This report presents a comprehensive review of research on learning environments from multiple perspectives, broadly grouped as those that focus on the physical conditions, psychosocial environment and/or organizational climate of classrooms, schools and other learning spaces. The general conclusions and recommendations offered in light of the collected findings are intended to assist learning communities, particularly those in countries with limited resources, with a practical framework for creating and sustaining safe, healthy, equitable and inclusive environments that foster effective learning. 87p

Showcases over 60 exemplary recently built or refurbished schools and universities from 28 countries and includes examples of early childhood, primary, secondary, vocational and higher education facilities spanning countries in six continents, from India, Uruguay and Portugal, to Australia, United States and Burkina Faso. Collectively, these projects demonstrate state-of-the-art design in this field and each one is lavishly illustrated with colour photos, plans and descriptions.

This catalog of a museum exhibition The Best School in the World features three expert essays and a detailed visual presentation of the schools. Architect Kaisa Nuikkinen discusses the various challenges of designing a school in her article Learning Spaces: How They Meet Evolving Educational Needs. Finland’s PISA performance is the main focus of Educational Progress in Finland and What We Can Learn from It, an expert article contributed by Pasi Sahlberg, Director General of the Finnish Centre for International Mobility (CIMO). Sirkka-Liisa Jetsonen, an architect at the National Board of Antiquities, provides an historical outline of the Finnish education system and its buildings in her article Setting the Scene for Learning. 80p

Description of a kindergarten building with open teaching spaces and large playground areas designed to allow children to mix and move around at will.

The purpose of the database is to inform the planning, design, construction, management and evaluation of educational spaces by providing an international resource of exemplary school and university facilities, combined with a bibliographical reference tool for strategic investment in educational infrastructure. This database draws on two sources of information: Information collected in the framework of the joint CELE/European Investment Bank project on “Strategic Investment Planning for Educational Infrastructure”. The 60 exemplary schools and universities featured in CELE’s publication Designing for Education: Compendium of Exemplary Educational Facilities 2011. The database provides detailed information on each project, in addition to high-quality photos and plans and contact information for schools and architects. The database classifies each design project by category: flexible learning settings, school regeneration, access, new technologies, outdoor spaces, furniture, safety, comfort, community use and involvement, integrated services, special needs provision, multi-sensory environment, cultural and historical value; environmental sustainability, energy efficiency, cost efficiency, library/resource centre, music facilities, fine art facilities, science laboratories, vocational facilities, sporting facilities, etc). In due course, details of all the 166 submissions received during the publication’s preparatory phase will be uploaded on the database.

Examines an initiative that would fulfill two complementary purposes: to enable 2nd year architecture students to understand the discipline of landscape architecture; and to enable senior school students to have a voice in developing a critique of their outdoor environment. The client was a comprehensive secondary school, G. Boys High School (GBHS). Architecture students worked collaboratively with GBHS students to develop landscape and design proposals that would improve their experience of school life- and learning, as well as contributing to social and environmental sustainability. As the architecture students worked through their brief, school students were consulted regarding their responses to the ways in which various proposals were evolving. Year 11 and 12 students provided feedback at key points in the design process, when university students were on site, and a design and technology class was identified as one that would act as the representative group who would be more substantially engaged. 14p.

Presents a survey of exceptional 20th- and early 21st-century K-12 school designs, by architects from Frank Lloyd Wright to Morphosis. This in-depth design study explores the fundamental relationship between architecture, education, and the design of contemporary learning environments. Its focus is on the underlying design themes and characteristic features that support and enhance basic aspects of learning and, in the process, create an architectural expression that is both meaningful and lasting. Its scope covers influences of contemporary educational ideas and practices, related design concepts and strategies, and the resulting impact of both on real environments for learning. More than 900 contemporary and historical photographs and 200 plans of schools by many of the outstanding design architects of the modern era are included. The book is divided into three parts: Part I is an overview of school design, Part II and III present key paradigms of school design and in-depth case studies of projects, with applicable lessons for today's architect. 528p.

