ts should include the entire process from start to finish. The Bauhaus, therefore, had two types of specialized learning spaces: classrooms for design and workshops for crafts, as well as studios for painting.
The second example is the campus of the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) in Chicago which was designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, another former director of the Bauhaus, who also designed the architectural program at IIT. Mies took the approach of designing individual buildings suited to the demands of each of the disciplines being taught. Examples of this are the engineering studies building, Crown Hall, with its open plan that can be subdivided as desired, and others such as the Alumni Memorial Hall that set the style for public buildings for several decades--though they were not always executed with the same skill, budgets, or attention to detail.
The array of new demands being placed on art schools is then discussed and the question is addressed whether aspects of these models are applicable to the needs of today's schools.
The Literature on Education and the Built Environment.
Studies have shown much higher levels of achievement for students in optimum environments. As Kennedy notes, for example, students who work with the greatest number of windows in their classrooms achieve at levels 15 to 23 percent higher than those in "classrooms with the least amount of windows," while those who work in classrooms with skylights do even better (18). And other studies have shown the positive effects of improved ventilation, better technological facilities, and flexibility of use. But, as the Heery Millennium School Survey demonstrated, teachers hardly need to be told this and their responses to the survey rated "climate control [including ventilation] and adequate lighting as the top two classroom design elements" while proceeding to match the list of requirements to the research findings down the line (McMo...