The government of New Zealand delegates property expenditure decisions to each individual school. Such a decentralised environment creates a challenge for school boards and principals to obtain advice on the complex issues around designing schools. To inform schools, the Ministry of Education...

In 1995, PEB published a case study on the United Kingdom’s Leith Academy. The following article examines the Academy’s original design, how the facilities have served over the 13 years since their construction and their influence on subsequent designs.

The future Kelvin Grove Urban Village in Queensland, Australia, is an example of how principles of environmentally sustainable design have translated into practice. Those responsible for the new project recognise the importance of building design that respects the environment by using resources...

Greece’s School Buildings Organisation (SBO) is developing bioclimatic pilot schemes which are yielding positive results. Bioclimatic action has been one of the principal priorities of Greek school infrastructure planning since 2004. Among the activities undertaken by SBO to use renewable...

The South Australian Department of Education, Training and Employment, in association with Flinders University, are collaborating in the design, construction and development of a senior secondary high school which will specialise in the teaching of mathematics and science and focus on innovative...

Out of a commitment to reducing carbon dioxide emissions, Ireland’s Department of Education and Science has designed and constructed two low energy schools, in Tullamore, County Offaly, and Raheen, County Laois. With energy use in buildings responsible for approximately 55% of the CO₂ released...

Educational buildings and grounds can provide a supportive and stimulating environment for the learning process as well as contribute to greater community needs. These issues were addressed at an international conference entitled “Making Space: Architecture and Design for Young Children”....

Describing primary schools in a small city in Portugal is an opportunity for an overall look at the evolution of schools in general as special public buildings. A look at four of the six primary schools in the city of Caldas da Rainha shows how these public buildings have evolved, what they...

This is the first time that the topic of school grounds has been selected for an OECD seminar in the Programme on Educational Building (PEB). Indeed, it is probably the first time that an international event has been wholly devoted to this important area...

This article takes a brief look at the new rules covering energy performance contracts for Quebec school boards. It discusses the following questions: the school boards’ educational buildings; the school boards’ energy performance; regulations with regard to the awarding of contracts in the...