Lawmaking, policies and available funding have an enormous impact on school buildings. Any changes or improvements as well as the availability of additional funds can significantly influence the quality, appearance and functionality of school architecture. This paper shows how in Finland a series of policy changes since the mid 1990s lead to a fundamental renewal of educational architecture. Three main factors spurred the development of new school designs: an Architectural Policy Act by the Finnish government highlighted the exemplary function of public buildings to raise the quality of the built environment; by surrendering uniform or binding specifications and encouraging experimentation, a highly individualized planning process for schools became possible; making extra funding for school construction available in the midst of economic crisis acted as a catalyst for the implementation of new ideas for school architecture. Selected case studies help to visualize these new trends that were made possible through policy changes. [Author's abstract] 12p

This paper outlines work connected to the successful convergence of digital, pedagogic and physical space. The Sydney Centre for Innovation in Learning (SCIL) has been focusing on the gap that has existed in schools where the physical layout is often stuck in an industrial-era education model, rather than reflecting the possibilities of ICT-enhanced personalised learning. SCIL has been working to create digital spaces so that students can consistently transition from the real to virtual world. [Author's abstract] 13p.

Explores the perceptions of students, teachers and key stakeholders of the interaction between school design and teaching and learning in the Irish context, specifically focusing on primary schools. In particular, the study draws on interviews with key stakeholders along with detailed case-studies of six primary schools. The research encompasses perceptions on existing primary schools, covering the range from older buildings to those built according to current design guidelines. School and classroom size, indoor and outdoor spaces and arrangements, and technology integration are addressed 169p.

Briefly profiles the six outstanding school designs, as selected by the jury for this upcoming compendium. These and the other selected educational facilities were user-orientated, innovative design, fit for their purpose, sustainable, and safe. The announcement of these six precedes the profiling of 60 projects from 28 countries that will be included in a publication. A list of these 60 may be found at http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/19/43/46322158.pdf 3p.

Profiles The Green School in Bali, Indonesia. The idea behind the conceptualized school is that the students would learn in the open air surrounded by nature that they feed and care for. They learn to build with bamboo while studying for the British school exams. The center of the school, called the Heart of School, ranks as Asia’s largest bamboo building. This high school was built by the same people who made the local jail and the insane asylum, with the same materials. The school has attracted "green" housing, industry, and community growth.

Compares drawings by children from two very different school environments. The project investigates how children and teachers in three recently built new schools in different regions of West Bank evaluate and use their school buildings. These three schools were chosen for this study because special care has been given to their spatial layout. Similar data are collected from children going to school in three old school buildings with more traditional spatial lay-outs. In their drawings, children from the new school give much more place to the surroundings, playground, nature, trees, open space, sun and also school friends (drawings of children in the courtyard) when compared to drawings from the old school. The authors suggest that this has to do with the fact that there is generally speaking more space and transparency in the new school. This could also be a hypothesis for explaining the more positive evaluation that children of the new school give about their school. 8p.

Discusses how the decentralization of the Finnish school system has proceeded so that now most decisions are made locally. This recent development has had a major impact the architecture of schools built in Finland. Today local authorities, principals, teachers and architects conceptualize school buildings in close co-operation and dialogue. Instead of applying a pre-described room layout, the community and the users develop specific learning environments that strive to best support the pedagogic idea of each individual school. Through this collaboration between stakeholders and flexibility of the planning process, spatial arrangements evolve that provide sheltered learning spaces, while supporting a large variety of different teaching methods. Though the design process might take longer to build than a standard school design, and initially be more expensive, educational and community needs are met effectively. Designing and building a new schoolhouse with neighborhood cooperation increase community pride and support for educational endeavors and help also to protect the facilities from vandalism. 5p.

Describes Mozambique's Plan for Education and Culture (PEEC), undertaken in 2006. One of the objectives of PEEC is to promote access to primary education through expansion of the school network. Therefore, it is envisaged that approximately 6000 classrooms be built including teacher houses and related infrastructure per year until 2015. The challenge is to find designs for nationwide application in Mozambique that allow low cost solutions and at the same time consider other methods to conventional construction. A flexible standard design concept with a basic durable and simple structure, which allows design variations for different local requirements is proposed. A crucial element for the design, applicable for all variations, is to clearly state the minimum standards for its function as a school building. The basic design of a classroom building, can be adapted by adding proposed design variations, for example glass windows, mosquito netting and electrical illumination for evening classes. The buildings can be upgraded to a rural secondary school. The flexible design options cover the various climatic conditions within Mozambique. The design also includes the option of rain water collection for locations with difficult geological conditions for boreholes. The architectural concept considers the use of locally available, low cost materials and offers solutions for sites with difficult access and environmental conditions. 10p.

