This paper presents the conclusions of a study, carried out in collaboration with schools in six European countries, which focused on tomorrow’s physical learning environments. It resulted in the creation of a learning space model that is flexible, modifiable and sustainable while supporting...

How can designers create more innovative and sustainable learning environments? This paper argues in favour of challenging best practice” generally accepted by the architectural profession by embracing a responsive design approach. Such an approach accepts that the environment shapes the...

The government of New Zealand delegates property expenditure decisions to each individual school. Such a decentralised environment creates a challenge for school boards and principals to obtain advice on the complex issues around designing schools. To inform schools, the Ministry of Education...

In 1995, PEB published a case study on the United Kingdom’s Leith Academy. The following article examines the Academy’s original design, how the facilities have served over the 13 years since their construction and their influence on subsequent designs.

Some 80 earthquake specialists, architects, engineers and civil servants from a dozen countries met to discuss the different relationships which may occur between educational facilities and natural disasters; the emphasis was on the implications and effects of earthquakes and the appropriate...

“On the day we heard that there was agreement to establish an upper secondary school in the region, every house in Snaefellsnes flew the Icelandic flag,” explained one parent in the first workshop to develop the Snaefellsnes Upper Secondary School. The new school in this rural Icelandic...

Many Latin American countries are undertaking projects, in line with practices disseminated by PEB, to share school facilities with the local community, to adapt traditional schools for students with disabilities, and to collaborate with private companies to finance educational buildings. The...

Greece’s School Buildings Organisation (SBO) is developing bioclimatic pilot schemes which are yielding positive results. Bioclimatic action has been one of the principal priorities of Greek school infrastructure planning since 2004. Among the activities undertaken by SBO to use renewable...

Describing primary schools in a small city in Portugal is an opportunity for an overall look at the evolution of schools in general as special public buildings. A look at four of the six primary schools in the city of Caldas da Rainha shows how these public buildings have evolved, what they...

In the knowledge society of the 21^st century everyone – not only children but every person, enterprise and organisation – will need ongoing access to a full range of quality education and training services. This principle, often espoused by the OECD and endorsed by the ministers of education...