Yes, say members of the Committee on Architecture for Education (CAE). The CAE fall conference, “Implement the Dream: Collaboration Is Required,” will be held October 26–28 in Hartford, Conn., where architects, educators, and policymakers will focus on the need for exemplary design to raise the quality of schools. The CAE spring conference, “Dare to Dream,” focused on how this can be done with a focus on federal policy, whereas the fall conference will center on the impact of evolving state and local policy on designing learning environments.

Pamela J. Loeffelman, AIA, 2005 chair, CAE Leadership Group; principal, Perkins Eastman Architects, Stamford, Conn.
To create the best learning environments and make a difference, architects have to work with policymakers, local officials, parents, students, vendors, and contractors. The opportunity for an architect to try to shape what schools should be for the 21st century is much more in the earlier stages, such as programming and planning cost, but even before that, it’s trying to shape public policy. That is not necessarily something that some architects think about. So the conference is trying to build that awareness and give specific case studies and benchmarks about advocacy, public-private partnerships, and any precedence architects can put in their tool box for pushing the envelope to ensure that schools are designed for the 21st century. So it’s the flip side of “Dare to Dream.” That program was focused more on the national programs that are out there in countries like Great Britain and places that are setting the bar very high in terms of education design excellence. But, everyone would agree that schools are a state and local issue. So if one dares to dream as a nation that our schools could be the best in the world, that implementation is going to start at the state and local level, with anything from public policy and state legislation down to the local-level referendums used to fund specific schools.

Kerry Leonard, AIA, vice chair of the CAE and 2006 chair; senior education planner and principal, OWP/P, Chicago
Collaboration is how architects can make a difference in education. The committee provides architects with ideas on how they can form coalitions with school board associations and school administrators. It’s easier to make things happen if we work together, rather than have two organizations unable to do something because of lack of resources. It is also important for architects to learn to understand what is happening at the state level, to understand who the state policymakers are, and to hear examples from education commissioners about how to work with legislators about lobbying issues such as funding. Appropriate funding for school facilities is a big state-level issue. If you can fund the building of a school, then you are really helping to build a community, because the school becomes a catalyst of change in the community. I would hope as architects we have the ability with our clients, such as a school district, to suggest ways on how to approach groups that can help them such as the mayor’s office, the local foundations, or the park districts. As architects, we have the ability to bring people together. We are problem solvers. But, also as architects, we get involved in our projects and we may not tend to take that step back and make the decision to get involved in the politics of the legislation. To keep the blinders on and only look within the confines of a single project is not good architecture and it’s not being a good architect. The conference will create the awareness that we have the ability to advocate for education and the better good of society.

Bruce T. Bockstael, FAIA, conference chair; state architect of Connecticut
Firms that concentrate on education do so because they are evolving along with the educators. I am involved in all areas of the construction industry, including the selection of architects on regional vocational schools that are solely operated by the state, as well as the selection of firms for all other higher education facilities within the state, which includes community colleges and the state university system. Therefore, I get an opportunity to visit with most of the major architecture firms in the region to develop insights into what it takes to make a good firm for schools. With that said, I believe an architect makes a difference in education because the architect brings ability and skill to extract salient information from a group and has, by training, the ability to coordinate these diverse opinions into a common idea. The architect can assimilate this information into a report, manual, or matrix to be used by any committee to document a project. Architects understand the needs of educators and have the training to provide environments that stimulate and expand opportunities for continued growth.

Timothy Dufault, AIA, CAE advisory group member; principal, Cuningham Group Architecture, P.A., Minneapolis
The value that CAE brings to the profession is extended discourse among other professionals who are doing the same things that you are doing. It gives you an opportunity to get in-depth with other people of like minds. Architects need to be involved in state and public policy to make a difference because our work in schools is the public realm. Our responsibility is to create environments that build and support community and offer opportunities not just to students, but members of the community as a whole. So, consequently, we need to be in the forefront of the discussions about how to shape our communities. If we are going to get effective schools built in our country, then everybody involved has to come together to collaborate on the solutions that we are going to implement. That can be as broad as the national education organizations or as narrow as your local city council. It is a diverse group of folks who all need to come together to talk about what it is that we are trying to accomplish in teaching and learning, and to ask: What are the elements that we value in our school environment? What are those things that have been proven to be successful so we can create these new environments that will be more successful?

James E. LaPosta Jr., AIA, member of the conference development task force; chief executive officer, Jeter, Cook & Jepson Architects, Inc., Hartford
The focus of this entire year for the CAE has been on advocacy. We focused in the spring on the federal level in various countries and this fall we are focusing on state and local. I think it’s important because the vast majority of spending and school decisions are by and large local and state issues in the U.S. That has been the history of how schools are funded both in terms of operation and capital and that continues to be the case. I think state and local regulations probably have a more direct impact, probably more than federal legislation, at this point, so I think, as architects, we have to understand those forces to be able to work effectively within the system and work to change the system. We will be much better able to serve our clients the more educated we are about how policy and funding impact the built environment when it comes to education. That is part of what we will be exploring in Hartford. The architecture community has to collaborate with educators and policymakers to effect change and make a difference.

Pat Myler, AIA, member of the conference development task force; principal, Fletcher-Thompson Inc., Hartford
It is the architect’s responsibility to lead the design of schools by translating the educational specification into an appropriate built environment. The educational specification is the means by which the educator describes the educational activities and spaces that need to be incorporated in a proposed new or renovated facility. CAE conferences are organized across the country by a combination of local architects and the national CAE conference members. Topics incorporate cutting-edge national issues with local lessons learned and explore how the built environment impacts learning. The CAE conference exposes individual architects to these best practices and enables them to lead their projects with the necessary expertise. State and local policies are typically focused on first-time cost and do not promote good design. Architects often have to battle policies on a project-by-project basis. These frustrations need to be translated into action at the local, state, and federal levels through legislative advocacy with local chapters and the national AIA. It is each individual architect’s responsibility to lead the design of projects, but also to work collectively to impact policies that recognize and promote good design.

—Russell Boniface

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