Performing-arts centers can provide benefits at the high school and collegiate levels, and administrators can take steps now to get the show started. When a new performing-arts center comes to town, local businesses profit. Events and performances draw visitors to the community. Ideally, a performing-arts center will play many roles: entertainment…

In this article, the author suggests a classroom challenge that will engage students in designing a house on the hill. He suggests teachers ask a local builder to come to the school to discuss the kinds of concerns that must be dealt with when building homes in cold environments. The use of dioramas and cardboard scale models would be very useful…

The paper summarizes findings from an applied research programing and design project for children with learning disabilities. Information was collected and analyzed from the literature, interviews, observations, participatory games, consultants, and a building type analysis. Findings are reported along 14 developmental goals (such as perceptual…

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)

In the introduction or expansion of art facilities in individual schools, there is a general movement away from the single, multipurpose art room concept. More consideration is being given to the variety of functions that the area must accommodate, adequate working space, separate storage areas, and more display facilities. This booklet contains…

Air structures have developed through a number of significant stages: military applications, conventional standard air structures (the "bubbles"), exhibition structures, and permanent building applications. With no other type of structure is it possible to obtain clear, widespan coverage of almost unlimited areas, additional ceiling clearance for…

Major challenges for recreation facility planning in an age of increasing costs are reviewed with emphasis on the need to combine imagination and technology to produce environmentally-sensitive, energy-efficient, aesthetically pleasing recreation designs. Major planning considerations are: operational efficiency, greater facility use,…

Review of academic library planning developments highlights modular design concept prevalent in 1960s. Problem areas (irregular shapes, interior or exterior courts, monumentality, too much or too little glass) and the use atria, designer lighting, monumental effects, and unusual shapes to relieve perceived monotony are discussed. Five sources are…

Parking, room temperature controls, wear-and-tear on furnishings, security, and other factors that should be considered in designing a community center are discussed. The importance of good planning based on community needs is emphasized. (PP)

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)

Discusses the need for school buildings that are flexible and adaptable to any educational situation, rather than rigidly "self-contained" or rigidly "open." Such buildings are not tied to any educational fad that may become unfashionable, and they can accommodate many educational approaches, as well as noneducational uses. (JG)

The guide details characteristics to provide architecturally accessible special education programs for handicapped students. Impetus for the accessibility movement is traced to legislation, including the Architectural Barriers Act and Sections 503 and 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Planning features considered are the development of a…

With school enrollments fluctuating, educational administrators need to do a more thorough job of planning for future educational facilities. Educational specifications can provide a helpful planning foundation for the educator and the architect. The specifications should provide specific objectives that consider the teaching/learning process to…

This publication discusses the need to design school buildings that are both flexible (i.e., responsive to frequent slight changes in use) and adaptable (i.e., responsive to infrequent major changes in use) and examines three actual school buildings that illustrate different approaches to achieving building flexibility and/or adaptability. Part 1…