5 Ways to Turn A School into A Student Learning Hub

A student learning hub emphasizes break time just as much as class time. This is particularly important for younger children who have the attention span of an ant. In order to focus on their lessons, children need play spaces that allow them to be themselves and gives them a sense of freedom. Designed by architect Takaharu Tezuka, this kindergarten in Tokyo is a fun student learning hub where the architecture itself functions as a giant playground.
In the meantime, older students in high school and beyond need a lot of recreational and gathering spaces that will not only enrich their social lives but also make them share information and learn from each other. Heatherwick Studio's learning hub in Nanyang Technological University in Singapore is more than a landmark.
It integrates social and learning spaces to create a dynamic environment where students and professors from different disciplines seem to coincidentally interact. This happens in the central atrium that acts as a melting pot for all users of the learning hub.

Can a student learning hub teach students to become independent and self-confident individuals? Well, it is evident that students with high self-esteem are much more likely to learn faster, work harder, and have more passion towards learning.
Accordingly, a student learning hub needs spaces that lift the students' self-esteem and make them recognize their achievements. Designed by MAYU Architects, the Kaohsiung school hosts different nationalities. In culturally diverse environments like these, students sometimes feel lack of self-esteem as they have a hard time fitting in.
The exhibition hall is a highly sunlit space where each student can see the flags of their countries. The circulation of the building allows this exhibition space to be easily viewed. This makes the students feel a sense of pride and achievement.
The library is furnished with informal seatings where students can educate themselves, giving them the power to think on their own and develop their own mindsets.

One of the most common problems with conventional schools and educational spaces is confining the students inside a four-walled classroom. An efficient learning hub provides spaces were students are connected to nature and more importantly receive a good amount of fresh air and natural light.
Situated in Bangalore, India, the Sri Kumaran Institute was designed by Pragathi Landscapers, who were very keen on using local materials in their design as well as articulating the landscape to the students' education. The learning process continues outside the classrooms as all of the classrooms are open to landscaped courtyards where the children enjoy nature and learn from it.
"The basic elements of a modern building like cement, steel, glass, ceramic, plastic, synthetic fiber are not connected to nature in the same way mud, brick, lime, thatch, timber, and grass are”, says Aga Khan award nominee and vernacular architecture pioneer R.L. Kumar.
Students see their own plants growing in front of them which makes them interact with nature while feeling a sense of achievement. Additionally, the local materials and local plants, along with the micro-control system in effect, contribute to developing the students sustainable thinking.
Outdoor learning spaces can also be integrated into primary schools and learning hubs for toddlers while still maintaining a safe environment for the children.
For instance, the Nanyang Primary School and Kindergarten in Singapore is designed around a large internal valley. That large and vibrant landscaped communal space, in the heart of the school, is further surrounded by lively colorful bridges.
If it is not possible to incorporate outdoor classrooms because of bad weather conditions, then a semi-outdoor space will do the trick.

Unlike conventional education methods, a contemporary student learning hub prioritizes collaboration and group learning.

Designed by Wilson Architects, this learning hub in St Andrew’s Anglican College gives priority to collaboration between students.

“It’s shifted the focus towards student-centered learning, as opposed to concentrating on teachers and their classrooms. The Hub has given students a real sense of ownership of the space and their learning,” says Hamilton Wilson from Wilson Architects.
The architects' main goal was to make this learning hub, in Australia, a highly-flexible space that accommodates multiple activities. The design offers multiple checkpoints of collaboration, from concerts and large gatherings to small group meetings and quiet study sessions.

When teachers find the students lazy, inactive, or unfocused, the first thing they do is give them a physical activity to get them moving and boost their energy. That's why a student learning hub needs sufficient space for physical exercise.

A productive student learning hub is never complete without a highly active sports hall that students would love to go to.