14 Kostas Dimopoulos
United States where so-called progressive practices came to be characterized by the single
epithet ̳open‘ (Educational Facilities Laboratories, 1968).
Source: Personal archive.
Figure 2. Details of a possible layout for a nucleus in open space (with three ―classrooms‖).
For, as ardent exponents of these practices, argued open education is a way of thinking
about children, about learning, and about knowledge. It is characterized by openness: doors
are ajar, children come and go; classrooms are open, and children bring objects of interest in
and take objects out; children move openly from place to place, from activity to activity (see
Figure 2). This trend followed the rationale of large-scale building projects of the 1960s,
combined with growing dynamism and diversity in society, where it became clear that time
implies change and, especially in the planning of hospitals, universities and office buildings, a
movement towards open structures became apparent. In the course of these building projects,
architects have used a variety of design strategies including movable walls, non-bearing
partitions, demountable partitions, modular mechanical and electrical systems, etc.
In a series of more recent policy documents than those examined by Cooper, (1982)
connectivity is a key idea for modern school buildings architecture (e.g. DfES, 2002; BCSE
and BESA, 2006; OECD, 2001, 2006, 2008). Connections can be virtual as well, where
students work with others who are not physically collocated (through videoconferencing, for
example) or who are separated by time (through asynchronous on line communication).
Connections could be established from the campus to the outside world (a view of a natural
landscape, for instance) or by allowing the outside world to view the campus. Connections
can also be made through information. Displays can highlight departmental activities or
provide a glimpse of world news, or environmental conditions.
OECD, (2006) influenced by the open plan movement, amended its definition of what
was meant by the term ̳teaching area‘ to include the whole of a school‘s environment, rather
than a series of individual [class] rooms in order to encompass these alterations in plan form.
In the same vein because of the importance of student-faculty interaction, faculty offices are
being located close to student spaces. Multiple departments are housed together to encourage
interdisciplinary collaboration. Some campuses are establishing sub-campus environments
that bring specific departments together. The idea that ―All spaces are educational spaces‖:
classrooms, science labs, computer rooms, etc, but also library, gymnasium, circulation areas,