Provides a general diagnosis of the Portuguese school building stock; discusses the school building modernization program, encompassing planning strategies, programmatic concepts and design principles applied in the refurbishment of existing buildings; and describes the school modernization program's operational process. The three main goals of the modernization program are to upgrade existing buildings, to open the school to the surrounding community, and to ensure the maintenance and management of the buildings after modernization. The management model implies a joint contract for construction, conservation, and maintenance operations for a longer period. 10p.

Describes the evolution from standard to site-specific school designs in Jordan. In the 1950's and 1960's, the approach was to build mainly small scale schools. Then, in the 1970's large scale schools were built. All of these used a total of seven prototypes . In 2003 a new generation of individual design school buildings appeared. Under this scheme, school buildings are positioned in order to derive the maximum benefits from natural environmental factors and to use appropriate landscaping elements to define the boundaries of the school and the access to the school grounds. Other characteristics such as the educational spaces in clusters are still largely inspired by the prototypes. But today's trend is to work on designs specific to each school. From the point of view of the Ministry of Education, the most important aspect is to elaborate the building with the designer and the user and the community. In this way, the building will have a long life, be proper, be colorful, have low maintenance costs and that will be in harmony with the surrounding environment. 5p.

This volume contains the proceedings of the 13th Architecture & Behavior Colloquium, bringing. It brought together researchers, designers, consultants and decision makers on educational facilities. Representatives from countries in Africa, the Middle-East, Europe, and the United States took part. The eleven presentations included in the proceedings cover the following topics: 1) Research on the interrelation between the quality of educational facilities and students' learning performance; 2) Educational architecture that enhances learning and social processes: examples of successful design projects, and 3) Educational architecture in developing countries: standard designs vs. site-specific, individual designs. 108p.

Presents 60 international schools of notable programming and design, offering a brief description of each, accompanied by plans, sections, and abundant photographs. 271p.

Presents a review of research done in Scandinavia on the relationship between learning and the physical environment. The paper discusses the interaction between children's learning and the physical environment of schools and their adjacent outdoor environments. The author stresses that learning in schools comprises both formal and informal learning, including play. She argues that both play spaces and learning spaces should have workshop-like qualities, preferably with clearly demarcated areas for different activities. Children need environments that inspire them to different types of practical activity. Learning environments should provide rooms for meeting and mixing with friends but also for seclusion. One way of assuring students' right to safe and developmental environments is to give them influence over the planning of their physical landscape. The local environment around the school is an opportunity in this respect. 6p.

Presents drawings and pictures of new schools in Palestine. Eight innovative, cost-effective and site specific school projects have been built in the West-Bank and Gaza and are now in operation. The main characteristics of the new schools include their integration into the urban context and topography, their integration of existing buildings into the new developments, and their use of local construction materials with less maintenance cost. In this way construction costs have been considerably reduced. 7p.

Profiles this project by which 504 schools and 52 district education offices have been built in remote areas of Laos considered to be below the poverty line. The overall objective is general primary education by 2015 for children in Laos, providing access to at least five years of education for all children in the country. The project is enabling access to modern primary education for 75, 000 children. The communities were required to make some contributions to the construction of their schools. They were typically required to provide land for the site, fencing to surround the site, and to ensure the maintenance of the building. Involving the community in this way not only saves on costs, but also provides an important indicator of the commitment of the community to run and maintain the school, and it strengthens the sense of ownership. Also discussed is the simple module that serves as architectural basis for the school projects. The module's characteristics make it site-specifically adaptable in terms of number of modules and construction materials. 6p.

