Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

The whole landscape of space use is undergoing a radical transformation. In the workplace a period of unprecedented change has created a mix of responses with one overriding outcome observable worldwide: the rise of distributed space. In the learning environment the social, political, economic and technological changes responsible for this shift have been further compounded by constantly developing theories of learning and teaching, and a wide acceptance of the importance of learning as the core of the community,　 resulting in the blending of all aspects of learning into one seamless experience.

This book attempts to look at all the forces driving the provision and pedagogic performance of the many spaces, real and virtual, that now accommodate the experience of learning and provide pointers towards the creation and design of learning-centred communities.

Part 1 looks at the entire learning universe as it now stands, tracks the way in which its constituent parts came to occupy their role, assesses how they have responded to a complex of drivers and gauges their success in dealing with renewed pressures to perform. It shows that what is required is innovation within the spaces and integration between them. Part 2 finds many examples of innovation in evidence across the world - in schools, the higher and further education campus and in business and cultural spaces - but an almost total absence of integration. Part 3 offers a model that redefines the learning landscape in terms of 　learning outcomes, mapping spatial requirements and activities into a detailed mechanism that will achieve the best outcome at the most appropriate scale.

By encouraging stakeholders to creating an events-based rather than space-based identity, the book hopes to point the way to a fully-integrated learning landscape: a learning community.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Acknowledgments
• Illustration Credits
• Introduction
• Part 1 Learning Space
• 1 The Learning Universe
• 1.1 Schools
• 1.2 Further and Higher Education
• 1.3 Business and Cultural Spaces
• 2 Driving Change
• 2.1 Technology
• 2.2 Learning theory
• 2.3 Policy
• 2.4 Events
• 3 Design Imperatives for a Changing Landscape
• 3.1 Linking Pedagogy and Space
• 3.2 Transforming the Higher and Further Education Campus
• 3.3 Beyond the Institution
• Part 2 Innovating Space
• 4 Schools
• 4.1 Introduction
• 4.2 Core Teaching Spaces
• 4.3 Informal Learning Spaces
• 4.4 Staff Workspace
• 4.5 Outdoor Learning Space
• 4.6 School Libraries
• 5 The Further and Higher Education Campus
• 5.1 Introduction
• 5.2 General Teaching Spaces
• 5.3 Laboratories and Research Facilities
• 5.4 Studios, Workshops and Technical Facilities
• 5.5 Academic and Administrative Workspace
• 5.6 Social Learning Spaces
• 5.7 Academic Libraries
• 5.8 Student Centres
• 5.9 Academic Innovation Centres and Business Incubators
• 5.10 Student Housing
• 5.11 Sports Facilities
• 6 Business and Cultural Spaces
• 6.1 Introduction
• 6.2 Business and Education
• 6.3 Cultural Spaces and Lifelong Learning
• Part 3 Developing a Community Learning Model
• 7 The Blending of Institutions
• 7.1 Discovery 1/Unlimited Paenga Tawhiti, Christchurch, NZ
• 7.2 Design Factory, Aalto University, Helsinki, Finland
• 7.3 Natural History Museum, London, UK
• 8 A Conceptual Learning Landscape
• 8.1 Bridge Schools, Xiashi - A Village Connection
• 8.2 New Orleans Nexus Centres - Education at the Hub
• 8.3 Hume Global Learning Village
• 8.4 Learning Towns - Dumfries
• 9 Creating a Learning Matrix
• 9.1 Supply and Demand
• 9.2 Building on a Workspace Environment Model
• 9.3 Physical and Virtual Learning Resources
• Bibliography
• Further Reading
• Index