Messy Collaboration

Architects, their consultants and school districts along with all their contributors are constantly debating and being asked to comment on the 21st Century Learning Environment. It's difficult to imagine this continuing to the be correct question when, last I checked, we are in the twenty-first century. Actually, fourteen years into the century and we are still developing schools similar in many aspects to the schools of the nineteenth century. How are we as architects challenging the design process that most of us are all too familiar? Are we merely changing up a few vocabulary words to fit with the current buzz words of our tech rich society so our client base feels comfortable with a few minor tweaks? Or is incorporating new technology in the classroom really what this about and not changing the process? Or are the architects truly involved with the process from curriculum design and debate? Are we part of the earliest community and board meetings where the first thoughts about a school are discussed? Are we working to create a design process and environment that helps districts formulate big changes that speak to the dynamics of our changing world...not just technology changes and wiring? And why would there even be a suggestion that is it important for an architect to be in the mix from the beginning and with the client's customers...and who are the client's customers?

And finally, are these questions relevant to either a 21st Century or a sustainable school.One of the big buzz words for both 21st Learning and sustainable design is collaboration. A truly collaborative process is extremely messy. It identifies all the potential customers the building will serve...not just the client who pays the bills and keeps the firm's doors open. There are many stakeholders including, but not limited to:
(1) The students and their parents who, while they may only inhabit the spaces for short periods of their lives, are the largest benefactor of collaboration.
(2) Teachers are an important part of how the space is used. They carry out curriculum and can feed curriculum changes that will support the building use. They are in the trenches with the largest customer group in a school on a daily basis. They are given spaces that may not make sense for changes in current curriculum or future direction of the educational process and what they need for their students.
(3) Administrative, food service and janitorial staff have needs and obligations along with limitations on their voices in the design process.
(4) Facility management professionals who are often the main connection of the design firm to the school district's customer base.
(5) School Boards have been elected to serve the best interest of the client but are not always at the table to be a part of the conversation.
(6) District Administration are the superintendents and principals who create part of the leadership and educational direction.

If we want to have a building that reflects what I see as one of the most important principals in the 21st Century process, everyone needs to be at the table regularly and without fail to provide input and design thoughts for their spaces.

What are the implications? Cost, of course, is a big one. Paying a design professional to be present from the beginning has a cost associated with it but it also has a big payoff for usability and relavance of the spaces that are created for the user groups. Time will be extended but can also be compressed with good communication and training for how to interact within the group process. Training will need to include information about the building and design process so the lay groups can understand what is needed and the concerns of facilities staffs and the design team. In my experience both in design and in the public realm, the result is an overall happier user group because they understand and can explain why decisions were made and how space were intended to be used within their curriculum base. The students will be engaged in something that is bigger than themselves. It can be a memorable part of their process in becoming a citizen and understanding how to participate in a public process. And, as a citizen rather than a consumer of that space, they may even help watch over, maintain, and create an atmosphere of safety by their mere presence emotionally and physically in the area.

Collaboration is messy. When we allow our groups to be citizens in the projects that are funded for them, we gain a new respect for our cities and what it takes to make great spaces!