As the saying goes, children are our future. It is essential that we recognize the impact of early experiences on their growth, intelligence, and emotional well-being. Their minds are like sponges, absorbing and remembering even the smallest details of their environments. The experiences they have during their formative years shape the individuals they become as they grow older. As a society, we are realizing the importance of paying attention to these experiences. Parenting groups, caregivers, and educators are becoming more aware of the impact they have on children’s development.

Interior design can play a crucial role in creating environments that support child growth, development, and overall well-being. By embracing children’s differences and being thoughtful about the ways they interact with and learn from their surroundings, designers can curate nurturing spaces that cater to their specific needs and interests.

Flexibility and Adaptability

Child-centric design provides spaces that are flexible and adaptable. By incorporating movable furniture, such as rolling chairs or adjustable desks, educators are encouraged to modify their teaching spaces to accommodate different learning activities. Providing wiggle chairs and other alternative seating options allows children to move and be active with their environments. Offering easels and whiteboards allows children to freely express their creativity.

Recognizing that children have different learning styles and interests, it is important to create diverse learning environments. Spaces should be designed with different zones, pods, or tables that cater to various activities, including hands-on activities, technology-based learning, and quiet/focus opportunities. This variety allows children to engage with subjects and topics they are passionate about in a way that works best for them.

Cultivating Community

In order to create classrooms and learning environments that foster interaction, socialization, and a sense of community among children, child-centric design should promote collaboration and teamwork. Collaborative workstations or project spaces enable children to work together on assignments or engage in group activities. By contrast, they should also have the option of comfortable seating nooks or more private spaces, allowing them to have moments of respite or solitude when needed.

Comfort and Color

For children who occasionally or frequently experience stress and anxiety, integrating comfort into design is paramount. Striking a balance between energizing and comforting elements is essential. By incorporating visually energetic colors, such as sunny yellows and oranges, interior designers can create an uplifting atmosphere. Mixing these bold colors with large graphics injects vibrancy into the space, captures attention, and fosters active participation. However, it is important to balance these design elements with calming colors like blues and greens to promote a sense of tranquility. Texture also plays a significant role in creating comfort, and should be considered when conceptualizing the foundation of an interior space. Additionally, kid-sized spaces and furniture that are scaled down to their smaller frames help children feel comfortable by providing a sense of ownership and safety.

Creativity and Individuality

Child-centric design should celebrate creativity and individuality. By allowing children to personalize their spaces, such as displaying their artwork or crafts, designers can create a sense of ownership and pride. Providing dedicated areas for different activities, such as reading corners, art stations, or imaginative play zones, allows children to explore their interests and discover their passions. Incorporating storage solutions that are easily accessible also encourages children to keep their space organized, promoting a sense of responsibility and independence.

Outdoor Exploration

Child-centric design encourages recreation and physical activity. Classrooms and outdoor spaces, like playgrounds, should be designed to promote play, providing ample space for movement and exploration. Even in indoor environments, it is essential to ensure access to natural light and incorporate interactive elements that allow children to use their entire bodies and actively engage with their surroundings.

When designing spaces that keep children vibrant, active, and connected to their surroundings, designers should bring the outdoors in by maximizing access to daylight and implementing a natural color palette with a variety of textures, including wood grains, woven fabrics, and other visually textured elements instantly adds warmth and visual interest.

The Big Picture

Child-centric interior design acknowledges the importance of childhood experiences in shaping the growth, development, and emotional well-being of children. By embracing their differences, providing flexible and adaptable spaces, promoting interaction with their surroundings, and integrating comfort, designers can create environments where children can thrive, learn, and connect with the world around them. Child-centric design in schools is essential for nurturing children’s curiosity, imagination, and sense of belonging. By prioritizing their needs, interests, and well-being, we can create spaces that inspire and support them on their journey to becoming confident, well-rounded individuals who contribute positively to society.

As a Partner and Interior Designer at Bockus Payne, Taylor Starr’s responsibilities include working on projects at every phase of design, from programming to construction administration.

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Interior design is constantly evolving with the development of new teaching methods. There are three key design trends you will see more of in 2018: open, welcoming and secure entrances; flexible spaces; and decorative themes that create a sense of ownership and belonging. It goes without saying that safety and security are also at the forefront of interior design.

Open, Welcoming & Secure Entrances

Have you ever arrived at a school and wondered where the main entrance was? After entering the school, have you wondered where to go next? Schools designed in 2018 will surely negate those experiences by providing a clear, open, safe and welcoming entrance — not only into the building, but also upon approach to the site.

It all begins in the parking lot with signage for vehicles, busses and visitors, followed by appropriately placed signage to guide visitors to the school’s main entrance. Upon entry into the school, visitors should receive that same warm welcome. This can be achieved with controlled access via a buzzer and an open, airy, well-lit and comfortably furnished space that displays the school colors by way of paint or banners. Adding student artwork to the space creates a sense of ownership.

The warm welcome can be extended into the facility through the use of safety glass and skylights that convey a sense of visibility and security. It is imperative that this space can be seen from other parts of the facility, including the second floor, and vice versa.

