What makes a school successful? Many elements go into the recipe—high-quality teachers, parental involvement, community support, sufficient resources.
What about the school facility itself? It’s possible that some students may get a decent education in bare-bones settings with few amenities—you might call that the “if it was good enough for me, it’s good enough for these kids” approach.
But it’s more likely that when facilities are inadequate or poorly designed, that obstacle is too difficult to overcome, and too many students fall through the cracks and don’t get the education they need and deserve.
American School & University’s editorial philosophy is based on the belief that well-designed educational facilities have a significant positive impact on how students learn. Since the 1990s, schools and universities have spent billions of dollars on new and upgraded facilities, not just to accommodate growth or replace deteriorating buildings, but to take the opportunity to provide environments that incorporate the latest innovations and accommodate a variety of teaching methods and learning styles.
AS&U’s Architectural Portfolio seeks to recognize the educational facility designs that do more than merely provide space. The projects that stand out focus on students and modern learning strategies; their designs take into account factors such as health and safety, security, sustainability, flexibility and a facility’s relationship with its community.
The 2024 jury of four education administrators and design professionals evaluated dozens of entries before coming to a consensus on the most noteworthy. They awarded citations to 11 projects. The William W. Caudill Citation—given to the design judged the best among preK-12 entries, was awarded to The Governor’s Academy Bill ’67 and Peter ’71 Alfond Coastal Research Center in Byfield, Massachusetts (pp. 20-21). The Louis I. Kahn Citation, the top honor for higher education facility designs, was awarded to the Varner Hall Renovation and Addition at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan (pp. 22-23).
In addition to the citation recipients, the Portfolio includes many outstanding projects with unique elements or innovative strategies that may provide solutions or spark ideas for other educators and planners as they work on the next generation of facilities on their campuses.
