COVID-19
With COVID-19 changing the educational landscape each day, school and college decision makers need all the help they can get during this global crisis. Here are some resources on everything schools and colleges need to consider regarding educational facilities, construction, design and planning of new facilities, maintenance, managing employees and much more. (Updated 5/13)
- By Yvonne Marquez
- 05/13/20
Episode 4
As schools across the country figure out how to safely reopen schools, we wonder: how will COVID-19 impact school design? Senior editor Yvonne Marquez discusses with Sylvia Kowalk and Robin Randall from Legat Architects on what changes we might see as schools reopen.
- By Yvonne Marquez
- 05/11/20
Reopening Schools
As you rethink the design of educational spaces and structures to keep your communities safe and healthy when schools reopen, here are some possible strategies and issues to consider.
- By Cindy Eggebrecht-Weinschreider
- 05/08/20
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.