Transformation of Learning & Teaching.
HLM Architects
Sustainable Architecture, Interiors, Landscapes and Masterplanning practice with a Thoughtful Design ethos at its heart
HLM have worked with a number of Universities to help them transform their teaching spaces to address current and future learning pedagogies, changes in student cohorts and changes in academic programmes.
To do this HLM first visit the campuses exploring all the existing buildings and analysing building layouts and space data, benchmarking this against both inhouse and sector wide space standards.
Having completed this desktop analysis, HLM then explore specific campus themes through a series of workshops with different stakeholder groups such as teaching and learning spaces, post graduate spaces and student experience.
This enables us to gain a detailed understanding of the teaching estate and make recommendations for development including adapting learning spaces to support new teaching pedagogies, optimising space utilisation and creating more cohesive faculty identities through refurbishment and remodelling of the existing estate or new build elements.
Key space typologies that are considered as part of this review process include:
Active Learning Spaces that support a variety of learning and teaching styles and can easily transform from front-facing lecture mode to teamwork that enhance the academic engagement and ultimately the student experience.
Technology Enhanced Active Learning (TEAL) Spaces that encourage interactive learning in small groups supported by technology.
Sandpit Spaces and pilot rooms that enable academics to try out teaching styles and experiment with new furniture and technologies.
Social Learning Areas that encourage students to work together and stay on site longer creating a ‘sticky campus’.
Within the James McCune Smith Learning Hub there is a variety of learning areas for the students to choose the type of space that suits them.
INTERACTIVE learning can either be passive or active and these areas are the most informal and noisiest of the learning spaces with a high turnover rate of occupants. It has the least requirement for hardwired IT provision therefore any furniture can be moveable for easy reconfiguration by students.
CREATIVE which is seen as more funky and bespoke – for example a series of bookable rooms for group or individual learning where groups can work together with some privacy – they can be themed differently creating a variety of vibes and also have a variety of tech available.
And there is also REFLECTIVE which are focused individual study areas – more like the library, and these spaces are important for those who want to study solo and simply put the head down and graft.
This article is a snippet from our new University Estates brochure, follow this link to download a copy and find out how we're making better places.
Find out more about how we work with Universities on strategic plans for the future of their estates and campuses, contact our Head of Education, Claire Wakelin.
Thoughtful design and the desire to make spaces and places that improve lives sits at the heart of everything we do.
Get in touch via the links below, and find out more about the work we're doing to make better places.
https://www.dhirubhai.net/company/hlm-architects