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,…

This paper, focusing on young children's need for privacy, describes a study conducted to determine the manner in which children in day care centers resolve the problem of reduced space and time for privacy. A pilot study revealed that children displayed three privacy seeking behaviors: (1) verbal and nonverbal territorial behavior (use or defense…

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)

Architectural solutions to some educational problems are explored and a systematic method is presented for designing schools as learning environments for children. Classroom environments and outdoor play areas are considered as functional art forms and seen as three-dimensional textbooks. The book demonstrates a way of using curriculum as a design…