Flexible Spaces

The types and sizes of spaces within a school facility must be flexible — it’s that simple. This includes a typical classroom, which is approximately 900 square feet, as well as large, open spaces such as extended-learning areas, lecture halls and commons, and small, intimate spaces for teamwork and collaboration. Since play is a key part of student development, each of these spaces should be designed with work and play in mind.

Informal spaces must be flexible as well. Examples of informal spaces include hallways and stairwells. In addition to serving as circulation spaces, they can serve as gathering and presentation areas. For that reason, hallways and stairwells should be wide enough to accommodate seating.

A final flexibility factor to keep in mind is being able to serve different grade levels over time. While a facility might be designed for 750 middle school students initially, it should be able to accommodate elementary or high school students in the future.

Decorative Themes

While nearly every square foot of public schools must be practical, useful and functional from a taxpayer’s point of view, today’s facilities should also create a sense of   beauty, ownership and belonging. There are several examples of this throughout the country. The Dan Dipert Career + Technical Center in Arlington, Texas, introduces geometric design and school colors at the main entrance and continues them throughout the facility. The walls and furnishings mimic the entrance by incorporating angles, curves, and a gray and red color palette. Inspirational quotes cover several walls.

Another example is Old Donation School in Virginia Beach, Va. The school’s interior reflects the exterior by using natural colors such as blue to represent water, green to represent vegetation and brown to mimic trees. The use of glass in the center of the facility allows the natural daylight to stream in and infuses the area with sunshine. Indeed, glass brings the outdoors in.

Since students often learn through self-exploration and discovery, it’s our job to give them welcoming, flexible and beautiful spaces to spark their interest and creativity while keeping them safe and secure. 

To read the entire article, check out the March/April issue of School Construction News.

Kerrianne Wolf, REFP, is the educational specifications specialist for Cooperative Strategies, a national company that assists educational agencies in providing quality facilities to students.

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The physical education addition is a 9,750-square-foot, multipurpose space adjacent to the school’s original gymnasium. The new space connects to the old gym via its first-floor and mezzanine levels. Inside are a training room and a concessions area. The weight room has been relocated to the mezzanine, and its previous location has been transformed into the locus of the school’s wrestling program (Go Huskies!). Likewise, a new canopy was created and presides over the addition’s south side and the original gym entry.

The alterations to the school’s main entry were a bit more intense. KAI’s designers moved the administrative and counseling offices to a new area and adjusted the orientation of the school’s commons to integrate with the re-envisioning. What was once office spaces are now classrooms. Moreover, the main entryway now boasts a “beacon,” according to KAI’s website, which serves as a “visible marker” from the street level and nearby school parking lots. The design also accommodates a “ceremonial circular staircase” as well as a secure vestibule that vouchsafes student and staff security.

Throughout, Charles Vrana & Son Construction Co., of Omaha, was the general contractor on the project. The school was initially built in 1971 and, at 45 years old, is the is the newest of the Omaha Public Schools district’s seven high schools. The school serves grades nine through 12, and its current enrollment hovers around 1,650 students.

Once considered an underdog in the Omaha Public Schools district, Northwest High Magnet School has been in the midst of a dramatic turnaround in recent years, with enrollment surging by a couple-hundred students per year. The magnet school focuses on law, government and international diplomacy.

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The judging criteria for the Student Portfolio Competition, now in its third year, was predicated on “conceptual thought, content of work submitted and the student’s record of achievement,” according to ASID’s website.

“ASID is dedicated to supporting and recognizing the outstanding achievements of interior design students,” said ASID CEO Randy Fiser, Hon. FASID, in a statement. “The top student portfolios exhibited a depth in concept that was carried throughout the design solutions from sketch to space to detail. Strong communicators both visually and verbally, the SPC finalists were required to interview with members of the judging panel as part of the internship award process, a strong differentiator between the SPC and other student design competitions.”

Twenty-two portfolio competition finalists interviewed with judges to score one of eight internships with Benjamin Moore, Gensler, HKS Architects, HOK, Humanscale, ICRAVE, Perkins+Will or Studio O+A as well as a $2,100 scholarship from the Benjamin Moore & Co. Foundation.

And the American Society of Interior Designers SPA Winners Are…

Xingying Du of the Pratt Institute won an internship with Benjamin Moore; Fei Liu of the New York School of Interior Design will intern with Gensler;  Minkyoo Chung from the New York School of Interior Design will intern with HKS; Luke McLindon, Savannah College of Art and Design will go to HOK; Humanscale claimed Khadeine Ali of Savannah College of Art and Design; Briana Guin of Auburn University will go to ICRAVE; Perkins+Will will take Rachael Snow also of Auburn University; and Kaylen Parker of the University of Texas at Austin will intern at Studio O+A.

This year’s SPC panel of judges included Priscilla Ghaznavi, director, Color and Design, Benjamin Moore; Peggy Lee, NCIDQ, CID, associate, Interior Design, Gensler; Jennifer Kostad, ASID, Assoc. AIA, LEED AP BD+C, vice president, director of Interior Architecture, HKS Architects; Clay Pendergrast, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, director of Interior Design, HOK; Jon Harrington, A&D manager California, Humanscale; Elizabeth Von Lehe, Allied ASID, director, ICRAVE; Kate Magee, ASID, LEED Green Associate, Interior Project designer, Perkins+Will; and Dan Kretchmer, director of Projects, Studio O+A.

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