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School buildings that are designed according to an open-plan approach have gained popularity in Iceland over the last two decades, both at the elementary and secondary level. Sigurðardóttir and Hjartarson (2011) claim this to be a radical shift in school design moving away from traditional school design, with classrooms of similar size along a corridor, towards open-plan schools or schools with a cluster of classrooms. The intention is to enhance individualised learning, teacher collaboration and team-teaching and provide increased transparency and flexibility for different group sizes and learning styles. This trend is briefly described in this chapter in two sections: first, how and why this development started around the turn of the 21st century, and second, if and how pedagogical culture and practices might be different in open-plan classrooms than in traditional ones. Open-plan classrooms are defined as large learning spaces where two or more teachers are responsible for a group of students (could be up to 100); while a traditional classroom refers to a closed classroom where one teacher takes care of a group of students, normally around 20 to 25. The discussion is mainly based on thorough investigation in 20 schools at the elementary and lower secondary levels in Iceland (Óskarsdóttir, 2014), the results of which have been presented in several publications., Edited

[ES] La calidad de los espacios educativos muestra claramente la esencia de los valores de una determinada sociedad. Estos espacios, no sólo deben estar pensados para que el alumno complete su trayectoria académica, sino que tienen que servir para adquirir las aptitudes necesarias para el desarrollo personal. Aquí es donde se establece el diálogo entre arquitectura y educación. La educación en Japón tiene una trayectoria que se remonta prácticamente al inicio de su cultura. Aunque siempre se ha considerado un pilar fundamental en la sociedad, la evolución de la educación y su estructura ha sido clave para que el país se convirtiera en un ejemplo internacional en este campo. Sin embargo, mientras las reformas educativas se centraban en modificar el contenido docente, la proyección del espacio educativo se dejó al margen hasta mediados del siglo XX, cuando se empezaron a concebir nuevas tipologías de escuelas. Estas nuevas escuelas, conocidas como escuelas open-plan, consiguieron que la relación entre el espacio y el método educativo fuera más tangible. Como consecuencia de este progreso, la arquitectura escolar contemporánea ha interiorizado el proceso educativo y lo ha utilizado como herramienta de proyecto, mejorando considerablemente la calidad de los espacios docentes y, en consecuencia, influyendo positivamente en los alumnos que las disfrutan., [EN] The quality of the educational spaces clearly shows the essence of the values of a certain society. These spaces should be designed not only for the student to complete their academic career, but to serve to acquire the necessary skills for personal development. This is where the dialogue between architecture and education is established. Education in Japan has a trajectory that goes back almost to the beginning of its culture. Although it has always been considered a fundamental pillar in society, the evolution of education and its structure has been fundamental for the country to become an international example in this field. Nevertheless, while the educational reforms focused on modifying the teaching content and improving it, the projection of the educational space was left aside until the middle of the 20th century, when new types of schools began to be conceived. These new schools, known as open-plan schools, made the relationship between space and educational method more tangible. Due to this progress, contemporary school architecture has internalized the educational process and has used it as a project strategy, significantly improving the quality of teaching spaces and, consequently, positively influencing the students who enjoy them., [CA] La qualitat dels espais educatius mostra clarament l'essència dels valors d'una determinada societat. Aquests espais, no sols han d'estar pensats perquè l'alumne complete la seua trajectòria acadèmica, sinó que han de servir per a adquirir les aptituds necessàries per al desenvolupament personal. Ací és on s'establix el diàleg entre arquitectura i educació. L'educació al Japó té una trajectòria que es remunta pràcticament a l'inici de la seua cultura. Encara que sempre s'ha considerat un pilar fonamental en la societat, l'evolució de l'educació i la seua estructura ha sigut clau perquè el país es convertira en un exemple internacional en aquest camp. No obstant això, mentres les reformes educatives se centraven a modificar el contingut docent i millorar-ho, la projecció de l'espai educatiu es va deixar al marge fins mitjan del segle XX, quan es van començar a concebre noves tipologies d'escoles. Aquestes noves escoles, anomenades escoles open-plan, van aconseguir que la relació entre l'espai i el mètode educatiu fora més tangible. Com a conseqüència d'este progrés, l'arquitectura contemporània ha interioritzat el procés educatiu i ho ha utilitzat com a ferramenta de projecte, millorant considerablement la qualitat dels espais docents i, en conseqüència, influint positivament en els alumnes que les disfruten.

