Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Planning & Design


Articles

  • Rethinking K-12 Schools as a Continuous Learning Experience

    Most students move through three or more separate facilities during their K-12 journey, yet the built environments they encounter at each stage have traditionally been designed in isolation, with little continuity in spatial language, learning philosophy, or physical resources. Each new school is a reset with different layouts, learning models, expectations, and ways of moving through a building. The next generation of school design is making the case that the first day of kindergarten and the last day of high school can and should feel connected through common support systems and infrastructure in the physical environment.

  • AI Is Coming to Schools — But Most School Buildings Still Run on Institutional Memory

    As school districts race to introduce AI into classrooms, administration, and curriculum planning, another conversation is happening behind the scenes: How prepared are school facilities themselves for the operational demands AI will create?

  • Cleveland High School Breaks Ground on Modernization

    Portland Public Schools in Portland, Ore., recently announced that construction has begun on a modernization project for Cleveland High School, according to a news release. The existing building will be replaced with a new, 300,000-square-foot facility at the same site.

  • Designing Third Spaces That Do What AI Can't

    In 2026, education is evolving faster than ever. With AI reshaping everything from lesson planning to personalized instruction, schools and universities are turning their attention to what AI can’t replicate: spaces that foster collaboration, community, and creativity.


Podcasts

  • Furnishing the Future: Adaptive Solutions for Modern Learning Spaces

    On this episode of Schools in Focus, we'll talk about the role that classroom furniture plays in creating adaptive, flexible learning spaces. Our guest is Wesley Edmonds, the Director of Workplace, Adaptive Solutions at OFS.

  • Designing a Kids' Kingdom

    Our guest today is Hiroshi Okamoto, principal and co-founder of OLI Architecture. He's here to tell us about Anji Play, an early childhood education facility in the Zhejiang province of China. Anji Play uses a hands-off, play-based learning pedagogy that encourages kids to be kids and lets them explore the environment under their own initiative. The school's architecture and design supports the program's key aim of self-determined play and encourages its guiding principles of love, risk, joy, engagement, and reflection to create a true "Kids' Kingdom." The curriculum is currently being practiced in public early childhood programs in all of China's 34 provinces and administrative regions, and it has expanded to pilot programs in Europe, Africa, and the United States.

  • Bringing Learning to the Great Outdoors

    On this episode of Schools in Focus, our guest is Brad Pittam, president of the International Play Equipment Manufacturer’s Association, or IPEMA. We’ll touch on topics like the recent rise in outdoor classrooms, the benefits that these spaces provide to students and teachers alike, the difference and overlap between outdoor classrooms and playgrounds, and design elements to be mindful of when implementing these spaces into your campus. This episode is sponsored by IPEMA.


Whitepapers

  • Sustainability and Green Building Handbook

    Spaces4Learning's Sustainability & Green Building Handbook offers education leaders a practical guide to creating greener, healthier, and more efficient learning environments. Covering campus hydration, energy modernization, performance contracting, daylighting, and sustainable facilities planning, the handbook connects environmental responsibility with the everyday priorities of schools and colleges: reducing costs, improving comfort and wellness, supporting student success, and making smarter use of limited resources. Download the resource to explore expert insights, best practices, and practical solutions that can help your institution take the next step toward more resilient, sustainable campuses.