Presents 50 outstanding awards for learning-environment designs as determined by an expert panel of judges. Each citation provides the school name and location, the name of the architectural firm, cost and square-footage figures, and a brief summary of the project. Photographs and some floorplan drawings are included. (GR)

Describes the design process of the nation's largest public preschool noted for its classroom flexibility, an environment suited for the needs and safety of children, ample play space, community inclusiveness, and building durability and efficiency. Discusses the right-sizing of corridors and rooms, furniture kits to accommodate differing teaching…

Discusses the challenges that schools face in keeping pace with rapidly changing technology in the school environment. Explores the spaces, furnishings, and planning and design issues that must be considered to successfully integrate computers into learning environments. (GR)

Many school nurses across the nation have had the opportunity to be involved with school renovation and new construction projects in their districts. Renovation and new construction projects allow school nurses the opportunity to work with facilities planners, school officials, and architects to design school health office facilities that enhance…

A number of factors are prompting higher education's interest in learning spaces: the need to renovate existing space or accommodate additional students, pedagogical advances, a better understanding of learners, and, in some cases, curricular reform. Moving from classrooms to learning spaces involves a conceptual shift as well as a commitment to…

What is involved in creating learning environments for the 21st century? How can school facilities serve as tools for teaching and meet the needs of students in the future? What components are required to design effective schools, and how does architecture relate to the purposes of schooling? These are some of the questions addressed at the…

The newly-built library at Ireland's Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT) is innovative in design, responds to environmental conditions and identifies the campus with its location. The library is part of the Learning Resource Centre recently constructed to meet the institute's objective for a new landmark frontage. This article presents the…

Sierra University was designed to promote the development of the mountain communities in the State of Sonora, Mexico. The university offers high school graduates an opportunity to pursue their studies in their home region, in order to stimulate economic development and contribute to social cohesion in the highlands area. The university is equipped…

How much does a school cost? It's a straightforward question, but the answer for many education administrators is a frustrating, "It depends." The cost of a school facility surely includes what an education institution pays for the building site, design plans, construction materials, workers who assemble the building, and furniture and equipment…

Since the very earliest times, schools have provided a place (the playground) and a time (playtimes) in which children can have time away from the direct involvement of adults and formal learning. Although the basic design of school grounds has changed in a number of ways over the years, from the subtle to the more direct, what effect these…

There are very few PFI projects in Japan that are specifically designed for education, but there are a few hybrid or complex PFIs that includes education in their facilities and services. In this article, the authors discuss the Ichikawa City Seventh District Junior High School building (an education PFI), which includes a school lunch room,…

In this article, the author talks about legibility as an essential component of education facility design. Legibility is concerned not only with stylistic consistency, but also with other design factors that help make a building understandable. Reconfigured interiors and multiple additions can create confusing paths. Illogical assortments of…

Many schools have growing student enrollments that require bigger and better buildings, and evolving educational delivery methods warrant new spatial concepts that support modern teaching needs. As much as new schools stand out, a school renovation project forms the heart of most districts' facilities-improvement initiatives. School renovations…

"Built environment education" refers to the various types of learning activity for children and young people of school age which use buildings, places and spaces as a context for learning. It covers many different kinds of built settings such as: historic and contemporary; urban and rural; and exceptional and commonplace. It also has a…

Academic leaders and governing boards are increasingly aware of the importance and difficulty in managing physical plants as finite resources. In addition, the finances needed to renovate or build facilities have become severely constrained. The National Science Foundation (2000), in its survey of research facilities, suggests that research space…