School Design News
| USGBC Offers Additional $1 Million in Building Research Grants; School Facilities Top List |
| AIA Podcast - |
| How Design Works – A School Design Case Study |
USGBC Offers Additional $1 Million in Building Research Grants; School Facilities Top List
Pre-proposal abstracts due by March 6, 2008
The U.S. Green Building Council announced on February 6 that it has doubled its funding commitment for 2008 green building research grants to a grand total of $2 million. Of the additional $1 million in grants, $500,000 has been allocated for K-12 school facility research related to occupant impacts. The Green Building Research Fund was created to spur research that will advance sustainable building practices and encourage market transformation. The USGBC is looking for research that will “result in knowledge, policies, technologies, and tools that will have an immediate and positive impact on sustainable building development, design, construction, and operation.” Pre-proposal abstracts are being accepted until March 6. Selected applicants will be asked to submit comprehensive proposals for the final phase of the selection process. To view the Request for Pre-Proposal, visit the Web site. E-mail questions about the research fund and the request for pre-proposals to research@committees.usgbc.org.
AIA Podcast -
In the 21st century, children’s needs have shifted dramatically, as have teachers’ requirements and methods to remain effective. Architects, too, face the challenge of fusing needs, programs, learning ideas, and space within an ever-changing context while also keeping schools relevant and flexible for at least half a century.
In this podcast, educational development experts Timothy Dufault, AIA, and John Weekes, AIA, describe the changing nature of planning, design, and construction of new U.S. schools. They present noteworthy, award-winning educational projects from throughout the country and compare the concepts and ideas from these real-world exemplars. They also discuss how architects can advocate stronger educational methods through design without waiting for decisions from policy makers.
New models of planning and schoolhouse design are bringing interesting and significant new educational and facility concepts to the field. As class size and budgets change, schools are moving beyond traditional concepts of “schoolhouse.” The increased focus on experiential learning and interactive lesson planning means that a space must be both physically flexible and open to new learning ideas. From a sustainability perspective, school planners, designers, and builders must go beyond materials and systems; they must understand what schools will be in the future and ask themselves, “How will our involvement with buildings and technologies change in the next 50 to 100 years?”
Click here to access this podcast.
How Design Works – A School Design Case Study
Watch as a team of clients, AIA architects and a contractor discuss how they worked together to turn an abandoned laundry building into a vibrant new high school. See how the process created a school that feels like home to the students, and helps revitalize their New Jersey community. Click to learn more.
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