O presente estudo valoriza o projeto pedagógico como quadro de ação para os indivíduos na organização escolar. É, justamente, a essa luz que se analisa a forma como o espaço escolar é interpretado pelos utilizadores (nomeadamente, docentes), num contexto muito específico: a Escola da Ponte (Portugal). Num quadro de insucesso generalizado da experiência das escolas de área aberta em Portugal, aquilo que se procura demonstrar é que, no caso da Escola da Ponte, o êxito da experiência assentou no caráter inovador do projeto pedagógico (pondo em causa o “ADN” da organização pedagógica das escolas – a classe). A nossa interpretação, baseada no conceito de espaço como construção social, sustenta que foi, sobretudo, a consistência do projeto pedagógico e a interação entre atores e objetos da ação que determinaram a forma como o espaço foi sendo organizado; muito mais do que se tratar de um processo de indução resultante de o edifício ser de área aberta. A recolha empírica constituiu a base para conhecer o modo de apropriação do espaço pelo projeto pedagógico. Nessa ordem de ideias, foi enviado (por correio eletrónico) um inquérito através de um questionário a docentes que lecionaram nesta escola entre meados da década de 1970 e o ano de 2012. O arco cronológico tem a seguinte justificação: Tratou-se do lapso de tempo que decorreu entre o início do projeto pedagógico e a transferência de instalações para um novo edifício., The present study values the pedagogical project as a frame of action for individuals in the school organization. Indeed, it is according to this perspective that interpretations of the school space by its users (teachers in particular) are analyzed in a very specific context – Escola da Ponte –.Within the scope of widespread failure of the open-plan school experience in Portugal, the aim of this study is to highlight how the successful experience of Escola da Ponte was born out of the innovative nature of the pedagogical project (questioning the “DNA” of the pedagogical organization of schools – the class). Our interpretation is based on the concept of space as a social construction. Above all, it sustains that it was the consistency of the pedagogical project and the interaction between actors and objects of action that determined how the space was organized rather than the induction process of an open-plan school building. The empirical collection served to ascertain how the space was appropriated by the pedagogical project. A survey was sent by e-mail to the teachers who taught at this school between the mid-1970s and 2012. The chronological gap is due to the lapse of time between the beginning of the pedagogical project and the transfer of facilities to a new building.

Non-traditional open-plan schools and classrooms are currently enjoying a resurgence in Australia, with proponents arguing for the necessity of educational spaces that more readily accommodate the needs of twenty-first century learners. However, these learning environments can pose considerable pedagogic challenges for teachers who must balance the ethos of spaces designed to facilitate autonomous and flexible student learning, while simultaneously managing the complexities of shared space and resources, decreased staff–student ratios, and highly variable student responses to learning in open-plan settings. This paper draws on observational and interview data from an Australian study of three primary schools operating in open-plan spaces. Informed by cultural theories of spatial practice, we argue that the ways in which teachers conceptualize and operationalize notions of “structure” is pivotal to the responsiveness of pedagogic approaches within open-plan spaces.

I denne artikkelen har jeg undersøkt ulike læreres opplevelser av, forestillinger om og preferanser til to ulike former for skolearkitektur. Artikkelen er basert på observasjon av, og intervjuer med, syv lærere. Tre av disse jobber ved en baseskole, mens de resterende jobber ved en tradisjonell klasseromskole. Da lærerne satte ord på i hvilken grad de mente skolearkitekturen ved deres skole ga et godt utgangspunkt for å drive undervisning i samsvar med eget pedagogiske grunnsyn, pekte de samlet sett tre sentrale områder. Alle disse områdene kan sees i lys av begrepet tilpasset opplæring. Det første området handlet om hvilken form for differensiering som ble vektlagt på skolen, og hvordan de fysiske rammene samsvarte med den aktuelle differensierings- og organiseringsformen. Her var lærerne ved begge skolene godt fornøyde. Et andre fokusområde var reell arealtilgang som utgangspunkt for variert undervisning. Her var lærerne ved den tradisjonelle klasseromskolen godt fornøyde, mens lærerne ved baseskolen i langt større grad mente grupperommene var for små, og at disse til dels opplevdes som begrensende i forhold til lærerrollen og ønske om variert undervisning. Det siste fokusområdet lærerne pekte på var hvordan de fysiske rammene la til rette for en ønsket balanse mellom tette samarbeidsrelasjoner og autonomi i planleggings- og undervisningssituasjoner. Innenfor dette området var lærerne ved begge skoler stort sett godt fornøyd, men de hadde ulike preferanser for hvor tyngdepunktet i denne balansen skulle ligge In this article I have made an inquiry into different teachers’ experiences with, perceptions about and preferences regarding two different types of school architecture. The article is based on observation and interviews with seven teachers. Three of these teachers worked in an open-plan school (baseskole), while the other four worked in a school with traditional classrooms. The teachers told stories about the connection between the school architecture and the possibilities they felt they had for teaching according to their own pedagogical views. They pointed out three central areas that were of importance for this connection. All of these areas can be seen in the light of the expression: adapted education. The first area was regarding the type of differentiation that was considered to be the starting point for adapted education at the school, and how the physical structures in the school correlated with the chosen type of differentiation and organizing that were put to use there. Regarding this area, the teachers from both schools were very satisfied. A second area of importance was the actual access to teaching space as a starting point for using different teaching strategies and methods. Regarding this area, the teachers from the traditional school were very satisfied, while the teachers from the open-plan school felt the rooms they had for teaching sat limitations upon different aspects of their teaching practices. The last area the teachers pointed their fingers at, was how the physical structures made possible a desired balance between close collaboration with colleagues and autonomy in situations regarding planning and teaching. The teachers from both schools were pretty satisfied regarding this area, but they had different preferences to how this balance should be