Healthy Schools by Design

A4LE White Papers

White Paper for the Association for Learning Environments
Kimari Phillips & Rachel Nasland
LPA Design Studios

While discussions regarding the capacity of learning environments to improve student health and learning outcomes have gained momentum in recent decades, the COVID-19 pandemic catapulted the importance and urgency of designing schools to promote and protect health. Now, many are asking, What makes a health-promoting or healthy school? What strategies should we target and prioritize to design healthy environments? This paper addresses the importance of healthy learning environments and suggests actionable design solutions to minimize disease transmission and promote health and well-being among students, staff, and administrators. It also provides guidance on how to apply the foundations of research informed healthy schools to influence project designs, highlighting strategies for indoor air quality and ventilation, daylighting and views, and acoustics and noise reduction. Operations and maintenance are also discussed to ensure a well-designed learning environment supports the health and well-being of all occupants throughout the life of the space.