20 Years of Interiors
Aug 1, 2010 12:00 PM
We asked design professionals featured in this issue a few questions about how interior design has changed over the past 20 years—and what the future holds.
Goodwyn Mills & Cawood, Inc.: Jacquelyn Hart, IIDA, AIA, LEED AP, Design Operations Director
What are the biggest changes in educational interiors over the past 20 years?
Technology has fundamentally changed the classroom. Endless resources are available digitally. Each year we find new ways to bring those resources to the hands and eyes of the students and teachers.
Our cultural attitude toward children has shifted. Increasingly, we believe our children, at any age, deserve better than the once-common neutral institutional environment. Our increasing awareness and expectation of their capacity to learn is infinitely greater. How our students feel in their environment impacts how they learn. The best schools are essentially well- planned with age-appropriate scale and design elements.
What do you see as the future of the interior education space in the next few years?
Technology will continue to change. Information technology and educational tools change much faster than building technology. Interior education spaces must be designed to be flexible and functional far beyond the current information technology trends.
Not only will technology in educational tools change, but technology in building materials and systems will also change. Future schools will perform at increasingly higher levels of energy efficiency.
For example, improvements in the technology of glass and wall systems will facilitate the presence of daylight into schools. The design of interior spaces will have a greater impact on the exterior design – more of an “inside-out” design approach.
As the design of the building envelope increasingly “comes inside” and the interior design “goes outside” architects and interior designers, with their clients, will have to understand and develop systems that work together to save energy and create flexible adaptable spaces where students will thrive.
How has the emergence of green/sustainability changed the interior space, and how will it continue to affect the way interiors are designed?
The sustainability movement has blessed us with daylight. Studies show students perform better in daylight environments. It is my hope we will see fewer and fewer schools with massive windowless corridors, virtually windowless classrooms and prison-like spaces. With daylight a primary consideration, interior architecture will become increasingly more dynamic.
A key benefit of designing sustainable buildings is life-cycle cost savings. Our schools should last longer, perform better and have significant cost savings over time. Interior designers and architects will continue to push product manufacturers to develop better systems, materials and products that are not only aesthetically desirable, but durable, sustainable and easily maintained.
- Return to the 2010 Educational Interiors Showcase 20 Years of Interiors main page to view more responses.
