Ending Disciplinary Architecture in America's Public Schools

DESIGN
ELEMENTS
Research and analysis in the exploration
of this topic revealed certain themes that
are necessary to design an effective,
modern learning environment. What was
illuminated through my research has been
further distilled and compiled into 10 design
elements that I will describe in the following
pages. These elements, while individually
providing standalone solutions, should be
considered in their entirety when applied to
future sites. These elements cannot perform
to their fullest without one another; they
are all intrinsically linked and are building
blocks for modern-day school design.
Nevertheless, certain types of schools
might choose to intentionally deploy these
design elements unequally. For instance,
a naturalist based school might choose to
hone in on connection with nature while a
personalized-learning focused school might
prefer to amplify adaptability in learning
zones.
In the coming section, I explain why
each of the elements in its current form
is outdated, and how I propose it should
be updated to reflect modern society.
Each element contains accompanying
diagrams that illustrate how they could
be applied to my specific site but could
theoretically act as a primer for any site.
The diagrammatic representations are by
no means an exhaustive, comprehensive
list of possibilities, but rather serve as a
guidepost for readers to being thinking
outside the box. Accompanying each design
element is a case study that stands as an
exemplar for that particular design element
and are helpful in understanding real-life
implications of each when done well.
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