Planning Learning Spaces

About the book

by Fellowship Agency July 7, 2020

Can school design help us to realise a new vision for education that equips young people for life in a fast-changing world?


This is the big question at the heart of Planning Learning Spaces, a brand new guide from Laurence King Publishing for anyone involved in the design of nurseries, schools and colleges.


Drawing on expertise and case studies from across the globe, Murray Hudson and Terry White have created a detailed how to manual for designers, architects and school leaders embarking on a new project.

Pooling the knowledge of educationalists and innovative school architects determined to improve learning environments, it advocates a collaborative approach to design right from the start of the process.


With advice on everything from engaging school staff to installing technology that supports an educational vision, the varied contributors put readers on the road to creating future-proofed spaces that are optimal for learning.


The authors also prompt readers to question common assumptions about how schools should look and how children should be educated: Why, they ask, have so many schools changed relatively little in more than a century?
And what form should a school library take in the internet age, if it is needed at all?
Do classrooms, when you think about it, really have to be square?

With these ideas in mind, the book also tackles more mundane but vital elements of learning space design such as how to create the right lighting, heating and acoustics for learning. The key role of furniture, fixtures and fittings is also explored.


Planning Learning Spaces emphasis on the latest research, with contributions from leading minds in education and architecture, creates an invaluable tool to anyone hoping that their project will make a genuine difference to its users now and in the future.