This report presents the historical background of the Ford Foundation's Educational Facilities Laboratories (EFL), including its funding sources, guiding principles, leadership, operations, philanthropic ventures, and publications. EFL began in response to the need for new educational facilities because of the baby boom in the 1950s and 1960s. How the EFL stimulated or accelerated innovations in school architecture, its work in awarding millions of dollars in grants for systems building programs for schools, and the EFL's impact are discussed. (Contains 19 references.) (GR)