Tyler Strasser

Debra Dagher
UWRT 1102
6 April 2015
The Evolution of Educational Facilities
I was looking at a clock, and watching each second slowly tick by. Minutes
seem like hours, hours feel like days. White, brick walls surrounded me with an
occasional, inspirational poster applied to the prison-like surface. My peers
were either asleep or distracted by the cell phones hidden from the teachers sight.
There was a constant, monotone voice discussing todays lesson. By the end of
the day, I was demotivated and have no energy left to complete the homework
assignments due in less than 24 hours. Then, it was time for practice. The gym
had no air condition. However, that allowed me to be in excellent shape. Practice
and games were the only things that motivated me to get through each day. After
practice, it was homework time. When the homework was finally complete, I was
drained physically and mentally. Then I was faced with the burden to return to
this mundane facility that dulled me, stifling every last ounce of my creative will.
Well, that was how my personal school experience was. Why should the future of
our society be forced to study in buildings that are characterless, unimaginative
facilities that are stuck in the past? What are architects doing to help change these
negative classifications of schools fit the needs of the 21st century? What changes
need to be made for educational buildings of the past to evolve?

Schools are meant to help students thrive and create individuality not
demotivate and bore them. Architect Laura A. Wernick of HMFH Architects, Inc.,
strongly believes that the environment students learn in strongly effect their
learning. HMFM Architects have designed many new, award-winning schools that
fit the 21st centurys style of teaching and learning. Schools are now being
designed that support the way students learn and the way teachers and instructors
approach learning. Libraries are being enhanced and equipped with many new
technologies. Education is drifting away from old techniques and is beginning to
acquire new techniques to approach learning in a different way. All of us are
unique. We all think in many different ways. With that being said, we all need
different rooms and learning environments to approach the many different ways of
learning. Some students work best alone or in isolation, others may like to work
outside and with other students. Regardless, learning does not just take place in a
classroom behind a closed door. Schools are now being equipped with rooms that
enhance learning and motivate students to learn. Education is a very important
aspect in life, and architectural changes are being made to make learning fun.
There should be an physical, mental, and emotional connection with learning.
When learning is connected physically, mentally, and emotionally, a sense of joy
while learning is created.
As stated previously, learning does not just take place in the classroom.
Rooms where students work on labs, complete projects, discover the arts, and
present presentations are all additions that are being considered in the design and

construction of modern, new age schools. Open floor plans are now an essential
part of educational facilities. Open floor plans allow students to work without
teachers micromanaging and constantly peeping over a students shoulder. Visual
communication and connection between students and teachers is a benefit from
open floor plans. These types of floor plans are also allowing easier
communication between teachers, instructors, principals, and professors.
Open floor plans lead to another critical part of learning, natural light. The
more windows there are, the better. Natural light has become an architectural
priority in the work place and in schools within the past 10 years. Natural light
has numerous benefits including productivity, improved focus, improved test
scores, elimination of common distractions, student health, and natural light is free
of charge. Painting walls with bright, fun colors also makes a student more eager
to learn. Students spend most of the day in schools and other educational facilities;
therefore providing them with natural light is a necessity for health. The human
body uses the natural circle of light and darkness during the 24 hour period of day
to regulate it's daily sequence of changes of sleep, hunger, body temperature,
alertness and most hormone production that is necessary for the human body to
function properly (Baker). The first essential step in daylighting is to design a
building with maximum access to natural light through the use of open-air design,
incorporating atriums, skylights, and windows to draw sunlight into workplaces.
The second is to balance artificial light with sunlight to create optimal mood and
functionality in the space ("LEED, Daylighting, and Lighting Control").

However, the most important thing in schools is conveying the messages of

lessons and lectures to the students. This is acoustics. Quality acoustics are
arguably the most essential characteristic in schools. The entire goal of education
is that students learn and excel academically. When classroom acoustics are poor
it can affect speech understanding, behavior, attention, concentration, and
academic achievement. With that being said, quality acoustics are very necessary.
Students must be able to hear the message being discussed. Merriam-Websters
Dictionary defined acoustics as the qualities of a room (such as its shape or size)
that make it easy or difficult for people inside to hear sounds clearly. Think of
sound as a beam, like a ray of light, passing through space and encountering
objects. When sound strikes a surface, a number of things can happen,
including: Transmission-- The sound passes through the surface into the space
beyond it, like light passing through a window. Absorption-- The surface absorbs
the sound like a sponge absorbs water. Reflection-- The sound strikes the surface
and changes direction like a ball bouncing off a wall. Diffusion-- The sound strikes
the surface and is scattered in many directions, like pins being hit by a bowling
ball. Keep in mind that several of these actions can occur simultaneously
("Classroom Acoustics).
Although it would be nice to build completely new schools, that is not an
option. However, renovation of schools is constantly taking place. For example,
schools constructed within Portugal were built to last 50-100 years. The buildings
are staying the same, but necessary changes are constantly being made. These

schools are closely associated with tradition, history, and culture of Portugal. The
evolution of these schools is taking place and circumstances or obstacles that
would cause them to remain in the past are not hindering it. There are far to many
schools that were constructed post World War II that are still being used to date.
Architecturally, these building are stuck in the past. However, renovations and
enhancements in technology are allowing these schools to still function properly.
It is very common to modernize an old building. Renovating saves money,
resources, and time. Updates are continuously made on these buildings to help
them continuously meet the needs of modern educational facilities.
The architecture of schools is a priority for the success of our society.
Whether it be the addition of new technologies, the construction of new
modernized schools, the design and application of new architectural features, or
even the renovation of old buildings, schools will always need to evolve.
American entrepreneur, Jim Rohn, once said, Whatever good things we build,
end up building us. Schools are so very important to the future of our society.
Without the necessary resources provided for education, we are doomed. With
that being said, the architecture and evolution of schools and other educational
facilities is necessary.

Works Cited
Baker N, Steemers K. Daylight design of buildings, London: James and James (science
publishers Ltd) , 2002 .
"Classroom Acoustics." Classroom Acoustics. The Technical Committee on Architectural
Acoustics of the Acoustical Society of America, Aug. 2000. Web. 06 Apr. 2015.
Freire, da S. J. M. R. "Primary School Architecture in Portugal: a Case Study." Peb Exchange.
(2008). Print
"LEED, Daylighting, and Lighting Control." LEED, Daylighting, and Lighting Control. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 07 Apr. 2015.
Leiringer, Roine, and Paula Cardellino. "Schools for the Twenty-First Century: School Design
and Educational Transformation." British Educational Research Journal. 37.6 (2011):
915-934. Print.
Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 07 Apr. 2015.
"Natural Light and Education: The Benefits of Daylighting for Schools and
Colleges." Bristolite Daylighting Systems. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Apr. 2015.
"Not Old School: Architecture in Support of Learning." YouTube. HMFH Architects, n.d. Web.
07 Apr. 2015.