Design trends redefine the schools of tomorrow

Booster Blog

Design trends redefine schools of tomorrow

The landscape of education is changing. With on-line and remote learning becoming not just practical, but desirable for many students, the role of the campus is evolving.

More than just buildings, your campus is becoming a location for student communities to connect and thrive. More than that, it’s the space where the ideas, values, history and traditions of your institution are conveyed.

These points are all massively important in creating community cohesion as well as both attracting and retaining new students. Students establish the brand and values of their education experience from their surroundings on campus. Getting this environment right will communicate more than just what you do, but who you are and why.

With ever growing populations putting pressure on design and construction of educational facilities, these important ideas can easily be overlooked. However, bringing the best innovations in at the design stage can build these values into core of the building’s concept. These innovations will also result in more sustainable and eco-friendly environments, both key concerns of the current and future generations of students.

So, what types of trends in education design should you be looking for?

Modular Construction

Having your buildings delivered on the back of a truck may sound crazy, but it makes a lot of sense. So much so, in fact, that some estimates anticipate that up 50% of all construction projects in some markets will be modular by 2022.

But was does modular mean? Simply put, your buildings are constructed in separate sections in a controlled environment off site. Before being delivered and finished on site.

This has the advantages of being faster and more responsive to needs. By building them out of the elements, rain or bad weather won’t delay delivery. This drastically reduces build time and is also a much more cost effective, sustainable and energy efficient than traditional methods.

Taking advantage of this progressive construction method will help schools meet both their budgetary and environmental objectives.

Flexible Environments

The days of students sat in neat rows being talked at are long gone. With evidence showing them more dynamic, engaging education produces better results, the classroom needs to be designed to enable any and all types of learning which students may need.

Flexibility is key to success here. With all aspects of the room, needing to be able to adapt to give the best results.  It should create ideas and creativity, whilst encouraging collaboration between students.

Running through all of this should also be seamless connectivity, providing students with the best information and access to the best technology when, where and how they need it.

Sustainability

We mentioned it before, but sustainability is so important to the future of education that it needs mentioning twice!

Responsible design should include utilizing sustainable or recycled materials at the point of construction to minimize environmental impact. Taking advantage of durable, cost-effective and eco-friendly materials is both a responsible thing to do as well as an economically sound decision.

Overall, the education environment of the future is very different from the one of ten years ago. Taking advantage of some of the great trends in educational design trends isn’t just an ecologically sound move, nor is it only a benefit in reduced build times, it’s also an economically sound choice too. In whatever you look at it, taking on the latest trends has never been a better choice.