As a technologist, the author is interested in how the digital world is changing the educational landscape. As he began to research effective learning spaces, he discovered that the architecture, design, and school facilities communities are making a great deal of progress in creating better classrooms and school buildings. Unfortunately, many in…

The question of remodeling an existing house to make it wheelchair accessible or building a new barrier-free house is a difficult decision. This article presents some initial questions and considerations followed by a list of pros and cons for remodeling an existing house vs. building a new house.

Nearly every institution is faced with the situation of having to reduce the cost of a construction project from time to time through a process generally referred to as "value engineering." Just the mention of those words, however, gives rise to all types of connotations, thoughts, and memories (usually negative) for those in the…

There has been a tremendous increase in use of Building Information Modeling (BIM) in the design and construction industry. There have been numerous case studies that have documented the improvements. The majority of these improvements have focused on better coordination of design resulting in fewer Requests for Information and/or change orders.…

The student experience in higher education is firmly placed at the top of the strategic agenda for the majority of higher education institutions (HEIs) in the UK at present. In the current climate of public cuts, universities increasingly have to strike a delicate balance between cost efficiencies and delivery of the high-quality university…

When one thinks of 21st century schools, one thinks of geometric modern architecture, sustainable building materials, and high-tech modular classrooms. It's rare, though, that a district has the space or the money to build that school from the ground up. Instead, the challenge for most is the transformation of the 20th century architecture to…

After a 35-year building hiatus, the nine colleges in the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) needed a major facelift. Facilities on LACCD campuses were antiquated and had fallen into disrepair. For years, students voiced dismay, saying their campuses resembled high schools rather than colleges. Inadequate infrastructure drove many…

This article describes how Beverly and Martin Ryfa, working with an architect who specializes in accessible design, were able to build a house that is handicap accessible for their 9-year-old daughter, Danielle, who suffered an intraventricular hemorrhage when she was three days old. The article describes the features of their house that make…

It is important to engender a "sustainable" architectural consciousness in the students who will be the next generation architects. In architectural education, design decisions taken during the early phases of the design process play an important role in ensuring concern for the sustainability issue. But, in general, all discussions…

If scientists know where earthquakes are most likely to occur, then architects and engineers can design safer buildings for such areas and potentially prevent some of the devastating aftereffects. Engineers have met this challenge through the design and use of gigantic shake tables to evaluate the stability of various structures. In this 45-minute…

Teachers educate. Architects design. Students learn. Each serves a specific, unique purpose. But what happens when the three collaborate to achieve a greater good? In the state of Washington, a school building that is, in itself, a learning tool for students, teachers and the community happened. A school building that inspires students and…

The May/June 2009 issue of "Facilities Manager" introduced APPA readers to the Whole Building Design Guide (WBDG)--today's most comprehensive Internet-based depository of resources contributing to a systems approach for everything of a building nature. The emphasis in that article was on Operations and Maintenance (O&M) issues and procedures. In…

When the subject of buildings and daylighting arises, most people's thoughts will turn first to windows. To the uninitiated, it seems a simple formula: more windows, more daylight; fewer windows, less daylight. But designers know that effective use of daylighting in a building design involves more than just letting in light to otherwise darkened…

Students of Architecture and Building Engineering Degrees work with Computer Aided Design systems daily in order to design and model architectonic constructions. Since this kind of software is based on the creation and transformation of geometrical objects, it seems to be a useful tool in Maths classes in order to capture the attention of the…

In this article, the author suggests a classroom challenge that will engage students in designing a house on the hill. He suggests teachers ask a local builder to come to the school to discuss the kinds of concerns that must be dealt with when building homes in cold environments. The use of dioramas and cardboard scale models would be very useful…