While curricular activities sit at the heart of learning for schools, it’s imperative that they be properly supported by design. When done properly, good design can inspire students and improve achievement. In this blog, I will talk about five specific interior design interventions that boost productivity while also improving the aesthetics and ambiance of learning spaces in schools.
These ideas presented here represent practical design solutions applied with the goal of helping students be creative, experience a sense of awe, and tap into their natural curiosity to improve their . Learning is not limited to just the board, marker, pen, and books. The environment can contribute a great deal to it by serving as a source of inspiration and that’s why we’re bringing these ideas to you. Without further ado, let’s get started.
Five Interior Design Projects For A School That Boost Productivity
1. Commercial Vinyl Plank Flooring
Commercial Vinyl plank floors are beautiful and inspire a sense of creativity if you look at how they are made to mimic any kind of flooring system. Whether it’s wood, porcelain tiles or hard floors, commercial vinyl plank flooring can disguise as any one of those.
Looking at them from another angle, they are entirely man-made and made with the protection of our collective environment at heart. In a nutshell, they are eco-friendly, and trees were not sacrificed in the process of making them. This is even a huge example when teaching the kids about ecology and environmental trends. “Look no further my future leaders, the floor you are standing on is an excellent example of an eco-friendly product”.
2. Acoustic Baffle Systems
Acoustic Baffle Systems are ceiling treatments that improve speech clarity in large or small rooms. They help to reduce sound reverberation in spaces with high ceilings that battle with sound reflection.
But here’s where the inspiration for creativity and productivity comes in. These acoustic systems are suspended vertically from the host ceiling and they look stunning. They come in their variety of shapes and configurations and improve the overall ambiance of the space while improving the acoustics of the space.
They are made with different materials ranging from acoustic foams to cotton core materials. These materials help absorb sound making the space more usable.This combined with their aesthetic allure can boost productivity.
3. School Ceiling Tiles
School ceiling tiles can come in various forms but the most prominent of them all is the suspension variant as shown in the photo above.
They are modern and serve as noise absorbers in addition to the beautiful sight they provide when one looks above. They are also called dropped ceiling tiles or false ceilings since they are made to cover the main ceiling.
Typically, they come with ceiling tile lights, smoke detectors, air diffusers, and some other important features depending on the manufacturer. Beyond the decorations, they provide a conducive learning environment void of noisy distractions while providing filtered sounds to improve the quality of the learning space.
4. Plants and Other Greenery
While we’ve dealt with aesthetics in floors and ceilings, plants and other greenery are great agents of productivity in any learning environment. Aside from the fact that they help to purify the air within the space, they are nature’s offspring and they naturally boost creativity and productivity.
The sight of natural elements in a space balances out otherwise functional but often sterile artificial endowments. Connecting with nature has been psychologically proven to boost creativity in students. Plants, flowers and shrubs housed in containers or the installation of green walls are good ways to improve student productivity as well as the aesthetics of indoor environments.
5. Environmental Graphics
When we talk about environmental graphics, it’s not all about merely decorating the walls with beautiful pictures and signs. The goal is to have an interior design that boosts productivity and that can be achieved with graphics that tell a story.
A story of motivation, achievements, strong willpower, or just about any story that can inspire the reader to take action in a certain area of life.
Written messages can suffice but when they are supplemented by images or other graphic illustrations, they can have greater impact. Messages, ideally ones that are specifically tailored to the ethos of the school can instill a sense of discipline, courage, strength, zest, and a no-limit mindset. Having the walls repurposed for motivation through graphics can inspire creativity and productivity effortlessly in many students.
As we wrap up
The role of the environment in aiding learning among school children cannot be overstated. Good, intentional design that incorporates ideas such as the ones discussed here can make learning so much more enjoyable for students and make the job easier for teachers.
When it comes to the creation of the most effective places for learning, the learning environment itself should be the first place to begin. Design it consciously in ways that improve student wellbeing and productivity by employing the five interventions I have identified in this blog.
Roger Marx, EDI Guest Blogger, is a contributor to the Innovative Building Materials blog. He is a content writer for the construction and home improvement industries with an interest in landscaping, outdoor remodeling, and home renovation. Roger is focused on educating homeowners, contractors, and architects on innovative materials and methods of construction that increase property value and improve sustainability.