Environmental / Healthy Classrooms

Case Study: Wauwatosa School District’s Lincoln Outdoor Classroom

By diving deep into school curriculum and engaging the community at large, PRA developed an outdoor classroom design to provide environmental learning opportunities to both students and community members. The collaboration between the design team, community, educational leaders, students, and construction team created a project that many people can be proud of.

Doug Kunde, AIA  |  Paige Steed
Space and Pedagogy

Project-Based Learning in an Urban Environment: One Year LaterExplore! A Community-Oriented Design

A year into the global COVID-19 pandemic, Explore! has truly been able to reap the benefits of the building’s community-oriented design. The school has been able to offer a variety of public services while it has been closed during the pandemic.

Linda Mark, AIA, CSI, CCCA  |  Stephanie Jarrett-Thorpe
Environmental / Healthy Classrooms

The Learning Playground:Restorative Learning Environments

The Virtual Learning Playground demonstrates key takeaways and spatial re-set strategies to enhance human connection, wellbeing, and resilience. The purpose of the Learning Playground and its associated ongoing research study is to explore the extent to which adaptable translations of biophilic design strategies could be employed in virtual and physical learning environments, regardless of resource abundance or scarcity.

Ilijana Soldan, AIA, NCARB, LEED  |  Valerie Caruolo, Assoc. AIA, CPHC, LEED AP
Member Spotlight

Member Spotlight: Jolene Levin

Meet Jolene Levin, the CEO at NorvaNivel, a leading designer, manufacturer, and supplier of collaborative learning environments.

Jolene Levin
President’s Perspective

An Exploration of Leader-Driven Programs

As a result of evaluating the data from the surveys and through facilitated discussions with industry leaders, key programmatic areas have been identified and are being formulated by volunteer leaders that will result in some exciting new member-only programs.

Jim McGarry
Sales & Marketing

New Teacher Hires on the Upswing Market Growth Anticipated!

New teacher hires help keep the education market viable for those selling to schools and teachers, or reaching parents through teachers. New teachers are more enthusiastic and open minded about new approaches to education, including new classroom products.

Bob Stimolo
Learning Environments

Design-Thinking Framework in ActionChinook Trail Middle School Provides Healthy Positive Spaces

Chinook Trail Middle School was a project that involved the design and construction of a new middle school located in Colorado Springs, CO in the Academy 20 School District.

Brian T. Calhoun, AIA, LEED AP BD+C  |  Tom Andrew
Community Engagement/Equity

Instruction Drives Construction: Community Engagement Beyond the Vote

The successful results of the master planning and project implementation efforts at Upper Arlington Schools are inextricably connected to this intensive level of active community engagement.

Aimee Eckmann, FAIA, ALEP, LEED AP  |  Paul Imhoff, Ed.D.  |  Steven Turckes, FAIA, ALEP, LEED AP
Environmental / Healthy Classrooms

Change to Solar and Reap the Rewards

Future school design, remodeling, and construction will look the same as it does now unless leaders in education, building construction, student organizations, and our community take the necessary steps to implement new technologies like solar energy production and battery storage that are available today and that will make a difference tomorrow.

Jody Andres, AIA LEED AP  |  Mark Hanson, PhD, LEED AP BD+C
Facilities & Infrastructure

Federal Relief Funds: What Can Be Used for School Facilities?

In response to the tremendous demands that are on the nation’s public schools during this pandemic, the federal government has provided substantial response and relief funds to school districts. Learn how to best capitalize on the unprecedented investment in school buildings and grounds.

Mary Filardo
Environmental / Healthy Classrooms

BrainSensing: Understanding the Brain's Activity in the Immersive Learningscape – PART 2

As we provoke those involved in crafting the Learning Experience to think about the future of learning, it is undeniable that addressing a customized educational experience for each and every child must be a top priority and understanding the idiosyncrasies of each of their brains must be a priority in that process.

Tomas Jimenez-Eliaeson, AIA, LEED
Space and Pedagogy

What Design Forgot:What Happens When 'My Classroom' Goes Away?

Evidence has shown that when teachers thrive, students do as well. Perhaps it is time to really begin to design for the educator and not just the student. The work of pedagogy is multifaceted and needs to be analyzed in order to apply the best design solutions to the work of educating.

Lennie Scott-Webber, PhD
Technology

Assessing Technology-Enabled Furniture

Furniture isn’t often thought of as technology infrastructure, but in classrooms, furniture can be just as important to a successful learning environment as the network connections, video displays, and microphones.

Christopher Dechter
Technology

Designing a Dream Modern Computer Lab

In a modern computer lab, flexibility of function allows students of all ages to thrive and work in a way that complements their learning style. Just a few important changes to furniture and classroom design are all it takes to refresh an outdated computer lab into a future-ready computer lab, makerspace, or Esports arena of the future.

Dr. Christina Counts