The designers of educational facilities in Australia and Spain received honors for creating outstanding learning environments in a competition sponsored by School Construction News, the Design Share Web site, and C/S Group. The program, which is in its second year, recognized a total of 62 state-of-the-art elementary, secondary, higher-education, and special-use facilities that promote increased learning through design.

The international panel of jurors included several AIA members: Steven Bingler, AIA; Bruce Jilk, AIA; Sharon E. Sutton, FAIA; and Anne Taylor, Assoc. AIA. Bingler, Jilk, and Sutton serve on the AIA Committee on Architecture for Education.

"Creativity in the designs of these buildings ran the gamut, from learning environments integrated into the fabric of community, to architectural nuances such as small, Native American-inspired kivas designed for student meditation," Bingler noted on the School Construction News Online Web site.

One of the Honor Award winners, a facility in Mandurah, Australia, by Spowers Architects and Jones Coulter Young Architects, features a learning street and art wall commended because it "blurs the boundaries between faculty and curriculum streams." Bingler noted that a "lengthy planning process" brought together education providers to plan a "flexible, coherent, and united campus" shared by high school and university students. Six student-centered principles established before beginning the design process—including workshops, value management sessions, and a series of public consultation meetings—informed the development of the facility. Among the school's distinctive features, group discussion rooms are scattered throughout the campus to limit the "ownership" of individual curriculum areas. Also, an indigenous center promotes cross-cultural interaction. Connections to the community are made via zones set aside for development by businesses that want to partner with the school and create ties to the vocational study and workshop facilities.

Another Honor Award winner, the P. Iglesias Educational and Cultural Center in Alcobendas, Spain, by BN Asociados, is both a school and civic center, offering cultural activities for students and the community in an area of the city that lacked a plan for the development of educational structures. The facility received its electronic equipment through donations from media and telecommunication companies, and musical and theater events at the building contribute to the maintenance funds.

The competition is designed to increase the dialogue about effective school designs that promote education and integrate learning facilities into the communities. A full list of winners and profiles of seven of the facilities are at the School Construction News Web site.

Copyright 2001 The American Institute of Architects. All rights reserved.