Focused predominantly on primary and secondary schools, this collection of interviews, articles and case studies presents a series of reflections by educators, designers and government policy initiators on the current landscape of learning space design and educational innovation in Australia. Articles commonly acknowledge the emergent relationship between pedagogy and space, leading to both revolutionary learning spaces and transformational teaching practice. While it is Australian-centric, the experiences and case studies reflected upon transpire relevance across the globe and will surely strike a chord of familiarity for those researchers, designers and practitioners who are negotiating similar pathways. 148p

Presents 28 design patterns, along with plans, sectional views, and photographs that illustrate existing innovative learning environments from around the world. Specific designs are offered for classrooms, entries, student display space, "home base" and individual storage, laboratories, the arts, physical fitness, supervision, dispersed technology, outdoor spaces, dining areas, furnishings, and flexible spaces, with additional recommendations on lighting and ventilation. The impact of the designs on learning, socialization, and health is discussed in each section. Appendices include illustrated essays on school design, the future of built schools, author biographies, and 21 references. 214p.

Examines how architecture, engineering, landscaping, and educational systems are combined to make school buildings the instruments through which students learn how to lessen human impact on the environment. Through tours, interviews, archival data, and surveys with data from England, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, and Japan, the thesis investigates factors involved in eco-school development, and documents four eco-schools' design, activities, and students' environmental attitudes. Interviews with principals, architects, and government officials revealed that eco-schools develop quickly with enthusiastic principals who excite their students, faculty, and school board members with occasions to think and act in ecologically responsible ways. 92p.

Provides a guide for those involved in the International Pilot Study on the Evaluation of Quality in Educational Spaces (EQES): national coordinators and research teams, teaching staff, students, school principals, and others. The purpose of this pilot project is to assist education authorities, schools and others to maximize the use of and investment in educational spaces. The manual describes four research tools: 1) priority-rating exercise for quality performance objectives, 2) educational facility analysis. 3) student and teaching staff questionnaires, and 4) focus groups. For each tool, this manual presents the tool's objectives, research questions, expected response time, step-by-step instructions on how to implement the tool, and presentation of results in the final report. 71p.

Profiles 15 mostly avant-garde designs of high school and university buildings from around the world. Photographs accompany each description.

Presents over 300 school designs from teams made up of architects, students, and teachers, along with detail on the award winnders. The economical designs are intended developing and under-funded areas, with an emphasis on affordability, sustainability, and portable or modular construction.

Surveys recent school architecture in the Netherlands. The four essays and forty school portraits analyze and present the changes in the architecture of primary and secondary schools from 1990 to the present. The book reveals architectural developments in primary and secondary educational institutions over the past two decades, featuring numerous images and texts by architects and theorists. The study demonstrates that the role of architecture in education is much more than a translation of contemporary pedagogical theory into brick and mortar. The classroom is inhabited five days a week by students and staff, and its architecture provides novel spatial experiences that become formative for younger generations, providing a stimulating learning environment and establishing new traditions. 276p.

Profiles the award-winning Druk White Lotus School in Ladakh, India. The primary and secondary school is a model for green design, using local materials assembled by local craftsmen, and taking advantage of natural ventilation and abundant solar radiation. 3p.

Examines the scope of the infrastructure challenge in Sub-Saharan Africa and the constraints to scaling up at an affordable cost. It assesses the experiences of African countries with school planning, school facility designs, and construction techniques, procurement and implementation arrangements over the past thirty years. It reviews the roles of the various actors in the implementation process : central and deconcentrated administrations, local governments, agencies, social funds, NGOs, and local communities. The book draws lessons on promising approaches to enable African countries to scale up the facilities required to achieve the goal of complete quality primary education for all children at the lowest marginal cost. 288p.

Narrates the story of how the Central Asia Institute (CAI) built schools in northern Afghanistan. The author describes the harsh geography, near-death experiences as they plot a course of school-building through the Badakshan province and Wakhan corridor. Mortenson also shares his friendships with U.S. military personnel and describes the careful line CAI threads between former mujahideen commanders, ex-Taliban and village elders, and the American soldiers stationed in their midst. 443p.

Part one of this two-part book refers to the educational experiences of the author, with various anecdotes on the nature of education in the past at primary, secondary and tertiary levels. Of the two chapters that follow, the first is dedicated to the Educational and Cultural Spaces programme of the International Union of Architects (UIA), while the other focuses on the International Forum of Educational Architecture. Part two refers to active education, how education is seen today and the methodologies used to provide it. Finally, Appendix I of the book sets out a programme for the requirements of a primary school, with an adjacent nursery school, while Appendix II contains a programme for a postgraduate degree in educational architecture prepared for an Argentinian university. Available in Spanish and French.

