The Guidelines
Operational
- Understand what kind of culture you wish to operate - centrally directed or self-managed.
- Change in ambience can indicate what different kinds of learning behaviours are expected and what sort of general behaviour is acceptable. Subtle, implicit rules appear to work well and are preferable to overt management. Getting the "tone" right is important.
- Cultivate a sense of ownership. A degree of experimentation and self policing and 'lack of control' in social learning spaces is essential.
- Visual, implicit awareness of the choices on offer is preferable to reliance on signage, and generates greater movement and interaction. Where signage is necessary ensure that it is consistent, flexible and changeable.
- While soft surfaces are more difficult to maintain, a certain amount of soft surface is essential for acoustic purposes and to provide a 'comfortable', sympathetic atmosphere. While maintainability is very important, social learning and flexible learning are, by their very nature, ways of operating that do not want to feel institutional.
- Build to last. Where possible design out maintenance tasks. Use good quality finishes.
- Accommodating the consumption of drinks does not appear problematic. Accommodating the consumption of food is more difficult but has positive benefits and can be managed. Hot food requires careful zoning however, specific provision of good extract ventilation, and 'continuous' cleaning.
- Different types of furniture generate different types of learning behaviour: sharing of a facility, individual work as opposed to group work, structured or informal social interaction. Furniture should be selected with a clear idea of what different types of activity are to be provided, not just because of their style, beauty or variety.
- Obtain structured and reliable feedback. In dealing with complaints and issues whom should you listen to? Current students, future students, staff? Use the Web 2.0 tools that students use to gather feedback.
- Plan for evaluation at the outset. Use the tools you will use for evaluation to help design the facility. For participative student involvement use student-oriented technology eg web 2.0 tools such as Facebook and MySpace.
