Designing better schools
Thinkspace is committed to supporting forward-looking teaching and learning through creative, flexible, and adaptable spaces, empowering a culture of learning evolution and transformation into the future.
Our educational experience and focus on continuous learning enables us to offer unique insight in the design of schools for the 21st century. We focus and commit to support the diverse learning styles and needs of children preparing themselves for a life of leadership and service in our complex, information rich, and socially diverse society.
Educational spaces in the schools we design feature:
- seamless transitions from large group participation to classroom learning to one-on-one instruction
- collapsible partitions and movable walls that allow for greater flexibility of use
- a central project space for multi-age cooperative learning or individual class, hands-on learning
- utilization of different varieties of furniture options
- adaptability of space – opportunities for future changes in educational delivery methods, as well as shifting trends in learning and teaching
We have implemented core 21st century learning principles – flexibility, adaptability, daylight and transparency, safety, visibility, and supervision – on projects such as Maddaugh Elementary School, Norma Rose Point Elementary School (pictured below), and the new SĆIȺNEW̱ SṮEȽIṮḴEȽ Elementary School.
Supportive environments for flexible, adaptable, excellence in learning
In order to deliver an exceptional education to students in BC, the educational process must be adaptable, provide cross-cultural understanding, and remain flexible to support how, where, and when learning takes place. From a design standpoint, that means we as designers must consider the following:
- personalized learning for every student
- quality teaching and learning
- flexibility and choice
- high standards
- learning empowered by technology
Spaces for learning also need to be flexible and agile in their ability to support varied modes of learning. They have to support teachers’ and student’s needs, whether they are intellectual, physical, social, or emotional. They also have to provide the tools to easily access information, digest it, and re-work and personalize it. Learning spaces need to support both individual and collaborative efforts.
This kind of learning space isn’t about grand architectural gestures, but a continuity, openness, and flexibility of spaces that cater to the needs of students and educators. We design spaces that facilitate the learning process – for all students.
