Planning & Design


Visioning workshops with district and community representatives help uncover concerns and goals. Photo: Courtesy of Finegold Alexander Architects.



CommUnity: Uniting Communities through School Design

At the onset of a project, the design team and the district must unite to develop the appropriate “Visioning Process” to gain input from teachers, administrators, parents, students, and members of the public. This typically takes the form of in-person workshops or on virtual platforms as we encountered this past spring. The architect can then use that feedback to develop a customized school design that meets the district’s goals and expectations.

Schools In Focus Podcast logo and Stu Rothenberger

Schools In Focus: Rethinking Higher Ed Spaces

Stu Rothenberger, Principal at DLR Group, discusses flexibility on a campus scale, the need for long-term resiliency plans, tackling equity issues, and creating smaller interaction spaces in a post-COVID19 learning environment.

Man speaking in a video conference.

How to Keep COVID-19 from Negatively Impacting Learning Space Design

Here are five ways that K-12 school districts can keep their learning space design projects on track in a world where social distancing rules and shutdowns interfere with normal operations.

academic design and construction

Why Design-Build Merits Serious Consideration for Academic Design & Construction

The academic sector is the perfect use case for exploring how design-build is the best delivery system for mitigating risk, increasing the speed of delivery, lowering costs, and delivering great design – all through a simpler, more collaborative process.

sensory room

Sensory Rooms May Help Ease the Anxiety Students Feel from COVID-19

The stimulating environment of a sensory room may heighten awareness, provide a sense of security and comfort, improve creativity, promote mental and physical relaxation, and even decrease aggressive behaviors.

proper distancing in schools

Rethinking School Spaces and Structures to Maintain Proper Distancing Amid COVID-19

When students finally return to school after months of learning from home, there will be dramatic changes. Even when K-12 leaders are allowed to reopen their facilities, doing so safely and responsibly will require everyone to maintain proper distancing while they’re at school, experts agree — at least until there is a working vaccine for the COVID-19 virus.

Austin Community College, Elgin Campus. Photo by Mark Menjivar.

Design Considerations for Supporting Student Resiliency

How can higher education institutions incorporate student success in their resilience planning process as they consider future impacts on campuses? And how can design professionals use their knowledge and skills to support this effort?

NC State University’s Talley Student Union

Design for Post-Millennials: How Gen Z Is Shaping Higher Ed Spaces

They are the first generation to be immersed in technology since birth, experiencing it as an extension of daily life. As future Gen Zers progress through our learning institutions, their characteristics, wants and needs will further shape K-12 education environments, university campuses and future workplaces.

Woman taking the temperature of a child who is wearing a face mask and a backpack with a contactless thermometer.

Here’s What Designers and Architects Anticipate Schools Will Look Like in the Fall and After COVID-19

We asked designers and architects from across the country what they anticipate classrooms will look like in the fall if they were to reopen, how the coronavirus will impact school design in the long-term, and suggestions on design concepts schools can implement right away to help with social distancing in facilities. Their answers offer insight to available design options and possibilities that can help school leaders plan and make the best decisions for their students and staff.

Empty classroom. Image by Wokandapix from Pixabay

UPDATED: Resources for Educational Facilities During 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)

A woman architect looking at blueprints with her laptop open.

What Schools and Colleges Have to Rethink for Fall 2020

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.

The Berkner STEM Exploration Center features flexible and adaptable spaces.

First Look: Berkner STEM Exploration Center

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.

4 Reasons to Build Choice into Classroom Design — and How to Make It Work for Students

4 Reasons to Build Choice into Classroom Design — and How to Make It Work for Students

Teaching and learning are undergoing significant transformation, but, by and large, the design of classrooms has not transformed at the same rate. Here are six key elements of a modern and highly engaging learning space that both supports and encourages 21st century learning: choice, comfort, versatility, connection, stimulation and technology.

Learning in Lounge Areas

Extending the Classroom

Learning is no longer restricted to the classroom or the library. Increasing the use and appeal of the space in between classrooms and other traditional learning environments can play a key role in teaching and learning.

Caption: Single leaf sliding doors support North Creek High School’s (NCHS) collaborative culture in Bothell, Washington. Credit: © Chris Eden / edenphotography.us

Collaborative Design Through the Lens of Interior Sliding Doors

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.

Schools In Focus Podcast logo and Todd Ferking, principal at DLR Group

Schools In Focus Podcast: 2020 Education Design Trends

In this episode, Todd Ferking of DLR Group talks about education design that is geared toward the future.

North Carolina School of Science and Math Morganton Greenway

Master Planning the Outdoors: Spaces for the Life of a Campus

Some common strategies and parallel considerations are at play in all master planning for the outdoors. Each campus must first be approached on its own terms, free of predispositions on planning.

Pathfinder Kindergarten Center: photo ©Chris Roberts, courtesy of DLR Group

K-12 Design Trends to Watch in 2020

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.

Children using tools like a screwdriver to tinker with a robot on a table.

Design Trends Influencing STEM Education

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.

New Fairfield Public Schools recently selected JCJ Architecture to design two new school projects — the expansion of the Grades 3 through 5 Meeting House Hill School and a new high school.

New Fairfield Schools Select JCJ Architecture for New Projects

New Fairfield Public Schools recently selected JCJ Architecture to design two new school projects — the expansion of the Grades 3 through 5 Meeting House Hill School and a new high school.

Spaces4Learning recently launched Schools In Focus, a podcast spotlighting K-12 school design, planning and management.

Introducing Schools In Focus Podcast

<em>Spaces4Learning</em> recently launched a podcast focused on K-12 school design, planning and management.

Burial Grounds Found on Tampa School Property

A Florida school board recently discovered nearly 150 unmarked graves on the property of King High School in Tampa, Florida after receiving a tip.

Designing Faculty Spaces

The Time Is Now to Create High-Performing Faculty Spaces

Increasingly, leading institutions are recognizing that the time is now to focus on workspaces that allow their faculty members to perform research and other academic activities effectively while simultaneously nurturing meaningful relationships with their students.

Spotlight on Infrastructure Investment

College and university administrators routinely keep their eyes on the market for capital investment in infrastructure for higher education institutions. What is the current outlook on and expectations for trends on this front?

Laboratory Design

Lab Design: Keeping People in Mind

A people-centered focus of the design of lab spaces can encourage engagement and place more emphasis on the purpose of the lab, leading to success for the institution.

adaptable educational space

Preparing Students for an Unpredictable Future

Creating an adaptable space is only one component of the agile classroom. What we teach and how we teach are just as important.

College students

Optimizing Campus Space to Create a Better Student Experience

Colleges and universities are rethinking the traditional use of space, taking innovative approaches, and using analytics and advanced scheduling technologies to optimize their existing resources.

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