One of the most common questions I'm asked about learning space design in technology workspaces is the spacing of plant and equipment. On most occassions this question is propositioned with statements about being provided a new facilty, installing a new piece of plant or the excitement of purchasing contemporay CAD/CAM equipment. The commonality and frequency of this topic highlights the void of research surrounding workshop design in educational facilties. Needless to say, the scarcity of resources from c.1960s onwards results in dangerous workshops that leave both students and teachers exposed to physical and physcological hazards. This is not to say that more offical documents are not available. To the contary, there are many, but without a wholistic understanding of occupational health and safety, they are both cumbersome and timely to find and use.
In 2010, the Royal Society for the Encouragement of the Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, published Sir Ken Robinson’s seminal speech ‘Changing Education Paradigms’. His speech summarised the inability of contemporary education, that which is “modelled on the interests of industrialism and in the image of it” (Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, 2010), to respond to the needs of learners in the 21st century.
