ThenDesign Architecture is a learning and teaching firm. Even our most seasoned professionals see the value of furthering their educational experience to enhance their personal development and the expertise they offer to our clients. We are pleased to announce that Claire Bank, AIA, NCARB, has received the Accredited Learning Environments Planner (ALEP) designation from the Association for Learning Environments (A4LE). This notable mark of excellence was developed to reflect the knowledge, skills, and abilities of a competent educational facility planner.

The ALEP credential was designed to elevate professional standards, enhance individual performance, and identify those in the educational environment industry who demonstrate the knowledge essential to the practice of educational facility planning. All recipients meet rigorous eligibility requirements. Claire completed the A4LE Academy Advanced Certificate Program by participating in Cohort 11.

“A4LE is a neat organization because it pulls together a lot of different people who work in the educational sector,” Claire said. “It’s comprised of educators, facility directors, vendors, interior designers, and architects that pool a variety of perspectives to build a comprehensive view of project needs in the school environment.”

Blending career backgrounds from the educator and school district perspectives helped Claire gain valuable insights. Throughout five of the six modules, she worked closely with four teammates, completing assignments with them and meeting with them at least twice a week. One member of her project team had experience providing professional development guidance from the world-class Finnish education system. Another teammate was the head of renovations for a large school district in Texas. The other two were architects who head architectural practices in New Hampshire and Louisiana.

Listening to her teammates, Claire better understood the communication gap that all projects can experience when translating design concepts to school district members. The group discovered they had similar challenges and opportunities with their projects, even though they worked all over the world.

“It was really fun to have honest dialogues and discuss ideas that weren’t rooted in a specific project, but were reflections on our past challenges and what we’ve all learned over the years as we discussed course materials,” Claire said. “I really appreciated the coursework. We reviewed a lot of reports and studies on all sorts of elements in design features and environmental factors that affect student learning. Some of the most valuable information was how to positively impact students and enhance their ability to learn, while also examining how the staff uses the classroom spaces to teach.”

Design is not just about creating a cool space, but seriously considering how students and instructors will experience the learning environment. Stopping to ask if the spaces are meeting the basic needs appropriate for what is being taught may seem simple, but it challenges the designer to consider not letting the space itself be the focus. Instead, factors like temperature, acoustics, and natural light should be closely considered so that students and teachers can experience greater effectiveness and productivity.

An aesthetically pleasing design opportunity in a classroom may not always be the best choice for student and instructor comfort. Claire said, “We shouldn’t get people distracted by falling in love with ‘a thing’ in the project without totally understanding how it’s going to function. We’ve been giving students a variety of spaces and experiences to thrive in, but it works hand-in-hand with the classroom experience. We should hone in on the educational aspects of a project and understand the vision, then support with architecture.”

“This program has shown me there is more that we can do in the classroom,” Claire added.

One of Claire’s biggest takeaways is making sure the basic needs of students are being met as much as possible through building design. “Keeping the students and staff comfortable and giving them the resources they need to be successful should be the focus. This allows them to do what they need to do without being distracted by discomfort. It’s vital we keep people feeling safe, not only from a security standpoint, but from an emotional well-being standpoint, in addition to being comfortable,” she said.

Her completion of the A4LE Academy Advanced Certificate Program has given Claire a fresh perspective on the design process by exposing her to frank insights from school districts and educators, and access to relevant data. Claire concluded, “I’m grateful to A4LE for facilitating this great program where people from different sides of the table could have enriching dialogues. We quickly realized we were all striving towards the same goal: Providing great learning environments for students.”

To learn more about A4LE and ALEP, visit www.A4LE.org.