Intentional Furniture Design is Reshaping Educational Spaces
Step into any K12 classroom today, and you’ll notice something vastly different from the rigid desks and cold chairs of decades past. You’ll find dynamic, customizable spaces where furniture complements new teaching styles, curricula, and diverse, digital-native learners.
“Now even kids carry around a source of information … at their fingertips,” says Brett Sumrow, principal and education sector leader at Corgan, an architecture and design firm that has pushed educational design forward for more than 80 years. Sumrow himself has spent 25 years championing progressive concepts—like collaborative spaces and outdoor education—that reshape how learning occurs.
“As a result the role of the teacher has really changed to be more of a facilitator,” he says. “It’s about getting away from teacher-centered to student-centered education. Different students learn at different rates because they have access to information. The teacher becomes more of a guide through that process.”
