Features


Community-Driven Design for Next-Generation Learning: A Case Study of Upper Arlington High School

“Your voice matters” defined the Upper Arlington, Ohio, High School master planning and design process, and it was the catalyst behind the project to improve aging facilities in this high-performing district.

An Open-Door Policy: Designing for Social-Emotional Learning

While these design goals sought to balance the various needs of a school, they also supported social-emotional learning (SEL), which focuses on fostering social and emotional skills within school curricula. SEL can take many forms, but it generally adheres to five central competencies: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision-making.

Catawba College Completes Renovation Project on Center for the Environment

At Catawba College, home of the first certified net-zero campus in the Southeast and only the seventh in the United States, the Center for the Environment (CENV) features the Environmental Studies Department’s hands-on research laboratory. Built more than 25 years ago, the building needed major systems and aesthetics revitalization.

Delivering Successful Career & Technical Education (CTE) Spaces that Spark a Sense of Curiosity

Creating successful spaces to spark curiosity, collaboration and confidence for students starts with several key programming and design considerations.

Enabling the Future of the Campus Experience

This strategy for campus renewal and modernization was top of mind for the University of New Hampshire (UNH) as it embarked on one of its most significant infrastructure improvements in recent history––relocating a substantial portion of its utility distribution network connected to the Combined Heat & Power Plant (CHP).

Designing for Theatrical and Performing Arts Curriculum in Schools

Getting a student out from behind a desk; having them work with others in a self-directed way; allowing them to explore and express themselves and make things; having them learn skills that can be applied in life and in possible career paths—those are goals behind today’s push to change how students learn, to get them to want to come to school every day. Education in the theatrical and performing arts promises much of these.

Here's a Transformative Trend in America that Must Not Be Overlooked

Construction activity on university campuses in America is more than noteworthy. In fact, it is being categorized as transformative! Due to a massive increase in students after COVID-19, a construction trend is sweeping college and university campuses in response to the high demand for more housing.

Facility Focus: WSU's Woolsey Hall Shapes Next Generation of Business Leaders

Home of The Barton School of Business, Woolsey Hall at Wichita State University (WSU) bridges the traditional academic campus with a newer complex of makerspaces, labs, and research facilities.

Can Outsourcing Solve Higher Education’s Operational Challenges?

Today’s higher education institutions are faced with a myriad of operational complexities in the pursuit of academic excellence. Staffing, student well-being, maintenance, sustainability, and operations management challenges have only been amplified by the pandemic, decreasing enrollments, aging infrastructure, and funding constraints. The operating environment of educational facilities has undoubtably become more stressful.

Storm Shelters’ Growing Importance in Schools

Reliable storm shelters must include the engineering necessary to ensure safety, comply with required guidelines and create comfort during emergencies.

Three Truths About Meeting Sustainability Mandates in K–12 Schools

Today’s K–12 leaders are tasked with everything from adhering to rigorous academic standards to implementing operational procedures to building healthy school communities, and for many, sustainability unintentionally falls to the bottom of the priority list. Further, the cost of taking on green initiatives is on the rise, making it even more of a challenge for financially strapped school districts to meet sustainability expectations and commitments.

Hygiene and Cleanliness are Top-of-Mind this Back-to-School Season

Summer is flying by, which means a new school year is around the corner. As students begin to fill the hallways, so does an inevitable influx of germs and illnesses. A successful school year starts with creating a safe and healthy environment to welcome students back. Prepare your building for a new school year with these hygiene and cleaning recommendations.

Best Practices for Ballistically Protecting Your School

Ballistically protecting a school can be a daunting and complicated task. Focusing on practical best practices streamlines the process and makes your efforts more effective.

Your School’s Unseen Health Threat: Indoor Air Quality

With the start of a new school year, the health & wellness of students, teachers, and school district employees has become—more than ever—a top priority and concern.

Solving the Challenges of Printer Jams, Card Waste, and Long Lines at the One Card Office

NC State University One Card offices face tough challenges trying to serve tens of thousands of students, faculty and staff. Every person needs an ID card to access various aspects of campus life, from entering residence halls and other buildings to linking to debit accounts and proving student status to participate in university activities. One Card office challenges include improving printer efficiency, reducing card waste, and eliminating the hassles of having to visit one central location to pick up cards.

AMR Scrubbers Free Up Staff for More Human-Centered Duties

Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMR) are the future; Isaac Asimov and the rest of classic sci-fi have been telling us this for decades.

Campus Audio

Defending the Campus Perimeter with Audio

How can audio from intercoms and IP speakers play a role with perimeter security?

Case Study: Modernizing a 1960s L.A. School with Biophilic Design

The client was Grover Cleveland Charter High School, part of the Los Angeles Unified School District in Los Angeles, Calif. The challenge, modernizing a 1960s-era, single-story school to double its square footage to accommodate additional students and to follow biophilic design goals that would benefit students and foster collaboration and social interaction.

Esports: The Next Great Space to Learn

Schools across the country and world are incorporating esports or competitive videogaming into their curriculum—even offering full and partial scholarships—to meet the growing popularity and demand of virtual sports.

Bringing STEAM to Life in the K–12 Classroom

What if you could apply crucial STEAM concepts in a way that engages students like never before?

Designing Learning Spaces for Generation Alpha

Generation Alpha is the class of digital natives born after 2010—currently learning, exploring, and growing in PK–12 environments. What makes them different than past generations of learners? Technology has been ingrained into them as part of their childhoods.