Contract Magazine - July 2020 - 24

FEATURE

Education
James Simeo, AIA, LEED AP
Principal
CO Architects
Los Angeles

"For our higher education clients, we are not seeing an immediate rethinking
of interior spaces, because they are typically designed with a lot of flexibility
already. Classrooms have divisible partitions so two small rooms can become one;
science laboratories have inter-connecting doorways for easy paths of travel from
one room to another. This ability to flex up or down will allow universities to space
students out accordingly. They may have to run more segments of an individual
course, but that is a scheduling issue and not a space issue. In academia, the
private faculty office is still the go-to office configuration that provides built-in
social distancing-teachers in higher education never embraced the open-office
concept to begin with. Even with more open-office configurations for graduate
students or administrative staff, the norm is for 54-inch-high partitions for visual
and acoustic privacy that now can provide separation to protect from COVID-19
as well. Where we see a greater need in the future is for equipment and spaces
that are dedicated to distance learning. It may be difficult to get students to come
back to campus, even if a vaccine for coronavirus is developed. Flexibility in when
and how to attend classes will be in demand in the long term, and universities will
have to adapt campus spaces to keep remote populations of students and
academics engaged."

Classic
Forbo: Marmoleum Flooring
"Forbo Marmoleum has long been a go-to resilient
flooring product for the education spaces that
we design. We love its wide color offering, the
range of visuals, and the ease in which you can
create patterns. It has a good sustainability story
and is easily maintained, making it a great choice
for high-performance education settings."
forbo.com

New need
TURF: Beam Acoustic Solution
"TURF has a full range of products for ceilings,
walls, lighting, and privacy screening for furniture. Acoustics has always been a concern for
classrooms, public gathering areas, collaboration
nodes, and social spaces. Designs by TURF not
only account for this concern but go above and
beyond by providing designers with many color,
form, texture, pattern, and application options.
The cutting-edge products made by TURF were
designed to balance form and function with
inspiration and innovation-and sustainability,
of course."
turf.design

Margaret Sullivan, LEED AP
Principal
Margaret Sullivan Studio
New York

"Our approach to our work is rooted in human-centered design. We ask
questions to identify community needs, hopes, dreams, and aspirations, and we
create conditions that allow learners of all styles to flourish. During these times
of rapid change, we have to rethink educational spaces and consider how they
will be impacted in the future. We will continue to see an amplification of remote
learning, e-learning, and connected learning, and we will have to create
environments that can quickly adapt to support these needs. Singular educational
spaces will expand to become adaptable learning environments designed to
evolve and grow with the community and the ever-changing learning landscape
over time. Educational support systems will include teachers and parents, as well
as partner educators and librarians. The public library will be important to foster
intentional educational experiences in new ways. We know that the future
of learning for equitable education lies in project-based learning. The products
that foster passion- and interest-based learning allow students to work both
collaboratively and independently and problem solve in real time."

Classic

New need

Milliken: Custom Carpets
"We love Milliken because they provide highquality products with cushion backing and good
acoustic properties, which provide amazing
support to our clients and the flexibility of
customization. We've used custom products
from Milliken in almost every project that we've
worked on as a way to reflect the cultural identities of the community."
milliken.com

Visual Magnetics
"Visual Magnetics offers great tools for fostering
our need for equitable education by promoting flexible and project-based learning, which
nurtures passions and promotes problem solving,
collaboration, and mentorship. Its modularity and
flexibility allow for interactivity, customization,
and intergenerational learning, and it is a great
way to introduce play into any space."
visualmagnetics.com

contractdesign.com

JULY 2020

http://www.forbo.com http://www.milliken.com http://www.visualmagnetics.com http://turf.design http://www.contractdesign.com

Contract Magazine - July 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Contract Magazine - July 2020