This article focusses on the lessons learnt from the collaborative design of guidance for new build schools in England about the processes of school design, construction and occupation. The study involved head teachers, school building commissioners, teachers and wider school communities thinking about the pedagogic implications of the production…

Over time, and influenced by various stakeholders, a global trend has emerged regarding learning environments, pedagogies and learning skills for the 21st century. This article describes the transition of a secondary school building's physical learning environments through two snapshots; one from when the school was built and the other 9 years…

This article examines the changing architectural environments of deaf education in the nineteenth century, taking the national institutes in Paris and Bordeaux as its main focus. Founded in the late eighteenth century and initially housed in government-expropriated properties, both schools underwent comprehensive renovation and reconstruction…

Focusing on the school corridor, this article explores the coming into being of Danish school space through shifting architectural designs, teaching practices, and volumes and organisations of pupils' bodies. The analysis shows a transformation of the corridor itself: from primarily being a disciplining and potentially dangerous space for moving…

Purpose: As many of the next generation leaders are currently on college campuses, endorsing green buildings can foster environmental stewardship among the student body. However, marshalling in the social sphere of sustainability is also critical to cultivate more supportive and inclusive communities. With this in mind, a chief component of the…

This article addresses schoolteachers' spatial work in the process of inhabiting and using a new school building. The study focuses on a historical case of a Danish open-plan school built in the early 1970s and shows how the teachers' spatial work engages with questions of the organisation of bodies, sound, furniture and teaching aids. The article…

The role played by innovative educational environments to support learning for the 21st century has attracted the interest of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development at the global governance level and at the national policy level internationally. This article draws on global, European and Australasian research and data from a…

Population growth and migration patterns have shown an influx of residents from rural to urban environments. To deal with the problems caused by unprecedented urban influx, cities should plan to use technology in a smart and distinctive way. Tackling at the city scale is hard. But a set of smart buildings that are interconnected by technology will…

This article illustrates how schooling Innovative Learning Environments (ILE) deploy a future-focused imaginary for a perfectly self-managing society. New building design, coupled with this imaginary, creates possibilities for new ecologies of practices in which there are reframed relationships and pedagogical opportunities. We use the theory of…

Purpose: Energy consumption and renewable energy sources are included in the goals for the 2030 Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7) agenda, and target buildings are the biggest electricity consumers. In turn, Netzero energy buildings (NZEB) contribute to achieve SDG7 goals. This paper aims to identify which Brazilian higher education…

Amid increasing global and national interest in the built educational environment, this editorial considers developments within the Nordic countries that are investigated and discussed within the articles in this special issue. We discuss commonalities and divergences in the experiences of transition and change in the schools, located in a range…

Research to improve aspects of architectural design education produced a collection of research-supported best practices and these lessons need integration into the studio environment. Design instructors must innovate, but in ways that allow previous result analysis. Action Research (AR) is seen as a valuable asset for providing an opportunity for…

This paper examines the design of school buildings in the last decade of the Portuguese dictatorship (1964-1974) and its relationship with the country's educational policies, geared towards the objectives of industrialisation and economic growth. It also considers the economic constraints placed on the building of schools, the technical and…

Facility design and the planning steps within this process are part of continued discourse among school design professionals and school officials. Historically, schools often mirrored architectural designs of a time-period or as a response to economic trends. The discourse has evolved over time, and recently, there has been an increasing focus on…

This study highlights how 20 Swedish principals, school managers and architects involved in planning, construction and reconstruction of primary and secondary school buildings at regional, municipal and local levels represent good learning environments. Drawing on semi-structured interviews, the analysis focuses on how the stakeholders understand…