What you can learn about creativity from this future-ready classroom

” I’m actually writing my dissertation on studio spaces and how they meet the needs of students and teachers,” Allmond told PCMag . ” My interest in this emerging discipline is also why I was hired to renovate this phased project as we re-imagine this whole venture.”

The first thing that strikes you as you enter the ThingSpace is the lighting. It’s bright but there are no buzzing fluorescents overhead. ” We switched out traditional strips for daylight sustainable energy bulbs,” confirmed Allmond.

It’s not always easy to think out of the box when it comes to education spaces. As part of her PhD study, Allmond spent time at the Amesbury School in England as it embarked on a multi-million dollar building program.

” I’d already started working on defining my research interests and shaping the proposal for my dissertation project, on how students flourish in well-designed creative spaces,” said Allmond. ” And it was so useful to be at Amesbury. What I learned there is that if you don’t create these spaces with careful consideration of nuanced use patterns and organize it in a way that invites curiosity and exploration, you’ll get a fabulous building, but will still be cramming in all the same stuff into an area that’s not fit for purpose.