AVERY REVIEW | The Architecture of Education

If you think back to your k-12 experience, no matter who you are, it is possible to imagine the impact your schooling had on you as a developing member of society. Perhaps as a child, you did not perceive the power of the educational environment as a tool shaping you, but in hindsight, it is more apparent. Chances are your memories of elementary school have more to do with the building you were in than the curriculum being taught there. For decades, there have been debates about whether where and how you learn is as important as what you learn, but as educational policy has evolved, the conversation around the impact of the built environment on student achievement has taken a backseat. In the meantime, the physical condition of many schools has descended beyond normal wear-and-tear into hazardous and prohibitive environments that challenge a student’s ability to achieve academically.1 Policy has proved inadequate in protecting the physical form of schools, and thus, it is up to architects, along with educators and administrators, to become activists in addressing this failure.