Blog: Smarter spaces for education

Matthew Cleveland, from Somfy Projects in the UK, considers the impact that smart technology can have on making our teaching and learning spaces futureproof.

The past eighteen months or so has been difficult for everybody, not least the parents who had to home school their children or at least pave the way for home learning. As schools tentatively start to reopen after months of online learning, questions are understandably being raised around the suitability of classrooms and how they can be made as safe as possible as we continue to emerge from the pandemic. Cleaner air through sophisticated ventilation systems and crowd management to reduce unnecessary contact are two obvious responses to COVID-19 that are being floated in countries around the world, but these advances are also giving way to other potential ways to improve our classrooms and increase childrens’ wellbeing at school. 

Using smart technology to combat the pandemic
Some schools in the US and parts of Europe have already been using smart technology to measure their energy use and efficiency, streamline building maintenance, carry out automated headcounts and control HVAC systems. These technologies are now beginning to play a pivotal role in ensuring that those buildings remain healthy spaces to work and learn, diminishing the risk of catching everything from the common cold to COVID-19. For instance, smart management systems tend to have sensors onboard that can monitor and control humidity, temperature and indoor air quality, whilst also checking on the level of carbon dioxide and other pollutants in the air. According to Deloitte, data collected from these sensors can even be used to determine which areas in a building might need the most cleaning. 

Other use cases for smart technology
All of this technology is readily available, but the pandemic has focused a spotlight on it and made more schools take notice of its true potential. It’s part of a ‘smart building revolution’ that’s been going on for some time, with property owners investing heavily in smart tech to turn their buildings into connected hubs that behave more like living organisms than inanimate spaces. The Internet of Things (IoT) means that more and more devices are able to connect and ‘talk’ with one another, allowing buildings to effectively come to life and run themselves in a way that’s most beneficial to its occupants which, in this case, would be students, teachers and other staff members. Educational spaces should be open, inspiring and engaging for all who use them.  From nurseries and primary schools through to colleges and universities, the buildings in which we choose to teach, learn, play and socialise should be welcoming, comfortable and designed with wellbeing and productivity at their core. This is what smart technology allows. 

Balancing daylight with dynamic solar shading
Take the management of natural daylight using automated solar shading as an example. A recent study focussed on students in educational buildings throughout the US, assessing the overall impact of natural light, ventilation, air quality, acoustics and scenery. They found that things like screen glare, reflections and direct heat from the sun during the summer months had a direct impact on students’ performance throughout the day. Dynamic solar shading that can be automated based on the building’s orientation and the position of the sun in the sky can make classrooms and halls far more comfortable, without requiring any manual input from teachers or other staff members. Factoring these smart shading solutions into the early stages of building development, or even retrofitting them to existing buildings, is an excellent way to futureproof a school, college or university, ensuring it remains a comfortable, attractive and sustainable proposition for decades to come. 

The ongoing impact of the pandemic has accelerated the adoption of smart building technology and democratised it even further. Whatever lies in store for education, smart technology will play a key role in ensuring that our schools are safe spaces that guarantee our childrens’ well-being.