A4LE Calls for James D. MacConnell Award Entrants

April 7, 2016 2195 Views Diversified Technology Consultants, Dr. Frank Chong, GH Phipps Contractors, Karen Kuklin, Knoebel Institute for Healthy Aging, Leigh Sata, Linc Moss, Measure H bond, sustainability assessment, Western U.S.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The Association for Learning Environments (A4LE) is seeking entrants for the 2016 James D. MacConnell Award, which recognizes an outstanding, comprehensive planning process that results in educational facilities serving the needs of students, staff and the community as well as helping facilitate student achievement.

With an emphasis on the connection between the planning process and the end-result — a healthy, high-performing school facility — the award assesses how well a school facility supports the academic program of the school district, according to a statement by A4LE. In determining the winning institution, the organization conducts on-site interviews with students, school staff, community stakeholders and the project’s design team. A jury then evaluates the entire building process on the criteria ranging from community engagement and innovative programming to functional adaptability and creative site development.

All 2016 MacConnell award entries will be showcased at the A4LE Annual Conference & Exhibition in Philadelphia held Sept. 29 through Oct. 2. Application information is available here.

Dr. James D. MacConnell is considered the father of educational facility planning, according to A4LE. MacConnell founded the Stanford University School Planning Laboratory in 1951, where he also served as director. The laboratory is now recognized as the first center of applied and fundamental research on integrating school construction with child development, curriculum and instructional methods. MacConnell was recognized by the Association for Learning Environments (A4LE) in 1979 as Planner of the Year and received the Distinguished Service Award in Educational Administration from the American Association of School Administrators in 1981.

A4LE established the MacConnell award, its most prestigious award, in 1991 to honor MacConnell’s “significant contributions to educational facility planning and the organization,” according to a statement by A4LE. Winning projects exemplify the organization’s belief that great schools begin with communication and planning.

“School facilities recognized in this award program, might embody great architecture, but their successful components and characteristics were founded in an interactive process that engaged multiple stakeholders to create an educational environment that holds purpose and distinction within a community,” according to the organization’s website.

In 2015, the organization honored Dr. Phinnize J. Fisher Middle School in Greenville, S.C., designed by McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture of Greenville, in association with Fielding Nair International, headquartered in Tampa, Fla. Opened in August 2014, the school was the district’s first STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Mathematics) middle school, and is located adjacent to Clemson University’s International Center for Automotive Research. The three-story, 179,000-square-foot school serves 1,000 students through small learning communities, a research-based curriculum, and team teaching in flexible and adaptable spaces. It also features a variety of indoor and outdoor learning spaces that allow students to put STEAM education principles into practice.