Over the past decade, thousands of new school buildings and renovations have been planned, designed, and constructed in the United States. Of these, only a small fraction will ever be evaluated against the educational needs of students and teachers. This paper reflects on the state of post-occupancy evaluation (POE) in the practice of educational…

The Physical and Architectural Features Checklist (PAF) measures physical resources of sheltered care settings in terms of nine derived dimensions. Data show that facilities which have more physical resources are seen as attractive by outside observers and pleasant by residents. Cost is not related to any PAF dimension. (Author)

This case study examines the proposed design of a new lecture/recital hall in Centennial Hall at Lynchburg College that will be used for lectures, public events, a film studies course, and musical recitals. It explores the audio-visual challenges presented by the differing acoustical requirements for the building. (EV)

Describes guidelines for an online public access catalog (OPAC) workstation that will support the terminal, printer, and other peripherals. Workstation dimensions, lighting, wire management, printer and paper, acoustical treatment, seating, storage for books and coats, wastebasket, and interior decoration are addressed. Flexibility and simplicity…

This paper describes a study that developed innovations that would enable modular builders to improve the energy performance of their classrooms without increasing their first cost. The Modern Building Systems' classroom building conforms to the stringent Oregon and Washington energy codes, and, at $18 per square foot, it is at the low end of the…

This book serves as a guide for overcoming the challenge of improving schools. It provides a comprehensive view of issues related to serious school reform and describes appropriate attitudes, concepts, and tools needed to rethink and redesign American education. A 5-year study of 10 schools in the Coalition of Essential Schools already involved in…

The study described in this paper produced a comprehensive model for the design of micro- or minicomputer systems containing concepts and practices that educational administrators can use for the successful design of school district computer systems. This report focuses on the methodology used to build the model, which included the following…

Three factors which may impact upon carrel design are cloistering, social interaction, and territory-related behaviors. Level and manner of seclusion are discussed, and related literature findings are reviewed in this report. Social interaction, both student-to-student and instructor-to-student, are surveyed and the group size factor is carefully…

This study was designed to examine the issue of the safety of children's formal play environments. Safety was defined in terms of morbidity and mortality data. Protection and safety education were considered the prime factors in accident prevention while the goal of a safety program was considered to be the minimizing of injuries. Several data…

The technical feasibility and economic benefits of an Integrated Utility System (IUS) at the University of Florida are addressed, as are the environmental and institutional factors. This study demonstrates a conservational and economic advantage in supplying the energy necessary for heating and cooling as a by-product of power generation. Contents…

This paper reports a series of studies of environmental cognition. Conducted among American preschoolers, Navajo and Puerto Rican school children, and American, Mexican and Maori adults, all of the studies employ techniques of environmental modelling that permit objects such as buildings, trees and vehicles. A pilot test of the environmental…

This newsletter summarizes a research project in Sweden aimed at studying the participation of school personnel in the school planning process. The project involved following the planning of three schools in Sodertalje where the personnel had been given the opportunity to participate. Project data were collected by attending planning meetings;…

This study attempted to: (1) replicate the density effects found in a previous study; and (2) test the hypothesis that partitioning mediates the effects of high density on children's behavior. Twelve children (5 female, 7 male, ranging in age from 40 to 68 months) were observed under each of four conditions that crossed high and low density with…

This publication discusses the need to design school buildings that are both flexible (i.e., responsive to frequent slight changes in use) and adaptable (i.e., responsive to infrequent major changes in use) and examines three actual school buildings that illustrate different approaches to achieving building flexibility and/or adaptability. Part 1…

Even though the mechanisms for policy input are limited, there exists a need for a link between the theoretical, the empirical, and the applied. This study proposed a viable mechanism for meeting the challenge of accountability for both the social scientist and the architect. A process model was developed by a sociologist and an architect which…