By Lindsey Coulter

As design techniques and methodologies evolve with education trends and emerging research on student success, designers are challenged to develop buildings and spaces that will endure for decades, while remaining flexible enough to adapt to changing needs and approaches.

For the 2025 Architects Roundtable, �鶹������ welcomes experts from across the country and the K-12 to higher education spectrum to speak on recent shifts in education design, important lessons they have learned over the years and the trends they anticipate.

Lori Cowles AIA, ALEP, LEED AP

Cowles is a principal at HMFH Architects with 32 years of experience designing sustainable K-12 schools that support student well-being and accommodate a range of learning and teaching modalities. She is currently working on an all-new 409,000-square-foot high school in Arlington, Mass., that will be completed across four phases on an occupied site.

Jason Lembke AIA, NCARB

Lembke, group principal and national K-12 education design leader for DLR Group, has decades of experience in planning, programming and design. He recently completed an arts-focused elementary school, integrating a community porch component for students that also serves as an expression of community and purpose.

Robert Siegel, FAIA

Siegel established his private practice in 1991 after earning a Master of Science in Architecture from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Architecture from Syracuse University. He has taught architectural design and building technology at Parsons School of Design, Syracuse University and the Boston Architectural Center, among others, and is the former chair of the AIA New York Chapter Committee on the Environment. Siegel is currently in design development on the Tiffin University Residential Village project, a 450-bed hall in northern Ohio.

Peter Verne, AIA, LEED AP

Verne, senior associate and senior architectural designer at FCA, examines the benefits and complexities of retrofitting higher education facilities in response to changing pedagogy, technology and energy performance. His recent renovation work on Farmingdale State College’s Thompson Hall increased the building’s thermal performance without modifying its historic exterior and added modern HVAC and IT systems.

SCN: How has evolving research on how students learn changed the way you design education spaces?

Cowles: Studies prove that we all learn differently, and physical spaces need to support this diversity. At HMFH, we work closely with educators to create a variety of spaces within proximity to each other to enable fluid and flexible movement throughout the school day.

Lembke: How we shape space—its volume, orientation, color, visual complexity, materiality, resources and relationships to other spaces—is more clearly identifiable thanks to the availability of evolving research. That knowledge becomes foundational to our technical vernacular; however, without empathy and consideration of broader factors that are unique to every place and circumstance, we may settle for simply “better than before” at the expense of creating generational value and elevating the student experience through great design.

Siegel: Neuroscience and educational research have helped us prioritize natural light, appropriate acoustics, thermal comfort and air quality … instead of just packing buildings full of an assortment of amenities. Hagar Goldberg’s research in “Growing Brains, Nurturing Minds—Neuroscience as an Educational Tool to Support Students’ Development as Life-Long Learners” demonstrates how “formal and informal learning, which generates long-term and accessible knowledge, is mediated by neuroplasticity to create adaptive structural and functional changes in brain networks.” This understanding that experience-dependent neuroplasticity is at full force during school years presents what Goldberg calls a “tremendous educational opportunity.” We use research heavily to intentionally create environments that are “human-brain-friendly” and “ride the neuroplasticity wave” by providing varied stimuli and adaptable spaces that support a variety of learning experiences.

Verne: The increasing acceptance of active learning models has impacted higher education space programming and design. At its most basic concept, the flexibility required for active and self-directed group learning classrooms calls for a larger footprint, about 20% more per student, than traditional didactic teaching spaces. I am aware of discussions around learning styles—visual, auditory, reading/writing, kinesthetic—but I think most professors incorporate multiple methods to impart information. I can’t say it has had a spatial impact on the design of learning spaces, other than perhaps increasing the number of spaces programmed for active learning methods as inherently more flexible.

SCN: What is on the horizon for education design?

Cowles: We see a continual push for more sustainable materials and efficient systems. I may just be being hopeful, but buildings are getting more complicated to operate, even the controls for lighting (gone is the on-off switch). So, a trend toward simplification and more user-friendly operations would be great.

