Future Classrooms
University of Westminster
Rock Townsend worked with the University of Westminster on a programme of ‘Future Classroom’ refurbishments designed to facilitate SMART teaching. The project responds to the changing learning aspirations of the modern student, facilitated through new IT and FFE opportunities.
The project involved the refurbishment of 27 no. classrooms across the University’s three campuses. Choices made for the scheme were informed by lessons learned from over five years work with the University delivering a broad range of classroom learning environments.
“Whilst technology is not the only feature of our new classrooms, its integration into the physical teaching spaces provides powerful opportunities to better deliver what academic staff have always really sought – active, student centred learning”
We worked closely with the university and each faculty to develop designs that accommodate and encourage this teaching whilst being appropriate to the context of each subject. 5-6 rooms within each Faculty were identified as ‘learning futures classrooms’. Academics and students were carefully consulted in this choice and throughout the evolution of the design. In collaboration with the users, we designed welcoming spaces with flexible layouts, bespoke designed furniture and lighting, and colour palettes chosen to provide a general neutral backdrop to learning, not a scheme which tries to ‘shout and cause noise’.
“This room has a single smartboard. All walls, front side and back, can be written on with whiteboard pens. The chairs are easily moved and have built in writing tables as well as under chair storage. The chairs allow rapid adaptation of layout from rows facing front, to groups for discussion or the chairs can be pushed to the sides to create space in the middle of the room.”
Client: University of Westminster
RT Team: Mark Gabbey; Tim Robinson; Phoebe Burnett
Status: Complete, 2015