By James Biehle
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April 12th, 2000
I recently was struck by the size of the General Accounting Office’s estimate of the financial need of school districts to renovate and modernize their existing building stock. I wondered why the numbers were so high, what types of repairs and modernizations they represented, and how architects and school districts could learn from the past [...]
By James Biehle
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January 1st, 2000
In the wake of the Columbine High School shootings, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) has been besieged by the question: How can architects design safer schools?
Also posted in Articles | Tagged design, safety, schools |
By James Biehle
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January 1st, 2000
A significant portion of the middle school science curriculum should be inquiry based, and the facilities provided to serve this curriculum must support this approach.
Also posted in Articles | Tagged classroom, flexibility, furniture, middle school, planning, science, science building design, science building planning, science facilities, science facilities design, science facilities planning, science facility design, science facility planning, science lab design, science lab planning |
By Eric Butterfield
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November 1st, 1999
If you go solely on the basis of all the schools that a particular architectural firm has done, then you don’t know whether that particular architectural firm has designed good new science facilities or whether personalitywise they can work with the people in the school district. There are a number of almost equally valid issues that he school district ought to look at.
Also posted in Articles | Tagged education, flexibility, furniture, planning, science, science building design, science building planning, science facilities, science facilities design, science facilities planning, science facility design, science facility planning, science lab design, science lab planning |
By James Biehle
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September 9th, 1999
A major principle of good science facilities planning is to avoid building for a single curricular model. Since continued change in educational trends is inevitable, any plans for science space should allow as much flexibility as possible to avoid the expense and considerable inconvenience of reconfiguring the space later.
Traditionally, the high school program, served [...]
Also posted in Articles | Tagged classroom, flexibility, safety, science, science building design, science building planning, science facilities, science facilities design, science facilities planning, science facility design, science facility planning, science lab design, science lab planning |
By James Biehle
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January 24th, 1999
Due to the basic nature of science, science classrooms and laboratories are among the most hazardous instructional areas in the school environment, so safety for those who will be using the facilities should be a prominent concern for facility planners. The planning team should give specific attention not only to the design of the facilities but also to the establishment of emergency procedures.
Also posted in Articles | Tagged design, flexibility, prep and storage, safety, schools, science, science building design, science building planning, science facilities, science facilities design, science facilities planning, science facility design, science facility planning, science lab design, science lab planning, tech, technology |
By James Biehle
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October 1st, 1998
Fixed, designated-subject science labs may become dinosaurs. Perhaps a large, flexible student project space, somewhat like the example at South Carroll High School in Carroll County, MD could be combined with a number of other support spaces to provide the appropriate learning environment for science.
Also posted in Articles | Tagged greenhouse, high school, planning, prep and storage, project space, science, science building design, science building planning, science facilities, science facilities design, science facilities planning, science facility design, science facility planning, science lab design, science lab planning |
By James Biehle
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June 16th, 1997
About 30 years ago, a new kind of player began to appear in American architectural practice. Traditionally, most architects supervised the construction of the buildings they had designed, as idealized in Ayn Rand’s 1943 popular novel, The Fountainhead. But by the early 1970s a new kind of professional, often an architect, appeared to handle the [...]
By James Biehle
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March 1st, 1997
Many high school science classrooms, including those recently designed and/or renovated, are not equipped for 21st-century science. Typical problems with existing facilities include insufficient space, overcrowded classrooms, designs that limit a teacher’s ability to supervise the class, no separation of lab and lecture functions, inadequate storage, no preparation space or individual/small group project space, no faculty office space, and violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Also posted in Articles | Tagged nsta, project space, schools, science, science building design, science building planning, science facilities, science facilities design, science facilities planning, science facility design, science facility planning, science lab design, science lab planning, secondary, technology |
By James Biehle
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February 24th, 1997
With proper leadership, network planning, flexibility and old-fashioned know-how, existing buildings can be equipped with computer technology.
Educators and architects discussing technology applications in schools consistently raise the following four points:
Technology leadership must exist at the administrative level.
Network planning should be done before installation of the network.
The system must be flexible.
Old buildings are a special challenge [...]
Also posted in Articles | Tagged planning, technology |
Designing Science Facilities for the New Science Standards – key concepts in improving today’s K-12 teaching spaces.
