For some administrators and planners, designing and building education facilities may sometimes seem like a circus act--trying to project a persona of competence and confidence while juggling dozens of issues. Meanwhile, the audience--students, staff members and taxpayers--watch and wait with anticipation in hopes of getting what they paid for and…

Uniform illumination levels in the classroom and focused brightness on the "teaching wall" made good sense for students in Henry Ford's era. If you were training to take your place on the assembly line, you needed to focus on the work at hand and ahead to your supervisor, but the future no longer belongs to students who look only straight ahead.…

Classrooms often get the short shrift when it comes to designing a space that allows for optimum hearing conditions for students and speaking conditions for teachers. Over the last few years, increasing concern from state regulators and facility designers has focused greater attention on improving acoustics. The main acoustical issues to consider…

In the beginning, optimism reigns. As planning for a new education facility gets underway, those with a stake in the process envision how the building will enhance the institution and the surrounding area. Teachers and students imagine spacious, comfortable classrooms and labs with the most up-to-date equipment and furniture. Administrators and…

This exploratory study examined communications between designers and child development professionals during the preschool design process. Qualitative interviews and focus groups were conducted to investigate the need for communication support between child development professionals, parents, and design professionals (n = 20) during the process of…

Brazil's Sao Paulo Metropolitan Region is conducting a performance evaluation pilot study at three schools serving disadvantaged populations. The objective is first to test methods which can facilitate Post Occupancy Evaluations (POEs) and then to carry out the evaluations. The preliminary results are provided below.

The authors' research is concerned with the use of visual imagery as data to examine schools and schooling. In attempting to develop knowledge further by incorporating the visual in educational research, they draw on a hybrid mix of disciplines including sociology, ethnography, history and the humanities. Many scholars and historians writing about…

Good indoor air quality contributes to a favorable learning environment for students, productivity for teachers and staff, and a sense of comfort, health, and well-being for all school occupants. The goal of this kit is to provide clear and easily applied guidance that will help prevent Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) problems and resolve such problems…

Repetitive structural bays and repetitive standard double-glazed window units are featured throughout the major portion of the school. (Available from 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020, $15.00 annually.) (Author/MLF)

These guidelines highlight some important administrative and legal aspects of school construction projects (particularly under Alaskan law) and propose ways to address these issues during the process of selecting and contracting with school architects. The document first emphasizes the role of the architect, then reviews activities that should…

Describes the advantages of metal building systems in school construction. These advantages include faster occupancy, lower initial costs, reduced maintenance, flexibility, and predictability of cost. (Author/DN)

Three partially subterranean schools in Santa Ana, California, are expected to have lower heating and cooling costs. Using the roof for recreation avoided the expense of additional inner-city acreage. (Author/MLF)

Providing high visibility and saving energy at the same time can be accomplished, as the design of these new school buildings proves. (Author)

THE BENEFITS OF MASTER ANTENNA TELEVISION SYSTEMS (HAVING CENTRAL ANTENNA AND AMPLIFIERS WITH CABLE CONNECTIONS TO CLASSROOM) ARE DISCUSSED WITH RESPECT TO OTHER SYSTEMS OF CLASSROOM TELEVISION. INCLUDED ARE COST CONSIDERATIONS, NEED DETERMINATION, SCHOOL DESIGN, UTILIZATION OF EXISTING EQUIPMENT, AND FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS. AN EXTENSIVE ILLUSTRATED…

Current trends in contemporary school design for the State of Utah are illustrated through examination of--(1) 12 elementary schools, (2) 5 junior high schools, (3) 2 junior-senior high schools, and (4) 6 senior high schools. Each example emphasizes design solutions to problems of--(1) site conditions, (2) facility usage requirements, (3)…