Spaces4Learning Launches Education Design Showcase 2023

Spaces4Learning is now accepting entries for the Education Design Showcase 2023! The awards program celebrates innovative and practical solutions in planning, design and construction at K–12 and Higher Education institutions both. Its ultimate goal is to share ideas that will help achieve the best possible learning environments and to recognize the firms that have made these ideas a reality.

The jury will select two Grand Prize winners, one from the K–12 category and one from the higher ed category, as well as Projects of Distinction in either category. Remaining projects that the jury selects for publication will be designated as Honorable Mention. Evaluation and judging criteria include:

  • Thorough and effective planning process, cost-effectiveness
  • Architect/design response to the program requirements, students’ needs
  • Innovation, originality, creative solutions
  • Functional, flexible, adaptable design
  • Site selection, planning, development, and use/context within the campus and community
  • Sustainability, environmental stewardship, materials selection, and maintainability
  • Safe and secure environment
  • Visual and aesthetic qualities

This year’s awards program features a multi-tiered entry program that allows applicants to submit new construction, renovation, or spaces projects. There are also different price levels and multi-project discounts. Spaces4Learning is also offering an early entry discount of $100 off per project through Feb. 24, 2023.

All entries will be showcased in the Spaces4Learning magazine, online at spaces4learning.com, in the Spaces4Learning K–12 or Higher Education Update eNewsletter, and on social media.

For more information, visit the Education Design Showcase page on the Spaces4Learning website, or jump straight to the entry form. Entries can be submitted online here. Please direct any questions or any extra materials to Susan May at [email protected].

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Hawaii Elementary School Reopens Following $25M Campus Modernization

    Haʻaheo Elementary School in Hilo, Hawaii, has reopened to students following a three-year, $25-million campus modernization and expansion project that significantly increases the school's instructional space while preserving one of the island's oldest educational institutions, according to local news.

  • GeoCam and UCLA: Modernizing Campus Accessibility Mapping

    In early 2025, UCLA partnered with GeoCam to capture and modernize its pedestrian infrastructure data. The goal was ambitious but clear: to produce a high-accuracy, imagery-backed digital map of every sidewalk, pathway, ramp, and ADA-related feature on UCLA’s 419-acre campus.

  • University of Pennsylvania Releases Design of Future Physical Sciences Building

    The University of Pennsylvania (Penn) in Philadelphia, Penn., recently released renderings of an upcoming 350,000-square-foot Physical Sciences Building, according to news release. The facility was designed by CO Architects and will unite the university’s departments of Physics and Astronomy, Mathematics, and Earth and Environmental Science.

  • Can AI Help Build Stronger Communities in Student Housing?

    Student housing success is shifting from operational performance to student experience, with belonging now at the center. A recent 2025 report underscores a growing emphasis on student well-being, community, and engagement, signaling that expectations now extend beyond logistics to ensure students feel supported in their living environments. AI is enabling that shift by reducing administrative workload and giving teams more time to focus on meaningful student engagement.