Environments that Care

/ Alastair Blyth / Leave a comment

Children need a safe and secure environment, but one that allows them to explore

One of three Zelkova trees growing through the roof

Finding the balance between safety and well being. Exploring the trees growing through the roof of the Fuji Kindergarten, Tokyo. Click image for more on this school.

That children are influenced by their physical environment should be no surprise. It can have a significant effect on the way that they perceive the world as well as their behaviour. Whether we realise it or not we all consciously or sub-consciously react to the physical environment around us. Put a small table in the middle of a large, and otherwise empty, room and people will congregate near it. Provide a very small cosy space, tucked away to the side of a room and young children will gather in it.

Continue reading →

Seeing Tomorrow’s School Today

/ Alastair Blyth / 1 Comment

The world of education will change. Are we really aware of just how fundamental this educational shift might be within a relatively short time – say within ten years? 

Is this more like the learning environment of the future?

We know education will change because of globalisation, demographic pressures, technological advances and emerging user expectations to which education must respond. Perhaps, though, we are not aware by just how much it might change. Continue reading →

The Habitable School

/ Alastair Blyth / 3 Comments

Designing a learning environment is not about creating the perfect school building. It is about creating a habitable environment.

Probably not how this piece of furniture was meant to be used

It is easy to believe that it should be possible to design and construct the perfect school building that does not need changing that sits there blissfully letting people inside it get on with their lives. In truth, this is far from how it works. People sometimes use their buildings in unexpected ways. It is the interaction between people and buildings that make them work, and education buildings are good examples Continue reading →