Provides a brief overview of the historical development of school buildings in different countries, followed by contributions from authors discussing how school buildings can work together with users' own creative responses and result in educational environments that are "alive." The give-and- take relationship between architecture and its users (students, teachers, parents, and the community at large) is emphasized from the point of view of architectural psychology and emerging considerations such as information technology. The "schools for the future" vision is to create spaces that people are pleased to return to, time and again, and that allow options for future modification in line with changing user requirements. Also proposed are criteria for the assessment of schools derived from a dual approach. The first is the call for a common language to be used by designers and educators, exemplified by a number of patterns that have been found to be salient in school design. Their common underlying premise is that learning environments should be learner-centered, appropriate to age and developmental stage, safe, comfortable, accessible, flexible, and equitable, in addition to being cost effective. The second approach presents instruments for the systematic assessment of school buildings according to facet theory, a tool that helps to structure the large number of possible influences and subjective indicators such as learning performance, expressions of well-being, and social behavior. 264p.

Case study of the Kingston High School in Tasmania, Australia.

When designing classrooms, designers should look at spaces that welcome interaction with the environment and encourage the free reign of energy and imagination--the playground. Describes numerous schools around the world that can inspire the classrooms of the future.

According to this article, the design of a school cannot just incorporate the necessary physical conditions for students; it must be designed with its cultural value to the community in mind, cognizant of the fact that a young mind’s commitment to learning is affected greatly by his/her family, society and culture’s value of education.

Photographs, description, and credits for the 140,000-square-foot King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) Academic Library in Thuwal, Saudi Arabia, designed by HOK. KAUST was certified as the largest LEED Platinum project in the world. The library design de-emphasizes the library as a repository of books while emphasizing the social dimensions of learning and access to knowledge through technology.

In-depth analyses of fifteen K-12 school buildings, with photos, drawings, specifications, descriptions and design solutions. Includes Evelyn Grace Academy, Zaha Hadid Architects London, United Kingdom; Gloria Marshall Elementary School, SHW Group, Spring, Texas; Leutschenbach School, Christian Kerez, Zurich, German; Machias Elementary School NAC Architecture, Snohomish, Washington; Marysville Getchell High School Campus, DLR Group,Marysville, Washington; Nathan Hale High School, Mahlum, Seattle, Washington; Pritzker Science Center, William Rawn Associates, Architects, Milton, Massachusetts; Samuel Brighouse Elementary School, Perkins+Will, British Columbia, Richmond, Canada; South Shore International College Prep High School, John Ronan Architects, Chicago, Illinois; Stoddert Elementary School & Community Center, EE&K a Perkins Eastman company, Washington D.C.; Summit Elementary School, Lee H. Skolnick Architecture + Design Partnership, Casper, Wyoming; W. F. Kaynor Technical High School, The S/L/A/M Collaborative, Waterbury, Connecticut; Cedar Ridge High School, Perkins+Will, Round Rock, Texas; Charles W. Morey Elementary School, Flansburgh Architects, Lowell, Massachusetts; Gary Comer College Prep, John Ronan Architects, Chicago, Illinois.

Montgomery Primary School is the UK’s first zero carbon in use and climate-change-ready exemplar school built to the Passivhaus standard. Its design and solar generating electrical power plant enable its electricity bill to be zero each year.

Study investigates the impact of educational spaces on their users and identifies empirical evidence supporting the importance of school infrastructure on the well-being of Flemish secondary students

In 2007 the Portuguese government launched a major school modernization program, and has taken steps to ensure the long-term sustainability of facilities. Projects now anticipate use by the broader community, allow for possible income-generating opportunities during the design phase and include custom-designed energy management systems.

The Yakutia Republic is currently working to update its early childhood development system. Its goal is to ensure a high quality environment for early learning and child care and to enable higher enrollment levels. Includes photos.

This paper presents the conclusions of a study, carried out in collaboration with schools in six European countries, which focused on tomorrow's physical learning environments. It resulted in the creation of a learning space model that is flexible, modifiable, and sustainable while supporting the teaching and learning processes.

