“Its architecture shapes the way a school looks and feels to the people inside and the wider community. It determines how the spaces can be used over the lifetime of the building and the degree to which it can adapt to new needs in the future.”  - CABE

English schools are on the cusp of system wide transformation, in terms of how learning and teaching is organised but also in relation to the spaces where learning takes place.

The vast majority of the schools from the two great waves of school building reflect the ‘one size fits all’ approach to education in very literal way; schools are a physical manifestation of a mass production model of education. The intervening decades have seen a revolution in educational theory and practice.

Questions are now being asked in schools about whether we will be talking about the ‘classroom’ in the future, and that perhaps the term classroom unnecessarily narrows discussion. In his book, Building type basics for college and university facilities, David J. Neuman of Stanford University refers to the place of learning and he suggests this “more accurately reflects the fact that much learning can and should take place outside the traditional classroom environment.”

He goes further to suggest that:

“Classroom design must rise to this great diversity in subject matter and teaching/learning styles. The growing use of interactive, as opposed to didactic, teaching methods is having a profound effect on the design of classrooms.”

School environments have a profound affect on young people and children and their engagement with learning. School environments have both contributed to transformation and also constrained it.

Design Philosophies

Contemporary literature on learning environments has brought to light the importance of the connection between teaching and learning styles and spatial organisation.

An understanding of spatial theories and how they support educational philosophies should lead to the creation of enhanced personalised learning environments.

It is clear that it is important to first understand the underlying design philosophies which will support an educational philosophy and then, following this, one can then begin to understand the more detailed components that might create more specific spaces supporting pedagogies and activities.

Modern environments for personalised learning should break down the traditional notions of how to deliver education by blurring the boundaries between learner and teacher and allowing for a more shared environmental control. Spatial changes in the learning environment have a role in changing the traditional mindsets and allowing for the creation innovative approaches to teaching and learning.

Seven design philosophies have emerged from literature relating to personalised learning, and these concepts form a foundation for the design approach of this project.