9th ANNUAL IMPACT ON LEARNING AWARDS

The Impact on Learning Awards Program was developed by School Planning & Management and the Council of Educational Facility Planners International to recognize educational facilities that solve real-world problems with design, engineering and technology solutions. Unlike other competitions that judge entire buildings, the Impact on Learning awards focus on specific solutions to design challenges – a building designed to save energy and protect the environment; classrooms designed to accommodate the ever-changing technological needs of today; courtyards, commons or discovery areas designed as learning laboratories.

View the Impact on Learning Awards presentation of winners [PowerPoint].

And the winners are...

In the Category of:
EFFECTIVE CLASSROOM DESIGN

Bilhartz Elementary School – Duncanville Independent School District, Duncanville, TX
SHW Group, LLP

Grade-level pods branch off the centrally located multi-use space. These centers of learning create an opportunity to use multiple strategies for teaching and learning. What is impressive about this project is not only the relationships among the classrooms, but within the classrooms.

In the Category of:
HISTORIC TRANSFORMATION

Bristow Middle School – West Hartford School District, West Hartford, CT
SHW Group, LLP

The original structure was designed and built for residential use in 1900. The 100-year-old building was restored and now plays a vital role in a modern educational environment. The new spaces added complement the historic, rather than trying to copy the historic.

In the Category of:
NON-TRADITIONAL LEARNING SPACES

Red Lake High School and Middle School – Red Lake Independent SD #3, Red Lake MN
DLR Group

Development took place with input from the school board, community, elders, students and staff. The result of this collaboration was a contemporary educational facility that integrates the culture and values of the Red Lake Band of Ojibwe and enhances learning for the students who attend this school.

In the Category of:
SAFETY AND SECURITY BY DESIGN

Washington Irving Elementary School – School City of Hammond, Hammond IN
Fanning/Howey Associates, Inc.

The most important impact of a safe and secure learning environment is the removal of the barriers to learning. Because safety issues were included in design discussions from the very beginning, the team was able to create a secure environment without inhibiting the natural sense of excitement and wonder seen in elementary schools.

In the Category of:
SPECIALIZED LEARNING SPACES

Cass Technical High School – Detroit Public Schools, Detroit MI
TMP/TYJT

To meet the district program requirements and respond to a small urban site, the Cass Technical High School is organized vertically on seven levels. The new school has spectacular views and provides great opportunities for the students, allowing them to pursue curriculum pathways that previously were not available to them.

In the Category of:
EFFECTIVE TRANSFORMATION (3 Winners)

Lowell High School – Tri-Creek School Corporation, Lowell IN
Fanning/Howey Associates, Inc.

The original facility, an open-plan building from the 1960's, now reflects the latest thinking on daylighting, acoustics, indoor air quality and other factors that impact learning outcomes. According to Superintendent Alice Neal, the project well represents the future of the school corporation and the future of their growing community.

New Technology High School – Sacramento Unified City School District, Sacramento CA
HMR Architects

Transformation to the max!

• A paper-based environment turned it into a paperless environment.
• A standard educational delivery method converted into project-based learning.
• The factory model of education transformed it into a professional business office model.

Blackshear – Milam – Reagan School – Ector County Independent School District, Odessa TX
Hunter Corral Associates, Inc.

This was the first project ever entered into the Impact on Learning Awards program that has given concrete information and empirically measured data about how educational facilities do make a difference, how design helps us in teaching and learning, and how the facility had an . Impact on Learning.