The requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) concerning public school building accessibility are summarized. Requirements discussed include facility design and braille and raised letter signs. (DB)

In 2000, ASBO International Certificates of Excellence went to Arcon Associates, Inc., in Lombard, Illinois; Barbour/LaDouceur Architects and Ellerbe Becket in Minneapolis, Minnesota; Fanning/Howey Associates in Indianapolis, Indiana; and Tomaino Iamello Associates in Deal, New Jersey, for school building construction/renovation projects. (MLH)

Highlights a new K-12 school gymnasium in Mexico that changes and reacts to weather conditions, requires no air conditioning, and, on typical days, uses sunlight filtering through its ample clerestory as the sole source of illumination. Includes numerous photographs, a section drawing, and a site plan. (GR)

A prime mover behind larger space requirements is expansion of legal entitlements for children with disabilities, under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The list of architectural interventions has lengthened, and is matched by burgeoning effects on space and budgets. Nonphysical barriers must also be addressed. (MLH)

Describes the design of the Charles V. Park Library at Central Michigan University and the Martha Rivers and E. Bronson Ingram Library, an addition to the Frederick Ferris Thompson Memorial Library at Vassar College. Discusses the libraries as examples of merging tradition with technology. Includes photographs. (EV)

Describes the design of the expansion of the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) Advanced Computation Building at the University of Illinois, Champaign. Discusses how the design incorporated column-free space for flexibility, cooling capacity, a freight elevator, and a 6-foot raised access floor to neatly house airflow, wiring,…

Offers tips on energy efficiency and building design that can help schools reduce operating costs, improve academic performance, address health and safety issues, and protect the environment. (EV)

Describes an award-winning design of a new residence hall at the University of Toronto's St. George campus. The new residence's plan, designed by Saucier and Perrotte Architectes, emphasizes a spirit of communal interaction. Includes design drawings and schematics. (EV)

Describes how the Durant Road Middle School in Raleigh, North Carolina sets a new standard in environmental school design. "Daylighting," bringing daylight into the building for psychological, health, and energy-saving benefits, plays a central role in the design. (EV)

Describes the blend of tradition and innovation embodied in Kyu Sung Woo Architect's design of new student housing at Bennington College in Vermont. Includes drawings and photographs. (EV)

Describes SMWM's design of an elegant new building for the private Drew School in San Francisco, replacing the prior hodgepodge school campus. Includes drawings and photographs. (EV)

Methods in use in industry are suggested for providing vocational facilities that are flexible and adaptable to changing conditions. Academic and vocational activities are allowed to intermix in order to implement interdisciplinary educational situations. A systems approach to construction enabling specification of building components to fulfill…

Michel Foucault's critical studies concerning regimes of power are of special interest when applied to architecture. In particular, he warned of the hazards of building surveillance into architectural structures for the purpose of monitoring people and took as his historical exemplar English philosopher Jeremy Bentham's "Panopticon," a structure…

The manual is intended to help school districts comply with federal mandates for physical accessibility and least restrictive settings for handicapped elementary school children. A general introduction to the accessibility concept in chapter 1 considers the historical background, the role of the physical environment, and existing federal…

The traditional two-teacher school in Queensland is high-set, providing two classrooms, services room, and verandah upstairs, and a concreted area underneath. This plan re-arranges the traditional two-teacher school to fit a linear multiple-area plan (which can, with minor variations, be adapted to up to a four-teacher school). The plan…