Presents an interview with Kathleen O'Brien, vice president of university services at the University of Minnesota. Discusses her goals for making the school an institutional benchmark for architecture and facilities management. (EV)

Describes a process used by an architect to work with the stakeholders of a school in Iceland to design a new building. The process, called "design down," starts with the biggest issues and moves toward more detailed aspects. It starts with looking at the school's learning signature, learning expectations, the learning process, and the…

Provides a case study of the planning and design of a new building for the Open University Business School. Goals included an energy-efficient building that would break the paradigm of traditional university working methods. (EV)

Describes the award-winning design of three school landscapes. Includes construction details and photographs. (EV)

Using the example of the construction of Fond du Lac High School in Wisconsin, discusses how multi-layer reviews of facility plans and drawings by staff members and the community help ensure a positive outcome. (EV)

Examined the role of daylight in student achievement in three schools and found a uniformly positive and statistically significant correlation between the presence of more daylight and better student test scores. Offers guidelines on designing daylit classrooms. (EV)

This annual report on library facilities and furnishings includes articles on: (1) designing libraries that are both handsome and functional; (2) functional use of color and light in library interior design; (3) creating user-friendly libraries; and (4) the seven deadly sins of architects. An eight-page section of photographs is included. (MES)

Documented health hazards associated with Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS), especially for children, justify school smoking bans. Acknowledging that enforcement may be difficult, this article suggests several implementation strategies; stressing health benefits and positive steps to help smokers quit. (IAH)

The fourth in a series of articles on library buildings completed in the 1980s describes and evaluates new and remodeled buildings in Australia and New Zealand. The types of library buildings evaluated include state, public, academic, parliamentary, national, and special libraries. (30 notes/references) (Author/CLB)

A building trades program at the Charlottesville-Albemarle Technical Education Center in Charlottesville, Virginia, teaches students to build universal design housing. Such homes are equipped to accommodate persons with special needs but are not inconvenient for someone without a disability. (JOW)

Discusses factors to be considered in the process of constructing facilities for a new child care center. Factors are addressed in terms of three alternatives: building a new center, incorporating a center into a new building, and renovating an existing center. (GLR)

For the postoccupancy evaluation of a Colorado high school, four instruments probed different aspects of the total facility. Tables show responses from different groups regarding the overall quality of primary space, building design, and site facilities. (MLF)

Many school buildings with high radon levels also exhibit high carbon dioxide levels that starve the minds of students for oxygen. Administrators must realize that the world's best educator cannot teach minds made dysfunctional by their environment. This article describes Environmental Protection Agency testing results and offers radon monitoring…

Discusses the snow -load capacity of school roofs and how understanding this data aids in planning preventive measures and easing fear of roof collapse. Describes how to determine snow-load capacity, and explains the load-bearing behavior of flat versus sloped roofs. Collapse prevention measures are highlighted. (GR)

Describes the unique design qualities, found in some college libraries, that help create individuality. Examines library designs that complement school's traditional images and facilitate learning while providing optimum user satisfaction. (GR)