This episode features a conversation with Rob Winstead and Maria Bninski from VMDO, a 45-year-old architectural firm headquartered in Charlottesville, Virginia. Rob is Principal and K12 Studio Leader for VMDO, and Maria an associate architect. VMDO has built a long track record of leading edge design in learning spaces - K-12 schools, higher education institutions, and community recreational buildings. The firm stands out in its use of research science to create learning spaces that are attuned to the learning and development of students. Physical space can be an especially powerful influencer of educational engagement and performance, as well as positive development for young adolescents in the middle grades.

In Part 2 of their conversation, Rob, Maria and Jason talk about how VMDO works in partnership with educators, students and communities to design learning spaces, what financial resources are required for these projects and how to think about managing those costs over time, and,how VMDO engages in research collaborations to contribute to the overall knowledge base in this area overlapping architecture and education.

Additional Readings and Resources

• VMDO
• Harvard University Graduate School of Design, Department of Architecture
• University of Virginia School of Architecture
• Center for the Built Environment 
• University of Virginia School of Education and Human Development
• Youth-Nex Center for Effective Youth Development
• Buford Middle School
• “Public School Facilities And Teaching: Washington, DC and Chicago,” Mark Schneider, State University of NewYork at Stony Brook, 2002.
• Plaza Life Revisited, SWA