The design research methodology as it has currently developed centers on the creation of "existence proofs," an important first step. What is needed then are the next steps of expanding the methodology to address the design problems of practical implementation prior to the steps involved in scaling up these designs. This article contributes to…

The paper explores important issues in today's education, not by analyses and statistics, but by projecting readers into the future and then asking them to look back on today's schools and to act like archaeologists--to surmise from all sorts of things they can observe, what was really important to us, what we really valued, how we treated kids,…

Too many schools are still being built today as warehouses with windows; they get the job done on some minimal level, but beyond that, they simply do not excite the children who spend a great deal of their lives within their walls. Creating an environmentally friendly building is important, but that's only part of the equation. The author and his…

Mobility and flexibility are the touchstones of 21st-century K-12 architecture, which sets aside conventional classroom design to create an environment that best integrates technology with learning. This article talks about San Jose State University's state-of-the-art, 10,000-square-foot Academic Success Center in California. At the heart of the…

This document presents recommended facility specifications for the Milton J. Brecht Elementary School (Lancaster, Pennsylvania) designed to contribute to children's learning through the application of multiple intelligence theory and more recently emerging brain based learning knowledge and theory. The report examines the grade levels to be…

A two-issue volume presents articles describing innovative schools, classrooms, and alternative learning arrangements found in some of today's schools. Issue one contains three articles offering glimpses of an elementary school committed to the Core Knowledge curriculum of E. D. Hirsch, a renovated school devoted to early childhood learning…

Key requirements for a successful music program include a supportive environment, constructive communication, an effective floor plan, and quality equipment.Unless music education's value is recognized, adequate resources, funding, and equipment will not be committed. Music programs require substantially more space and soundproofing than regular…

Presents K-12 and college classrooms considered outstanding in a competition, which judged the most outstanding learning environments at educational institutions nationwide. Jurors spent two days reviewing projects, focusing on concepts and ideas that made them exceptional. For each citation, the article offers information on the firm, client,…

Presents responses from the nation's leading educational architectural firms concerning design ideas anticipated to have an important role in the design of future school facilities. Ideas on classroom and flexible-learning-environment designs, schools as community resources, generic lab modules, and designs that integrate technology are included.…

This paper provides architects and educational planners with data on the necessary space requirements for restrooms, mechanical rooms, custodial spaces, food service, construction enclosure space, and circulation and corridor space, as well as an ongoing indication of necessary building area per student. It offers itemized data to illustrate…

This paper describes findings of a study that integrated design patterns to illustrate prototypical school designs. The present work is part of a more comprehensive study conducted on the impact of school facilities on educational performance. The paper focuses on the third part of the study, which developed 27 design patterns to create integrated…

Research dealing with the design of the school physical environment and its effect on stress in students and teachers is examined. The design of both the school's overall environment and the individual classrooom unit may affect student and teacher attitudes and student achievement. (PP)

Reviews current literature--noting limitations--and provides observations regarding the impact on learning of six physical attributes of the Montessori prepared environment: aesthetics, spatial factors, light, noise, color, and temperature. Suggests guidelines for Montessori classrooms. Concludes by asserting that considering these six…

Defining stress as a "misfit" between individual needs and environmental attributes, this paper reviews research on areas where the designed environment, on both a schoolwide and a classroom level, interacts with the educational process. These interactions are considered from the perspective of stresses imposed on both teachers and students. The…

The most persistent question in the field of school facility planning relates to that of the relationship between the built environment and the performance and behavior of users, particularly students. Ways in which the built environment affects two student variables--student achievement and student behavior--are explored. The first variable is…