Page 22 - School Planning & Management, November 2017

INTERIORS
PHOTO CREDIT DESIGN ARCHITECT RB+B ARCHITECTS / PHOTO BY TIME FRAME IMAGES
PHOTO CREDIT DESIGN ARCHITECT RB+B ARCHITECTS / PHOTO BY TIME FRAME IMAGES
GREAT OPPORTUNITIES TO INSPIRE
well-designed learning spaces better prepare students for their future careers.
by Scott Berman
EDUCATIONAL interiors today are enabling collaborative learn- ing, making statements with at- tractive colors and furnishings, recapturing and celebrating their school’s heritage, educat- ing in virtually every space, and foreshadowing the learning and working environments in the fu- tures of so many students. School Planning and Management looks at some standout examples that are telling of trends.
Key aspects of the interior of Kelly Walsh High School in Casper, Wyo., indicate some di- rections for schools today. Matt Arabasz of the building’s design- er, RB+B Architects, notes the move toward more “presentation
spaces, medium and small group break out spaces, spaces for indi- vidual work, and outdoor spac- es... as important as traditional spaces for large group direct in- struction.” He says Kelly Walsh reflects such movements in that it is “visually open, supports a wide variety of learning settings, and the material and color palette is intended to be more representa- tive of current workplace design.”
That color palette is simple,
bold and “non-institutional,” he says, and there is furniture that “creates a wide variety of learn- ing settings, from formal, direct, large group instruction, to small group collaboration, to pairs of students, to individual students, and includes adjustable height tables and chairs, café style seat- ing, bench style seating, booth style seating, overstuffed chairs, and beanbags.”
Among the interior design’s other driving themes: sustainabil- ity in materials and finishes, and safety, which at Kelly Walsh, as Arabasz explains, is in the form of “visual transparency and physical openness to foster community.”
22 SCHOOL PLANNING & MANAGEMENT / NOVEMBER 2017
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PHOTO CREDIT DESIGN ARCHITECT RB+B ARCHITECTS / PHOTO BY TIME FRAME IMAGES