Finding out what issues there are with open flexible spaces

Much of the new learning space that has been developed recently in FE and HE has had to face up to the fact that the future is uncertain. Elsewhere in this infokit we used the quote from Stewart Brand (in How Buildings Learn - What Happens After They're Built) that says:

"All Buildings are predictions
All predictions are wrong"

The response to this uncertainty in many colleges and universities has been to make space as flexible as possible and move away from constructing cellular space to developing open space. The extensive use of technology in many of these new flexible learning spaces has led to it being described as open-plan Technology-Rich Learning (and in some cases Teaching) Space. In 2007 the Joint Information Systems Committee set out to discover what management issues there are with such space and what steps those managing these spaces are taking to overcome these issues.

The study, conducted by Les Watson and Hugh Anderson, started with a questionnaire sent (electronically) to all UK further and higher education institutions. Institutional returns that showed clear issues and strategies for dealing with them were followed up with telephone conversations, visits and several became case studies.

The first point to note from this study is that the authors felt that the issues uncovered (to be discussed later) that arise in the management of these new open spaces are intimately linked to the design of the space. In other words effort put in at the design stage to 'design out' future likely problems is well worth it. Much of this infoKit covers the practical and imaginative design of new buildings and spaces - the conclusion by Watson and Anderson in this study serves to emphasis how important it is that the guidance on design given in the infoKit is taken into account. It cannot be emphasised enough that good design means fewer operational problems in the implementation stage of the project and subsequent use of the space.