Pays tribute to architect Rosalyn Koo, and documents her donated services to design a seimmically safe and environmentally sustainable school to serve Shaanxi Province, China, after the devastation of the 2008 earthquake.

Examines Australia's template-based school design program that was a result of the 2007 Building the Education Revolution, a vast ten billion pound national stimulus package designed to provide every eligible school in the country with new or refurbished accommodation. Describes how the program was led, how the templates developed, how the templates got placed on sites, the quality of the projects, and the pros and cons of the program.

Discusses higher education master planning in countries desiring a better quality of life and a competitive stance in the global economy. Advice on connecting a campus to its culture, making it attractive to foreign students, including users in the planning, and partnering with local entities is offered.

Documents work of the Korean Educational Development Institute (KEDI). Planning discussions lead to subject-specific classroom clusters.

Analyzes Catalonian schools built using advantageous prefabricated technologies that improve the building process and reduce the environmental impact of the building. These technologies can have a positive influence upon learning activities. Includes an introduction about the prefabrication of hundreds of schools since 2000, and an analysis of the main architectural features that belong to these industrialized school buildings. Studies if these architectural features could have an impact on the learning process and/or affect the curriculum, and analyses this teaching process by interviewing several schools' teaching staff. Conclusions are drawn and recommendations are made for future educational projects.[author's abstract]

Explores the architecture of Mexico's Red de Innovacion y Aprendizaje (RIA). This network of 42 (as of the end of 2010) education centers serves underprivileged communities. The buildings feature sustainable, modular, and minimal design, with many of the room dividers being made of translucent material, which enhances natural lighting.

Profiles Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). The advanced research campus was built to LEED standards in a harsh desert environment that nonetheless had to contend with and high salinity of its coastal site. Photographs and plans accompany a description of design, building techniques, materials, and sustainability efforts.

Profiles this school whose building layout shuns the traditional level floors in favor of a spiral ramp which seamlessly unifies the interior space and creates a space that is conducive to social contact. A list of project participants, photographs, and plans accompany the text.

Profiles this simple, oval-shaped kindergarten in Japan, with a rooftop playground that serves as play area and "track" for the students. A list of project participants, photographs, and plans accompany the text.

Profiles this Austrian facility that offers multiple "feel-good" spaces via an ever-changing space continuum, inviting one to stray and move into them, providing both a retreat as well as a communications space. A list of project participants, photographs, and plans accompany the text.

Profiles this early learning facility designed as a series of four parallel bodies in which fully built and empty areas are alternated, allowing daylighting and natural ventilation. A list of project participants, photographs, and plans accompany the text.

Profiles this South African early learning facility that consists of 2 classrooms, a kitchen, sanitary facilities, and an outdoor playground. The school is embedded in a "colorful landscape," in which adventure and curiosity are encouraged and serve as an experimental play-room for children to discover and conquer. A list of project participants, photographs, and plans accompany the text.

Profiles this private school, a group of modular structures organized on one level that give easy orientation, good natural lighting, and a close contact to the outdoors. The modular structure is flexible to programmatic changes. A list of project participants, photographs, and plans accompany the text.

Profiles this Portuguese early learning through elementary facility, designed as a series of pavilions in the shape of a house, surrounded by courtyards, balconies, and establishing a relation of continuity with the surrounding territory neighborhood. A list of project participants, photographs, and plans accompany the text.

Explores the ten princples underlying the concept of Education Campus, as well as their application in several Spanish universities. The principles involve integrated planning, spatial harmony, nature and art, accessibility, sustainability, community relationship, and innovative teaching modalities.

Profiles the Rolex Learning Center at the Ecole Polytechnique Federal de Lausanne. The highly unusual architecture is detailed, as are the successes and failures of the interior spaces.

Draws on traditional construction techniques in Burkina Faso, West Africa, to create natural ventilation in 100+ degree temperatures. Materials from the local environment provide many solutions.

Discuses the Centre for Effective Learning Environments' (CELE) first review of a national school building programme, which aims to tackle the physical deterioration of the building stock, poor environmental standards in terms of energy performance. The review found considerable improvement in school facilities, strong political support, but over-adherence to traditional classroom design.

