Inc. worked with the Northshore School District to create a flexible, innovative learning center for 1,600 students centered on collaboration. They incorporated state-of-the-art interior single leaf sliding doors and hardware into eight "collaboration cubes" to pave the way for project-based and problem-based group learning, without compromising design.
Healthy Schools
<em>Spaces4Learning</em> has several resources on best practices for cleaning and sanitizing schools and maintaining healthy schools during peak flu season, which can be applied to the coronavirus. Here you'll find our top articles and a webinar on the subject to help you combat the spread of coronavirus.
- By Yvonne Marquez
- 03/06/20
Episode 2
In this episode, Todd Ferking of DLR Group talks about education design that is geared toward the future.
- By Yvonne Marquez
- 03/04/20
K-12 Remote Learning
As coronavirus changes life as we know it, these education experts offer advice on how to make the transition to online instruction.
- By Dian Schaffhauser
- 03/01/20
Sustainability
Architects continue to design buildings much the same way they always have; yet, a carbon-free future will require new practices, namely true, front-loaded integrative design.
COVID-19
Frictionless parking can promote public health by dramatically reducing the number of common touch-points within a garage or parking lot.
Building Envelopes
When a system shows signs of failing, what is the most cost-effective course of action an owner should take? Does the owner replace the system or close the facility?
- By Harold Stephens, Whitney Cabaza
- 03/01/20
For students of all ages, carefully planned outdoor learning areas and features can become an integral component of education.
- By Sean Sanger, Andrew Arbaugh
- 03/01/20
Issues impacting the ability and training of cleaning contractors vary in different settings and situations. However, all of them must be overcome, and urgently, if we are going to get on top of the COVID-19 situation.
COVID-19
Custodial workers must modify cleaning practices and behaviors to help reduce COVID-19 risks, not only for a building’s occupants, but especially for themselves.
- By Eugene C. Cole
- 03/01/20
Planning & Design
Just as Winston Churchill once said, “we shape our buildings and thereafter they shape us,” designers must consider how education environments of the next decade will shape student behavior.
STEM & STEAM
Science, technology, engineering and mathematics are crucial parts of today's curriculum. When it comes to maximizing learning outcomes, many schools focus on the equipment and technology available. However, design also has a significant impact.
Safety & Security
Despite the name, panic buttons are designed to take the panic out of a situation. As instincts kick in, a trained employee can have direct and easy access to alert or summon people for help quickly and discreetly with the push of a button.
Makerspaces
Community High School District 99, located just outside of Chicago, is harnessing foodie culture to revamp culinary arts facilities at two of their high schools — Downers Grove North and Downers Grove South.
- By Yvonne Marquez
- 01/29/20
Episode 1
<em>Spaces4Learning</em> recently launched a podcast focused on K-12 school design, planning and management.
- By Yvonne Marquez
- 01/27/20
Higher Ed Technology
Today’s audiovisual experiences reflect a digital world that strongly appears to tomorrow's higher education students.
K-12 High-Traffic Areas
Residence Halls
The largest mass timber building in America, Adohi Hall at the University of Arkansas, exemplifies a new generation of wood-framed and light-filled residence halls designed to foster connections.
K-12 STEM & Makerspaces
The first of its kind in the state of Arizona, the Dove Mountain CSTEM K–8 School is setting a precedent as a school of choice, defining the future of school design.
Higher Ed Services
There is opportunity to better deliver on your institution’s mission. A new approach to the organization of service lines involves bundling the outsourcing of auxiliaries work.
Maintenance
Can more effective cleaning reduce student absenteeism? The evidence seems to say that it can.
- By Robert Kravitz
- 01/01/20
STEM & STEAM
De Soto ISD’s Katherine Johnson Technology Magnet Academy aims to spark curiosity at an early age through STEM education.
- By Yvonne Marquez
- 11/15/19
School Safety
We spoke to Mike Vance, Senior Director of Product Management at RealNetworks, the company behind SAFR K-12 to get a clearer picture of how their product can boost school safety.
- By Yvonne Marquez
- 11/08/19
Esports
The technical requirements you need to know to start a K-12 or higher education esports program.
Adaptive Reuse for Education
There are countless opportunities to create new and innovative learning environments within existing buildings.
- By Ian Kilpatrick
- 11/01/19
Existing campus structures can be adapted to new life and new uses with a creative approach to restoring and modifying them from the ground up.
Facilities
New technologies are available that are making campus parking more user-friendly and manageable, which is beneficial to operations and the bottom line.
Seating
What brings a school community together more than a school theatre production or a home game? In order to accommodate spectators and audience members alike, seating must prioritize comfort and versatility.
- By Yvonne Marquez
- 10/23/19
Modernization
Palo Alto High School staff envisioned a library that would feature updated technology, natural light, and a more functional, open layout with clear sightlines and improved circulation patterns.
- By Yvonne Marquez
- 10/18/19
School Safety
It’s been one year since St. Therese Catholic Academy in Seattle made the decision to adopt facial recognition technology as one of their security tools — here’s what they've experienced since doing so.
Here are five common reasons teachers are leaving their jobs and some ways to beat the odds and keep them.
Facilities (Campus Spaces)
Student-athlete wellness is just one of a number of drivers of college and university sport and fitness facilities design.
- By Stephen J. Wilczynski, Marlon Styles, Jr.
- 10/01/19