The Impact of the Spatial Design on the Learning Process and the Students’ Socialisation: A Study on Secondary Schools Within the UK

This research attempts to focus on school learning, while aiming to understand the spatial impact of the building on the students’ learning process. In fact, the academic life of the students inside the school premises is hardly studied without considering their social behavioural patterns. Consequently, the research is expanded to include the spatial dimension of both the learning and socialisation of the students. Nine secondary schools in the UK are presented as a comparative case study based on quantitative analysis of the school buildings. Syntactic analysis is the key criterion of evaluation, supported by studying the organisation of various spatial components (circulation, social and learning spaces). The research highlights the important role of the spatial design and configurations, yet space is not the only player in the equation. Both the spatial parameters of the building in addition to other non-spatial parameters (school management, quality of teaching and the students’ level of deprivation) interrelate to impact the students’ social and academic life inside the school. 

Ahmed Zaky Fouad aspires to becoming an architect and is continuing to explore the subject. He joined the American University in Cairo in 2009 and, throughout a 5-year programme, he experienced architecture through multiple perspectives, including context, sustainability, functionality, building regulations, user experience and needs. He later moved in 2015 to London (another vibrant, diverse city) to pursue his postgraduate studies at The Bartlett. During his Master’s degree in Spatial Design: Architecture and Cities, his work on the Brazilian favela of Rocinha was published as part of a group design project about informal settlements. He also published and presented a paper at the 11th Space Syntax Symposium in Lisbon, based on his final thesis regarding the spatial design and configuration of school buildings and its impact on the learning process. In January 2017, Zaky started a PhD in Architecture, also at The Bartlett, and is continuing his studies on learning spaces inside school buildings. 

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