Commercial Trends Delivered
Inspiration for your next commercial building project is just a click away. Our look book is filled with commercial exterior solutions to get your wheels turning.
When you think of educational architecture, the first things that come to mind might be neatly lined rows of desks, colorful wall decorations and the traditional, metallic lockers in the hallways.
But schools have modernized their designs. Chalkboards became whiteboards, then SMART boards, spiral-ring notebooks gave way to tablets and computers, and the windowless, concrete school designs of the 70s have been replaced by architecturally innovative learning centers. These recent school design plans have paid off, playing a significant role in improving academic success in students.
Researchers have been studying school design concepts for decades, looking at the way buildings and classrooms are designed and how they impact a student’s learning process. The design is in the details — should the floor plan be open or closed? When it comes to the school exterior, fiber cement or brick?
Teachers today are preparing students for some career paths that don’t even exist yet, and that’s only one of the many amazing ways teachers are influencing an entire generation. To help our educator heroes, we’ve highlighted impactful design trends that are the driving force behind state-of-the-art school design and how Nichiha can help.
According to a study by the University of Salford, a school's physical design can improve or worsen a child's academic performance by as much as 25 percent in the early years. Modern school design is constantly evolving to better meet the needs of students and their educators.
By elevating simple school buildings and enhancing educational purpose through design, architects and builders have created active learning spaces that foster collaboration, sustainability, flexibility and safety for all inhabitants.
A recent study from the National Center for Education Statistics encouraged designers to gravitate towards open spaces, more windows and clear lines of sight throughout a building to reduce bullying opportunities in hallways and stairwells, as twice as many bullying incidents usually take place there.
Nowadays, schools want to promote peer-to-peer collaboration, widen the realm of learning from only the classroom to entire school grounds and encourage mobile learning.
To help with these requests, builders have integrated technology across entire campuses and incorporated more collaborative spaces like recreation centers, movable walls, break-out rooms, reconfigurable classroom seating, outdoor labs and community gathering spots. This was particularly innovative at the start of COVID-19, as some schools participated in outdoor classrooms.
In a middle school looking to improve the lives of its students, a teacher moved to eradicate immovable heavy metal desks, unstable bookshelves and low-quality technology tools. With an improved classroom design that encouraged activity and mobile learning with flexible desks and fully-functioning resources, the results were outstanding:
Incorporating more windows and improving classroom lighting have been shown to boost academic learning with a 20% better learning rate in math and 26% better learning rate in reading.
Full-spectrum lighting, which includes sunlight and artificial light replicating natural light, is shown to improve behavior, reduce anxiety and boost overall health, translating to a marked improvement in classroom learning. Classrooms that receive a high level of daylight show a 20% higher learning rate in math and a 26% improved learning rate in reading.
In addition, introducing biophilic design or greenery into learning spaces has an astounding effect. A study from PNAS found a beneficial association between exposure to green space and cognitive development among elementary-aged children.
Architects are also paying attention to the exterior of the school by using a variety of cladding materials and bright colors that create interest and excitement as students enter the building. One such school that incorporated color brilliantly is Franklin Elementary School in Missoula, Montana.
Originally built in 1916, Missoula’s Franklin Elementary School had seen numerous additions over the years but no major renovations. The architect on the first large renovation project, Dani Grebe at LPW Architecture, sought out a dramatic and contemporary material for the exterior that would contrast between the timeless masonry pieces they already had in place.
To promote a playful, lively and invigorating attitude for the elementary students, Grebe went with Nichiha’s Illumination panels. Not only are Illumination panels durable, but they also have custom color functionality so architects and designers can incorporate bold pops of color.
Bold colors can have a major impact on the overall experience for students and educators, creating a stimulus that impacts energy levels and attention spans while crafting a sense of excitement as soon as students walk through the doors. Cooler colors such as blues and greens support concentration and information absorption while energetic colors like reds, oranges and yellows inspire activity and interaction. For Franklin Elementary, yellow was the perfect fit.
“The building already had some horizontal sprawl to the portions of it that I wanted to clad in Nichiha panels. I chose vertical panels to accentuate the height in those areas,” said Grebe. “That particular neighborhood in Missoula is such a vibrant place that embraces the arts. Of all the communities I work with, I knew they could embrace the color and look of the material.”
Franklin Elementary School had a complete makeover with Nichiha, becoming a modern and inviting space for learning and interaction.
Inspiration for your next commercial building project is just a click away. Our look book is filled with commercial exterior solutions to get your wheels turning. 
Commercial Trends Delivered
Because of its limitless design options, durability and cost-effectiveness, more architects are turning to Nichiha’s fiber cement cladding to creatively protect schools.
Available in styles like wood, stone or brick, fiber cement is ideal for budget-constrained and tax-funded projects like schools. With a more invigorating price point, fiber cement cladding has a variety of other benefits: