BY MAX MCCLOSKEY AIA
Learning from the
Researching Contemporary
Scandinavian Learning
Environments
BEST
L
ast summer my wife and I
boarded a Lufthansa 777 at
Denver International Airport
bound for Helsinki. It was the
beginning of a formative three-
week research trip to Finland,
Sweden, and Denmark to study
cutting-edge schools throughout
Scandinavia. The trip was made
possible through the support of my
firm, Humphries Poli Architects
(HPA), and a scholarship from the
Colorado chapter of the American
Institute of Architects (AIA).
The classroom we grew up in is dead.
It has been replaced with flexible
spaces that honor individual learning,
embrace collaboration, and foster inclu-
sion. The question I sought to answer
was how does the design of contempo-
rary learning environments support the
academic success of the student? As I
researched trends in educational design
Scandinavia emerged as the ideal region
to focus on based on the long-standing
cultural commitment to design excel-
lence and the academic achievement of
its students. Over the last ten years these
Scandinavian countries have produced
math, reading, science, and problem-
solving test scores that consistently rank
within the top 25 countries in the world.
essentials | www.edmarket.org 15