For many years, the Reggio Emilia approach has been in the spotlight of the international debate on early childhood education, attracting countless devoted followers in preschool centres all over the world and inspiring an ever-increasing amount of pedagogical research. At the heart of this educational philosophy, space is considered a 'third…

This article seeks to examine the neglected sociomateriality of the classroom and investigates how space, matter and human actors are entangled, interact and take part in the 'space-producing action'. Rather than approaching the classroom as an objective collection of physical units or a stable grid, we see it as something alive, a performance…

Despite growing interest in redesigning the material landscape of education, relatively little is known about the impact of these evolving classrooms. This study aimed to gain insight into the physical learning environment and the potential pedagogical impacts thereof. A "biographical approach" (c. 1963-2015) was used to explore the…

Research has shown that rooms with greater amounts of open floor space have higher test results. Four recent trends that have negatively impacted open space in classrooms: (1) storage of CCSS materials in the classroom, (2) storage of science kits in the classroom, (3) inability to remove unwanted material, and (4) inability to remove unneeded…

In all modern societies almost everyone of their citizens have spent many years in school buildings, and the largest professional group in modern societies, teachers, is working every day during the working year in school buildings. In spite of this, we know surprisingly little about the influence of school buildings on the people who use them and…

Architects and designers have a responsibility to provide an inclusive built environment. However, for those with a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the built environment can be a frightening and confusing place, difficult to negotiate and tolerate. The challenge of integrating more fully into society is denied by an alienating built…

The Fuji Group's inflated structure (20 large circular pipes of rubberized canvas spanning a circular concrete base) may be the message for future school building. (Author/MB)