A blueprint for the schools of tomorrow
Pupils from 63 schools in the US, Egypt, Hong Kong and the UK will be whittled down to a group of finalists on 27 February in an international competition to design the school of the future. Those shortlisted will be invited to pitch their ideas in Washington DC in April.
The competition, organised by the Council of Educational Facility Planners International, invites middle-school students to design a creative, sustainable school that must be environmentally responsive and engage the surrounding community. Pupils are taken through a strict and professional planning and design process, drawing floor plans and creating models out of recycled materials. They then present the models and documentation to the judges.
Schools are supported with online teachers’ resources and a mentoring scheme, which matches professional designers with a team to help them develop their ideas.
What else?
Follow the shortlisted schools at www.cefpi.org and start preparing pupils for next year’s competition with resources from TES. Schumacher has uploaded a series of sustainability resources for developing the built environment. Host your own “Classroom for the Future” design competition with the help of StratfordCity’s guidelines. And check out smillie’s “Bedroom Redesign” resource, which uses computer-aided design.
