Community Schools: Designing for sustainability, wellbeing and inclusion

by Helen Taylor

Schools have the potential to empower communities by connecting people better with the places they live. But how can these benefits be baked into a design brief? As complex institutions, schools not only provide education and pastoral care for children, as they grow and develop, but also act as workplaces for staff and civic assets or hubs for the wider community. Yet they're not often perceived to be critical infrastructure. Community Schools reconsiders what is required from physical school environments, building on the learning gathered from the sector over the past two decades. To meet the new social, environmental and economic challenges it advocates designing differently, both in terms of the form that buildings take and the evaluation of their impact and performance. By calling for a reframing of the way that schools are regarded as community-wide amenities, this book explores the potential for architects to deliver design in a manner that supports healthy lifestyles and promotes wellbeing. Through encouraging social connections, new possibilities open up for educational facilities to become open, welcoming and inclusive.

176 pages, Hardcover

Published July 1, 2023

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Reviews

[Steven Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m not sure who this book is for. If the reader is a non-professional, the content is too discipline-specific to be engaging if the reader is a professional - in particular, an architect who works in school design - there’s very little new information here. It’s the ocean we all swim in, with very few new insights.

[Edit: raising rating to three stars after realizing that the right audience for this book are school *clients*. School board members, facilities directors, and others who would serve as the client lead for school construction would benefit from this book.]

It’s a beautifully produced book, and well organized. The lessons are generally good and are communicated clearly, even if they are relatively basic.

The case studies are the most engaging aspect of the book. Being able to see and study high quality and current solutions to common design considerations is always welcome! More coverage of these, with more pointed tiebacks to the text could have made it a richer reading experience.