CREJ - Building Dialogue - March 2016
We live in an ever changing economy. Students, and employees joining the work force today, think, work and act differently than past generations. I believe it is our responsibility as designers to create spaces that respond to this younger generation. They are, in fact, future leaders of our nation. The “Active Learning Spaces” research insight by Steelcase is just one example of a study that shows collaborative work produces outcomes greater than can be developed by a single individual, requiring a different balance of spaces than singular student desks or employee work stations. In response, designers are creating physical environments that are better configured, and also better tuned to support small, medium and large group interactions. These spaces are designed to adapt over time, allowing for variety of activities such as online learning where students gather information on a path to knowledge, messy maker spaces where students tinker and allow the creative juices to flow, or collaborative spaces where classmates share ideas and insights. These spaces also spill over from the education world to the workplace, resulting in collaborative and adjustable work spaces that meet the needs of all employees. As a firm, we are fortunate to practice across multiple sectors, including both education and workplace. Our design teams regularly share valuable information on trends and benchmarks that will shape the future of facilities for both user groups. One common theme we see in both settings is the high degree of flexibility day-to-day and adaptability year-to -year. Three kinds of specific spaces are emerging as the appropriate support for the day to day activities of the creative economy: • Gathering spaces that support synergies among many. • Pods that encourage small group interactions. • Huddle spaces that foster one on one dialogue. One current trend in education is the subtle shift in how curriculum delivery is providing content along all of the spectrums of learning from early childhood to post-secondary. Elementary schools are starting to include spaces geared for multi-age, multimodal learning. In these facilities, students are grouped according to their learning levels where they are allowed to determine the length of time and order of their day-to-day activities, with either peer or teacher interaction as needed for them to complete their given assignments. Continuing along the spectrum of lifelong learning, high schools are incorporating an increased focus on project-based learning, and/or career and technical education pathways (CTE) that allow students to apply theory to practice in a specific content area that holds their interest. This is consistent with the development of work environments that are specifically tuned to the culture and products of a specific industry. In higher education, this trend continues with an increased priority on the right mix of research, lecture, collaboration and social spaces that promote and foster social interaction and engagement. The power of community is evident when peers gather to talk about a common problem or required outcome or deliverable. Along with the need for specific spaces that engage appropriate activities is the need to create a home base from which all can work and learn. Both point and counterpoint, these are the spaces that will allow for colleagues and peers in the creative economy to work in teams that can adapt to the size and length of a project. These are the spaces that can enable students to better transition from school to business. And these are the spaces that can enable or encourage creativity, a willingness to innovate, and an ability to succeed.