Page 24 - College Planning & Management, June 2018

Facilities CAMPUS SPACES
Walls That Promote Learning
Walls and ceilings have evolved from flat white panels into attractive interior design elements that contribute to educational quality.
BY MICHAEL FICKES
TODAY, WHEN A COLLEGE or university renovates class- room buildings or builds new academic buildings, there is a newly flexible design element that can be taken advantage of: the walls.
The heretofore staid, never-changing building component—walls—has now evolved into an element that can contribute greatly to the functional design of class- room buildings. Time was, cinderblocks and upholstered partitions composed classroom walls. No longer. Today, walls feature moveable panels; integrated video screens; whiteboards; and vibrant, mood- affecting colors, textures, and graphics.
Brighter and more attractive walls can now help make classrooms livelier and more interesting for professors and
students alike. Research suggests that interesting environments boost the perfor- mance of both instructors and students.
Such walls will also help to impress po- tential students (and parents) touring the campus during their search for a college or university.
“Nowadays, our higher education clients regularly request moveable, writable surfaces on classroom walls,” says Shawn Gaither, AIA, LEED-AP, an architect and senior associate in the Minneapolis, MN, offices of the DLR Group.
“We’ve seen a surge in requests for writable and recordable walls, especially with the onset of collaborative teaching methods. This kind of design element has been in use by our corporate clients for a while now.”
More and more collaborative classroom spaces employ writable and recordable wall technologies, continues Gaither. Today, these technologies are givens. What is com- ing in the future includes the marriage of glass and electronics in classroom walls as well as in classroom furnishings.
Full glass walls allow students and professors to enjoy the significant benefits of working in natural sunlight rather than artificial lighting, which can be oppressive.
Natural sunlight has been known for years to promote productivity among stu- dents while reducing utility costs. For in- stance, a 1999 study by an energy efficiency consultancy—the Heschong Mahone Group—showed that children score better on tests in naturally lit classrooms.
According to the study, test scores
24 COLLEGE PLANNING & MANAGEMENT / JUNE 2018
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