A recent focus in academic library design is as a third place: a home from home. Research has yet to interrogate what it means to be "at home,, and if academic libraries are treated like, and feel like home to students. Seamon's model provides a framework for understanding the qualities associated with homeness, across the five dimensions of…

Informal education in museums is structured through movement in space. This article summarizes a range of research that examines the role of spatial layout in shaping the ways in which visitors explore, engage, and understand museums and museum exhibitions. It is demonstrated that behavior patterns are systematically linked to spatial…

A critique of the new Goddard Library at Clark University (Worcester, Massachusetts). (JB)

Traditional factors of educational space design--cost, tradition, control, administration, and status--are contrasted with five new factors--students, educators, imagination, planning, and future utilization. (RAO)

A study was undertaken to evaluate existing methods of categorizing areas in buildings for pertinency to the requirements of federal agencies. The concern was primarily with defining classes of area within buildings, rather than allowances per individual, per machine, or other unit. Recommendations include--(1) adoption of a standard set of…

Forty-one seventh and eighth grade New York students were interviewed for purposes of determining the kinds of "built" (architectural) space most valued by children. Results indicated geometrically irregular and multileveled structures were most appealing to children. Unexpected, secret, or hidden places were also considered especially…

The George W. Woodruff Physical Education Center was designed to exude openness and space which would encourage participation while preserving existing playing fields and programs. Exterior and interior design of the facility are described. (DF)

Outlines how an information company--the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI)--designed a new building to house its facility. Problems and deficiencies in the old work space were analyzed using a rigorous systems approach, and an open-plan system was devised to allow for optimum space utilization and energy efficiency. (CWM)

This booklet describes 21 libraries completed in England during 1967-68. Photographs and floor plans illustrate structural details, and a descriptive section presents the history of each library and comments on those design features considered both functional and attractive. A table summarizes relevant data on each library. (MLF)

There is a considerable amount of research documenting the effects of noise on children. The effects are largely negative. Chronic exposure to noise has been shown to be harmful to children of various ages. It can have especially detrimental effects on younger children when language and discrimination skills are forming. Sometimes major noise…

Public buildings and the settings in which people work and live significantly influence acceptance of social inequalities, social roles, and definitions of individual competence, merit, and power. Spaces do not convey meanings as if they were simple codes, but rather objectify whatever shared meanings a group of people need to reinforce in one…

Discusses how a facilities study will allow school districts to meet current demands, as well as plan for future needs. Describes strategies for evaluating how educational programs fit into a building's existing space and offers tips for inventorying the facilities themselves. Lists items to include in a facilities study. (RJM)

Procedures are described in which economies can be effected through careful planning of school buildings and particularly through the consolidation of spaces that are used intermittently throughout the school day. The paper introduces a "use-factor" as a measure, not of the amount of usable space but of the time for which usable space is…

The scope of facilities required for the conduct of research in health-related sciences is governed by the type of work to be undertaken and the physical characteristics of the building, and can range from a simple office to extremely complex laboratories with numerous utility services. Every laboratory should be designed to accommodate--(1) all…

Discusses recommendations for designing or redesigning library buildings for easy navigability. Signage, maps, collection arrangements, and placement of emergency exits must take into account observed traffic patterns, spatial or objective orientations of individual patrons, and patrons with disabilities. Contains 63 references. (BEW)