For a number of years, higher education has moved away from didactic teaching toward collaborative and self-directed learning. This paper discusses how the configuration and spatial geometry of learning spaces influences engagement and interaction, with a particular focus on hierarchies between people within the space. Layouts, presented as…

Des Moines is an urban community located in the heart of Iowa. Des Moines Public Schools serves 32,000 students in a system with 62 buildings, including Central Campus--a Regional Academy. Central Campus is housed in four buildings, including the main campus at 1800 Grand located on the western edge of downtown Des Moines. As a regional academy,…

In a three-year cumulative study, more than 1,000 children were observed either in randomly arranged preschool classrooms or in classrooms deliberately arranged to promote learning. Creativity, oral language use, and development of science and number concepts were significantly higher for children in the specially planned classrooms. (Author/SJL)

High schools need new kinds of spaces to accommodate the many different ways students will work in the future. Floor plans show a 1,600-student high school that organizes students as a large school, a house, an academy, a small family, studios for 5 students, and, finally, individual study spaces. (MLF)