Outlines a research project that aimed to gather first-hand data from school users (pupils, teachers, school principals), as well as academic performance data from pupils. The project compared data obtained from users of "new and site-specific" and "standard" schools in order to show whether more attractive and site-specific designs have a positive effect on learning. Factors that may contribute to inconclusive results are discussed.

Presents a critical overview of European school building design types, based on an analysis of morphologies and spatial layouts. The different design types are evaluated in function of specific didactic and social needs. The courtyard, block, cluster, and town-like types are described, illustrated with plans, and then compared.

Descrubes the General of Universities (SGU) of the Spanish Ministry of Education Program to foster the modernization and internationalization of Spanish university campuses. This initiative focused on teaching, research and aspects of technology transfer, but also developing the campus into an integral social model which interacts with its territorial environment. Results so far have been positive, and are contributing to the creation of sustainable, environmentally integrated university campuses.

Focuses on analysis of visual performance and quality issues in classrooms located in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The methodology depended on data collection and analysis of design information obtained from architectural drawings of standard schools, design compliance documents set by the relevant governmental bodies, and site visits and photography. It analyzed several important design issues that have significant impact on visual quality, including space size and depth to height ratio, windows orientation, lighting direction and desk position. Several problems concerning contrasting luminance levels in the field of view were identified and described. Mitigation of the problems using recommended daylighting systems was discussed based on the UAE climate. [author's abstract]

Draws on innovative designs to create the new Student Learning Centre (SLC) at the University of Melbourne School of Engineering. To facilitate collaborative learning while acting as a point for interaction and social activity, the SLC offers adaptable classrooms, group study areas, enhanced with a garden area and other free space. Floor plans and photographs assist in understanding the adaptive resources of the SLC.

Reports on the AIA Committee on Architecture for Education's annual fall confernece in Helsinki, Finland. Finland's main principles for comprehensive education have resulted in its inclusion in the world's best in student achievement. Conference attendees experienced current trends in school design that have an influence worldwide and were given opportunities to carry away information that would help them improve their own practice. Additional reports were made on British, Jordanian, and Botswanan advancements in school facilities.

Profiles this news building housing the mathematics and physics departments of Groningen University and Hanze Polytechnic. A steel load-bearing structure exposes both the interior and exterior design. The public functions (library, reception, and restaurant)are housed in the transparent ground-floor volume. Two inner courtyards admit natural light into the core of the building. Project information and photographs are included.

Profiles this Israeli project featuring two components: a 26,000-square-foot building for a school of social work, and a 25,500-square-foot community center for at-risk children. Shaded outdoor courtyards and interior atriums that provide shelter from desert heat and sandstorms are open to the public, merging the city and academics. The buildings sit 10 feet below street level, not only to buffer noise from an adjacent highway, but also to provide a visual and physical transition from city life to academic life. Windows are deeply recessed to mitigate solar gain and glare, and the west facade features minimal fenestration. Project information and photographs are included.

Profiles this cancer research and biomedicine center with offices, seminar rooms, conference areas, common-area kitchens on each floor, and research laboratories. The facility connects to the preexisting McGill University Life Sciences Complex, which comprises a circular, 16-story concrete building and a rectilinear, seven-story concrete building, both built in 1965. The existing facilities were renovated as part of the overall project. The new six-story, glass-and-zinc building provides additional space for researchers. Laboratories were designed to be flexible, with modular casework that allows workers to configure the space as needed. The building is topped with a green roof. Project information and photographs are included.

Profiles this arts campus with classrooms, studios, offices, an art shop, exhibition space, student center, faculty lounge, library, and study pods.  The complex occupies a full block in the heart of Singapore. Six entrances from four different streets make the building accessible to both students and the public. The exterior walls, made of aluminum and black stone, enclose a canyon-like interior surrounded by glass and steel volumes. Bridges link the volumes and serve as performance platforms. Project information and photographs are included.

Discusses a global evolution in educational delivery, and how it is affecting school facilities. Even though student achievement in the United States is lagging, its progress in developing futuristic learning environments is emulated worldwide.

Profiles this private K-12 school's renovation, involving new mechanical systems on the roof and the application of bold colors in corridors, classrooms, and service spaces. Project information, plans, and photographs are included.

Briefly reviews the Finnish school system, dispelling potential misconceptions and citing its advantages in teacher treatment, school design, and educational environment.

