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Rethinking Educational Spaces in School Design

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Education, Space and Urban Planning

Abstract

Approaches to 21st century school design in the United States fall into five realms of concern: Equity, Security, Community, Creativity, and Empowerment. Each of these realms incorporates different methods of assessing the value that design strategies contribute to educational outcomes. Schools have begun to rethink the role of educational spaces in student physical health, psychological wellbeing, and behavior, as well as how the school campus can become a tool for learning. Despite this, the school building, in its form and structure, remains surprisingly similar to those built during the prior century. As architects, planners, and other design professionals face mounting pressures to create new school designs that contribute to the educational return on investment (ROI), they are faced with the challenges of designing in an educational landscape shifting from the impact of disruptive technologies, on a world with depleting natural resources, and amidst an increasingly globalized economy where students must be prepared to work and live.

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Correspondence to Laura Healey Malinin .

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Malinin, L.H. (2017). Rethinking Educational Spaces in School Design. In: Million, A., Heinrich, A., Coelen, T. (eds) Education, Space and Urban Planning. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-38999-8_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-38999-8_6

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