Sometimes You Just Need to "Get on with It!"

Are you developing an educational curriculum for a program that requires “future-ready” learning space? The time has come to design and construct space for the program, but more research and development is needed to perfect the program.

Sometimes you just need to “get on with it” and move forward with design and construction before program details are finalized. It is likely that a facility is needed for the new program. Deadlines loom for program development, hiring staff, marketing, and building or remodeling the facility. Don’t wait too long to get design and construction started, even though every detail of the curriculum is not set. After all, the curriculum is ever-changing and developing.

To be confident that the new program will be supported by the facility design, do the following:

• Select an architectural firm with extensive experience in developing designs that support new types of educational programs. The designers should have a portfolio of facilities examples that successfully support and enhance unique programs.
• Talk to an architect’s clients about how the firm approaches projects, engages user groups, and incorporates flexibility and adaptability into facility solutions.
• Investigate how well the architectural firm partners with clients in modifying designs as the educational program is refined. Frequently the best solutions occur when program development and design move along “hand in hand.”
• Establish trust with the architect to ensure that the design will be flexible enough to adapt to program changes.

An experienced educational architect understands that designs must adapt to change. Explorations such as Outcome-Based Education (OBE), Madeline Hunter’s Model of Lesson Design, Open-School/Plan Concept, School-within-a-School, Phonics/Whole-Language and International Baccalaureate have been embraced by educators only to be refined or replaced as information about learning evolves.

One example of a design planned for flexibility is a 2,400-student comprehensive high school in Minnesota designed in 1990 as a school-within-a-school, supporting an OBE curriculum. The architects designed the 384,000 square foot school to support the intricacies of OBE. More than 30 years later, the original design has been flexible enough to supported numerous curricular and organizational changes.

Design and even construction may need to begin before a new program is finalized. To move forward with design, it is essential that an architect have the skill sets to:

• Understand fundamentals such as the building capacity needed to support student enrollment.
• Grasp the mission of the program and curriculum so spaces can be conceptually “sized” and “placed” to support enrollment and student flow.
• Acknowledge that change is a constant. Even the greatest curriculum and the perfect program will evolve once the learning process has begun and a facility is occupied.
• Engage user groups in the design process. It is advantageous to refine the curriculum and program as a design progresses from concept to development. Design tools such as 3D computer modeling provide opportunities for teachers and students to experience spaces “virtually” during design. This experience triggers creative ideas for enhancing spaces that would otherwise be untapped.
• Design a variety of spaces to support various learning activities. An experienced educational architect knows that spaces are needed for individual study and research, small-to-large group activities, performances and presentations, and support areas. The key is that the design concept provides for flexibility and adaptability.

Developing a curriculum for a program is complex. Even if the curriculum is still being developed, you may just need to “get on with it” and begin the design and construction.  Don’t let the opportunity to have a significant effect on a child’s education become just another good idea that could have been.

Erickson, AIA/NCARB/REFP, executive officer and partner, is past president of ATSR Planners/Architects/Engineers. He has 45 years of experience in school planning, design, and construction. Erickson can be reached at [email protected].