By Jennette La Quire
Today, teachers and students are not tied to a wall by technology. They also do not accept a traditional, one-sided classroom. New pedagogies and learning styles – e.g. Visual, kinetic, contemplative, and collaborative—shape not only the way teachers teach, but also the way we design the spaces in which education thrives. The freedom and challenge of creating forward-thinking and effective school design is understanding and incorporating a range of teaching styles and priorities into each newly designed classroom. Of course, administrators also have to overcome the financing hurdles for building or renovating these spaces. As pedagogy, technology, and funding needs evolve, here are the trends in the K-12 school design landscape for 2025 and beyond.
Flexible, resilient spaces
Every corner, every wall and every inch of today's classroom has the potential to be functional. Designing four-sided classrooms that allow for both collaborative projects and individual learning (in all its forms) requires flexibility. In terms of today's layout, that might mean creating breakout spaces for quiet moments where students can read and concentrate, while also providing a visible connection for teachers to observe what's happening in those areas. Another way to design learning spaces differently is to group classrooms (while meeting square footage requirements) and divide this larger space into both contemplative and collective learning environments.
Looking at the bigger picture, focusing on flexibility is not a short-term design commitment. Today's buildings must be designed in such a way that they can be renovated cost-effectively in 50 years. To this end, today's designers focus on the following:
- Create flexible floor panels where load-bearing walls don't get in the way of redesigning future spaces
- Implementing HVAC and technology systems designed to accommodate changes over time
- Route underground infrastructure and utilities to a location within the building that provides an easy connection point and allows for future reconfiguration
Resilience-oriented building is not only future-oriented, but also cost-effective. Often new construction is not included in the budget, so designers can use current structures to determine whether existing infrastructure can support new educational goals. To repurpose or modernize a building, we look for solid bones, sturdy building materials and, of course, ways to flex the space by adding partitions or removing non-load-bearing walls. For example, the redesign of HED Santa Monica High School The Discovery Building may have included removable interior walls, among other highly adaptable elements. With technology paving the way for much of the advancement of learning, upgrading WiFi and making room for IT infrastructure is a key component in current and future school design.
Improving the CTE experience
Career Technical Education (CTE) is experiencing tremendous growth, particularly at the high school level. At HED we design everything from robotics labs to metal, wood and body shops to electricians' rooms and agricultural facilities. In terms of design, this resurgence encompasses not only the practical mechanics of CTE learning, but also sophisticated, integrated design that allows students to hone these skills in a future-focused environment.
Working with your hands requires having technology, which means building laboratories that combine all of these elements. For example, a drawing lab includes the basics of drawing and design as well as a computer software component and a manufacturing element. Students start with the basics, get a feel for the technology, and eventually their drawings are brought to life through 3D printing or implementation using a CNC machine.
By enhancing the CTE experience, students gain practical experience in a range of subject areas. For example at the The San Marcos Unified School District's new agriculture buildingStudents not only learn the theory and practice of raising animals appropriately, but also how to bring them to market.
Keep sustainability and nature in mind
As environmentalists, educators and architects share the common goal of creating learning spaces that are healthy, energy efficient and sustainable. As a result, both old-school and innovative eco-friendly design elements are trending in school buildings across the country as we work toward net zero, carbon neutrality, and the American Institute of Architects' 2030 goals.
On the back-to-basics side, we see tried-and-true design elements, such as a reinvention of the passive heating and cooling techniques of the past. Daylight instead of energy-intensive artificial lighting is also making a comeback. Innovations like displacement ventilation, which delivers air at a slow rate from bottom to top, provide healthier and more efficient ventilation than traditional HVAC systems. Photovoltaics (PV) is used in both shade structures and rooftops, particularly in states such as California, where PV is required for new construction by state code.
In mild climates, the trend toward indoor-outdoor classrooms is also gaining momentum. When intentionally integrated into the learning experience, this design shift goes far beyond connecting a classroom to a patio via a garage door. These outdoor spaces, such as HED's Jefferson Elementary School Outdoor Learning Project (part of the San Francisco Unified School District), are both functional and comfortable. Depending on what is being taught in the room, different tools and design elements, such as tables, shades, windbreaks, or a weatherproof whiteboard, may be part of the outdoor classroom. These spaces can also provide common areas for louder and messier projects than indoor classrooms.
Student well-being and safety without fences
Students need to be able to come and go without feeling trapped. As architects, we discover ways to build safe learning spaces without just putting up bars and removing windows. We must ask ourselves: Can a building have a single access point when students are in class? Could we design windows so that there is always visibility from an entry point? Can classroom doors be lockable from the inside? Can we create shelters in the back of the classroom or under windows? Are there ways to create spaces in the landscape between classrooms that provide shelter, e.g. B. Bushes or benches? It's important to think beyond fences. Our job is to create spaces where children feel like they can learn while keeping them safe.
The takeaway for school decision makers
No matter how flexible, resilient, innovative, sustainable and safe a learning space may be, communication is the key to unlocking the best school design. When designers are given direct contact with teachers, our most important task is to listen. If we can gain a clear understanding of how an educator teaches and what their goals and passions are, we can design a space that exponentially improves the learning experience.
For example, in conversations with a woodshop teacher about his dreams for his classroom, our team was able to address his desire to teach a sustainable curriculum and build a sense of community for his students outside of class time. That's why we modernized the building with sustainability in mind, emphasizing curriculum-related elements such as: Examples include placing plexiglass over exposed wooden posts or opening the ceiling to expose wiring and plumbing. The building became a teaching tool. We also removed outdated plumbing on the mezzanine to create a cyber café where students can hang out, study and socialize. That first conversation transformed what would have been a good space into a great learning environment.
Jennette La Quire is apPrincipal and serves as a pre-K-12 business leader HED.
This article originally appeared in the November/December digital edition of School Construction News.