San Diego to Host 85th Annual CEFPI World Conference and Expo
SAN DIEGO — School district and university administrators, architects, engineers and product manufacturers are heading to San Diego Sept. 29 through Oct. 2 for the 85th annual Council of Facility Planners and Educators, International, World Conference and Expo. Be sure to visit us at booth #106.
The three-day conference, “Listening to Learners,” will focus on designing, building and maintaining safe and healthy spaces that foster individualized instruction.
Keynote speaker Stephen Heppell will kick off the conference with “Building 21st Century Learning With 21st Century Learners,” where he will discuss international education facility leaders and the importance of engaging and listening to learners during the design process.
Mukund Patel and Richard Yelland will also deliver keynote addresses about the challenges of globalization in the school construction market. Patel is the chief officer for educational infrastructure for GEMS-Global Education Management Systems, in Dubai. Yelland heads the education management and infrastructure division of the Organisation (sic) for Economic Cooperation Directorate for Education, in Paris.
Attendees will have opportunities to participate in workshops, seminars and several networking events.
A combination of morning and afternoon workshops, seminars and discussion groups will be held each day of the conference. Highlights include:
Sept. 29, Morning Session — Learning Environments Matter: Physical Learning Environments and Student Success. James Brady, AIA, REFP, of America’s Schoolhouse Council, and Susan Rundle, of High Performance Concepts, will use case studies to illustrate how physical learning environments can support student success and how design elements respond to different learning-style strengths.
Prior to the session, participants will complete an adult learning-style assessment to generation discussion topics. The workshop is intended to allow attendees to see learning environments through the eyes of students using factors in the physical environment that affect student success, motivation and behavior.
Sept. 29, Afternoon Session — Gearing Up for Change: Transforming a School District One Facility at a Time. Lead by Amy Yurko, AIA, BrainSpaces, Dr. George Copa, New Designs for Learning, and Michael Carlson, McCool Carlson Green Architects, the session will explore how school systems can convert school buildings from traditional facilities to dynamic learning environments.
The workshop will offer case studies of recent projects completed at school districts in Alaska that used collaborative efforts of educators and planning teams to effect districtwide change.
Sept. 30, Afternoon Session — Connecting Schools and Communities. Sue Robertson, REFP, of Planning Alliance, and Alex C. James, AIA, of Office of School Facilities in South Carolina, will discuss funding strategies for community- and school-based public services. The presentation will address the potential benefits of community schools, strategies for making them more comprehensive and funding sources.
Oct. 1, All-Day Discussion Groups:
• Twelve Educational Trends and Their Impact on Future School Design Over the Next 25 Years
• Understanding Current Research on Student Performance and New Tools for Planning Decisions
• What Works in High Performance Schools—Twelve Case Studies in the ASHRAE Advanced Energy Design Guide for K-12 Schools
• Green Cleaning in Schools: Protecting Health, Reducing Environmental Impacts and Staying on Budget
AIA and REFP credits will be available to conference attendees for participating in certain workshops and seminars.
Attendees will also have access to the exhibit floor Sept. 30 through Oct. 2. More than 80 exhibitors will be present, including School Construction News, Bobrick Washroom Equipment Inc., Georgia-Pacific Gypsum, Lutron Electronics, Shaw Contract Group and Tremco Inc.