Discusses the strategies adopted to reorganise school spaces under Portugal's Secondray School Modernization Program. It describes the conceptual model and highlights the solutions proposed for libraries, science teaching spaces and museum units.

This issue of Open House International explores and investigate qualities and characteristics of learning environments at different scales and in different contexts, from classroom typologies to campus outdoor spaces. The 12 articles emphasize emerging paradigms in learning environments that involve a number of underlying issues including the academic house clustering, the school as heart of the community, the rising interest in new classroom spaces and forms, the user-centered processes, utilizing the learning environment as an open textbook, and the impact of recent advances in information technologies and globalization on the future of learning settings.

Profiles the Choice First Centre for Health and Wellness at Canada's University of Lethbridge. Substantial portions of the building are underground, preserving campus views and mitigating the large bulk of the building. Photographs, plans, and sectional views accompany the text.

Investigates the impact of social and cultural requirements on the sustainability of future learning environmentz. The case of New Kuwait University City in Shedadiyah is used to illustrate how current social and cultural requirements impact the design of a future university campus and inhibit the production of a sustainable environment. Among several socio-cultural factors, the paper focuses on two significant aspects that have dramatically affected the development of the master plan for the New University City; namely separation of students sexes and car parking requirements. The first requirement was mandated by a parliament decree to build two separate campuses; one for male students and the other for female students. The implementation of this requirement resulted in the duplication of many educational facilities and immensely increased space and budget requirements. The second requirement reflected dependency on automobiles as primary means of transportation in Kuwait. It resulted in a necessity to allocate large areas of land for vehicular traffic and car parking. These two requirements created a great challenge towards achieving the required level of sustainability. The paper concludes that while recognizing that accommodating clients social and cultural requirements is necessary for the application of a comprehensive sustainability strategy, these requirements might work against achieving required levels of other aspects of sustainability.

Profiles the campus of Canada's recently founded Quest University. The four buildings described work together to create social spaces and preserve mountain views. Photographs, plans, and sectional views accompany the text.

Previews Ireland's upcoming guidelines for the inclusion of special needs pupils within schools. Spaces, policies, and design solutions that will increase inclusion and socialization of these pupils within the mainstream student body are highlighted.

Previews the Italian region of Calabria's efforts to build new and renovate its school facilities. Their 20 indicators of quality, management of transition to new facilities, and flexible prototypes are outlined.

Presents exemplary Perth school designs, noting the planning and design principles that went into these facilities selected for their flexibility, adaptability, siting, size, maintainability, and sustainability.

Profiles an American school in Germany that required the cooperation of a German and American architect. Interior details include photo-sensor controlled blinds, radiant floors, natural ventilation, and daylighting. Plans, photographs, building statistics, and a list of project participants are included.

Profiles Jordan's aggressive plan to improve public education, including the Ministry of Education's plans to build new schools and to properly equip existing ones. Site selection criteria, technology integration, and adaptable design prototype details are covered.

Presents the results of a study by the Flemish Agency for Infrastructure in Education (AGIOn) that evaluated the quality of school buildings in Flanders using a monitoring system based on international experience. The results showed that most school buildings satisfy the basic requirements of habitability and safety, but they often fall short when it comes to the new pedagogical and social challenges of the 21st century.

Profiles “hole in the wall” computer kiosks in impoverished New Delhi neighborhoods that provide unsupervised and collaborative learning environments to heterogeneous groups of children. In an interview, Dr. Sugata Mitra, the creator of this new educational pedagogy termed Minimally Invasive Education (MIE), explains how it can help bridge the digital divide and provide rich learning opportunities for children everywhere.

Profiles the Hazelwood School in Glasgow, Scotland, a school for students with dual-sensory impairment. All are deaf, blind, and have learning difficulties. Some are in wheelchairs and some have behavioral issues. Ample access to the outdoors, interior sensory detailing, and a domestic atmosphere are featured. Plans, photographs, building statistics, and a list of project participants are included.

Provides an update on CELE's International Pilot Project on Evaluating Quality in Educational Spaces, which aims to assist education authorities, schools and others to maximize the use of and investment in learning environments. The article explains the school selection and implementation process, which is currently being conducted in Mexico,New Zealand, Portugal and the United Kingdom.