THE FUTURE CLASSROOM WILL BE UNTETHERED

Classrooms have come a long way in the last twenty years, but in the last year or so the design of learning spaces and the philosophy around what a learning space should be has really changed.
The trend now within education is a rethinking of the learning experience and with that a new approach to how the learning space is designed. In the past, traditional designs of classrooms and lecture halls leaned towards functionality; how many students could ‘comfortably’ fit into the space? Was there capacity for visual aids (who remembers the over-head projector?), a suitable desk to write on and access to a fire exit. If you were someone who enjoyed school, it wasn’t because of the design of the classroom. A lot of what was thought of as a priority then is no longer as important and priorities have pivoted towards well-being and effectiveness.

As we look to the future shape of the learning space, it’s becoming increasingly obvious that the age of the fixed or static desk and chair is coming to a close being replaced with furniture that will flex and bend to the needs of the space. Whether it’s a chair, a desk, a lectern or even visual aid, it will all be on casters. In today’s learning environment, the desire to have a dynamic space that can be used for many different types of learning is definitely high on the agenda.