Lembke: I see the school of the future as a true resource center and a cornerstone of generational value to its community. Entrepreneurialism and rapidly evolving technology will allow students to realize their passion at a younger age than ever before. We see career and technical education fostering applied and authentic learning opportunities, specialized spaces that support advancing science and healthcare, and the ubiquity of technology creating interdisciplinary opportunities. The arts and self-expression through music, drama, etc., are here to stay, too. I hope that we see fewer “copies” of schools that support decreasing modalities of learning and increase our time and attention on the design process to develop purposeful and personalized solutions.

Siegel: I anticipate accelerated integration of wellness and mental health supports into the physical fabric of learning environments. This goes beyond dedicated counseling spaces to include sensory-considerate design throughout facilities, biophilic elements that reduce stress, and environments that encourage movement and connection with nature. The mental health crisis among young people demands that we rethink fundamental aspects of educational environments.

Verne: Competition among institutions for undergraduate students is more palpable than ever. To continue to thrive, universities need to sharpen their approaches to attracting students. This is not a call for more climbing walls or student life amenities (although there is a place for those as well). Rather, it requires a clear understanding of who their students are, why they choose to be there and how it aligns with the institution’s mission. Most colleges and universities already do this as part of their strategic planning. The stakes are only getting higher.

See the full interview and more insights in the .

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�鶹������ spoke with DLR Group Principal Jason Lembke, AIA, and DLR Group Principal Brett Hobza, AIA, about the project and its significance in the Compton community.

Q: What are the main goals of the project?

Lembke: When DLR Group began the conceptual design process for Compton High School our primary focus was on the community, its place in history and the reality of today for its students. The main goal of the project is to set the stage for success in all manners of speaking. For students, this means the opportunity to succeed in their coursework through facilities that support relationships, exploration and engagement. For teachers, the facilities will be a tool, standing future-ready to support teaching and learning. For the community, the pride and legacy of Compton will be honored as the next generation takes its place in the success stories yet to be written.

Q: What are some of the project’s key design elements?

Lembke: The campus was organized so that the architecture reached beyond the site and supported a community presence. The secure boundary is deigned to flex to the needs of the moment rather than inhibit interaction and collaboration. The primary north-south axis became known as the academic boulevard flanked on both sides with career and tech spaces and community services. At the north end, the gymnasium and administration buildings anchor the north quad that in turn faces the community’s government center and MLK memorial. At the south end, the performing arts center becomes a beacon to the community along a prominent city street previously hidden from campus.

Media is infused throughout campus in a state-of-the-art A/V system capable of broadcasting music, interactive LED lighting and digital displays celebrating the arts and Compton’s prestigious broadcast program. We have also planned for things like a four-panel senior class mural where students can paint their story of their journey through high school and many locations for 2D and 3D interchangeable art installations.

Architecturally speaking, the two nearly parallel first floor buildings form the plinth on which the upper level academic facilities are set. Oriented perpendicularly to the academic boulevard, these twin two-story wings house the uniquely planned “keystone” classrooms and lab spaces. The keystone shape is narrower at one end and wider at the opposite end to afford a plurality of modalities and curricular explorations like project-based learning and inquiry driven units of study. Furthermore, each keystone is customizable. The technology, utilities infrastructure and systems necessary to support classwork can be tailored space by space and become as specialized or generalized as needed.

Q: How does the project incorporate environmental sustainability?

Hobza: Sustainability will be measured and qualified in many ways as the project develops. Pragmatically speaking, the upper level classroom wings are designed to passively harness daylighting and maximize views, and we’ve planned for the installation of photovoltaic panels. The sustainability diagram depicts more design strategies at work in the design concept. Beyond the design pragmatics, we’ll be working with the district to qualify user-based (student, teacher, administrator and community member) key performance metrics to ensure that other sustainable initiatives are established, fostered and met as the building moves throughout its life cycle. DLR Group will work closely with the district to identify sustainable elements, such as water harvesting, recycling and replenishing the aquifer, as we continue the design process.

Q: How does the project reflect current trends in the education market?

Hobza: As one stakeholder shared with us, “Compton sets trends.” DLR Group didn’t set out to replicate ideas or capitalize on trends; we wanted to develop unique and innovative design approaches, empathetic to the community of learners in Compton. The design team sought to ensure that teachers and students had the spaces and tools that they will need to flourish. The keystones, their shape and nested configuration is one model example of this application. As the design process continues, stakeholders will help further the concepts established.

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