HKS, Inc.’s Post

"As institutions aim to improve the lives of their students and the spaces they inhabit, flexible university buildings may provide an all-in-one solution." As AEC companies design and build flexible university buildings, our EVP and national higher education advisory council chair, Lew G., has seen a trend toward fewer large lecture halls and an increase in labs, multipurpose studios, flexible rooms, and maker spaces. For example, the Rubenstein Arts Center at Duke University incorporates six multipurpose studios that reflect flexibility. Each room can be adapted into an art exhibit, classroom, public program space, and more. Read more on Building Design+Construction Media: https://lnkd.in/esr2mJCD #Skanska #Construction #Development #ShapingOurFuture #HigherEducation #Universities

As higher education enrollment rates climb, there is an urgent need for students to have quality housing on college campuses. HKS education designers have created student housing environments on campuses small and large. But beyond just delivering housing units, our teams have conducted extensive research to understand what students really want and need for their housing.   HKS has developed a research coalition to help align with university partners on how to put student experience at the center of the design process. Out of twelve student needs, three of the most foundational needs identified were privacy, socialization and comfort. 🔽   Read on to understand how we have integrated the student experience into our design approach and the impact it has made. https://hks.onl/4eeQYbL   Renae Mantooth/Jeff A. Larsen #studenthousing #design #architecture

Designing a new school or redevelopment within a school is no small feat. It’s a process that requires collaboration, innovation, and a deep understanding of the needs of students, educators, and the community. It also must be located in the understanding of how curriculum will be delivered. That’s where Autens Space Design Lab comes in, setting a new standard for stakeholder engagement in educational design. At Autens Pasifika, located in Auckland, and available to schools in New Zealand and Australia, we believe that the key to creating inspiring and functional educational spaces lies in active participation and co-creation. Here’s how our Space Design Lab can help inform your next school building project: Autens Space Design Lab places a strong emphasis on involving all stakeholders in the design process. From students and teachers to parents and community members, everyone’s voice is heard. This inclusive approach at the concept design stage ensures that the final design reflects the true needs and aspirations and culture  of the entire school community. Architects find that these workshops support them to: understand the community, the school vision for teaching and learning and the opportunities for change in the way that teaching and learning will be delivered in the future. These workshops are a huge help for architects and leadership teams at the concept design stage. Ready to transform your educational spaces? Discover more about our approach at Autens Space Design Lab and join us in shaping the future of education, one school at a time. https://lnkd.in/gd7cqJu #SchoolDesign #StakeholderEngagement #Education #Innovation #CommunityBuilding #AutensDesignLab #FutureOfEducation #ContemporaryEducation #AutensPasifika #SpaceMatters

HIGHER EDUCATION DESIGN NEWS: Colleges and universities are reimagining education beyond traditional classrooms. Jana Hartenstine delves into how institutions are leveraging outdoor teaching spaces to foster experiential learning and community connection in her latest article. Discover how universities like University of North Carolina at Charlotte are pioneering the shift toward performative landscapes, creating vibrant hubs for creativity and collaboration. From revitalizing underutilized spaces to integrating sustainable design elements, these projects offer more than just aesthetic appeal — they embody a forward-thinking approach to education. Read more in The Great Outdoors for American School & University https://hubs.li/Q02rj3DD0 #OutdoorLearning #HigherEducation #Sustainability #CampusDesign #ElevateandInspire

Brighten up your day: watch School Stories! <Sound on> Our short film captures why all of us involved in this fantastic design sector are motivated to do what we do. Jestico + Whiles will soon be completing our 100th school. A milestone, building over 800,000m² of space, in schools of all different types: primaries, secondaries, special schools, UTCs, colleges in the UK and overseas. But most importantly providing quality learning environments to nearly 200,000 young people and their teachers. And that is what is important. Not the architecture. But what goes on inside it. The community and how it supports young people and teachers in their learning. We often talk about post-occupancy evaluation and the need to do more of it. Inherently this is usually metric-based, examining the physical performance of the building, the environment, the data. With School Stories we wanted to capture something different. Each year, each term, each day, there are thousands of experiences – stories – which play out inside the buildings which we have designed. Renewing our collaboration with filmmaker Dion Barrett and audio producer Flo Lines, we have recorded a fraction of those stories by revisiting a selection of our schools to hear directly from their communities in their own words. A vignette into the world happening every day inside each one. #architecture #schooldesign #educationdesign #education

I would like to recommend a great online course for those interested in childhood environments and teaching kids about architecture. (BEE - built environment education). https://lnkd.in/dFbKGkrY I've been amazed by how many people with various backgrounds and all over the world have been thinking about this topic, and how much their work comes from the love for the kids. If we are about to reach the global sustainability goals and maintain the focus on sustainability, the kids need to become aware of it, and they need to gain the sense of agency around it. On one hand, the agency can be facilitated by architectural design. On the other, supporting agency while teaching about architecture can ensure conscious and sustainable solutions provided by today's kids in the future. It may seem weird to recommend a course like this by someone who mainly designs offices. I think broadly - kids will design the offices in the future. Of course they are a future part of the commercial architecture. They will be the super-conscious designers! (And btw I've been myself working on a method of teaching kids about architecture myself together with Allt Hänger Samman https://lnkd.in/d2xQGshK, soon on Linked In) #architecture #education

You may have seen our posts recently about the work that we've been doing with local #ArchitecturalTechnology students. Bringing these students real world experiences is something we're passionate about. Read our latest blog post to find out how we've been doing this as well as more information on the sites that we took them to: https://bit.ly/48CncuF

Architect's Notes. Marina Korzhenko Feelings of freedom and democracy in relationships through school architecture. Workshops with children. How did it go? "In my opinion, one of the problems with educational institutions is the lack of interaction between the school administration and the children who study there. Our task is to create a space for feeling freedom and democracy in relationships. To achieve this, we conducted a brainstorming session with the primary participants being the children themselves. It was a treasure trove of ideas on how everything should be organized. We grouped the children by key areas within the school and asked them what they would like to see there. Important spaces for the students, of course, turned out to be communal areas where they can come together, communicate, and express themselves: non-traditional classrooms for learning, media zones, educational spaces that engage and offer opportunities to try out different aspects of future adult life. These are safe places in case of emergencies, where one can spend useful time and relax. Learning through play and broadening horizons thanks to the school's planning decisions. It was pleasantly surprising for me how much the children thought about the ecological component, waste recycling, and zero energy consumption. Children want to be involved in what matters. By gathering all wishes and advice from these 'experts,' we created a school where everyone can feel comfortable and safe."

When educational architects and designers begin the process of modernization and construction, it can include more than the creation of blueprints and meeting district budgets. Engaging with each school's community can help to craft unique experiences whether it's in the middle of a busy city or in a rural setting. Kara Arundel illustrates some fine examples in this article. #SchoolDesign #EducationMatters #EmpoweringLearners

https://lnkd.in/dBr_pGV2 It's so important to know how to design places that builds the future of a nation ... The article contains bits on how we can have campuses to be a turning point for the student's ideas and creativity. With innovative campus designs we are promoting teamwork and a inclusive design that fosters and embraces teamwork, student interaction and creativity. Check more about such campuses in the article... #campusdesign #innovativedesign #writtingaboutarchitecture