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LATEST NEWS
FNI Appointed as Master Planners for $800 Million Puerto Rico School Modernization Program FNI Projects Win Two International Awards FNI’s innovative approach to school design featured in North American Design Magazine FNI’s Arcola Community School design featured in Regina Leader-Post. FNI Selected to serve as Planning and Design Consultant for TJHSST – America’s #1 High School. Fully Revised 2nd Edition of Language of School Design is now available. Sinarmas World Academy by FNI Awarded Prestigious Project of Distinction Award in Washington DC. FNI to partner with India’s Yash Birla Group in a venture that will develop 300+ new schools Designing Schools for 21st Century Learners Don’t Just Rebuild Schools—Reinvent Them FNI’s Scotch Oakburn College Middle School Project in Launceston, Tasmania has Opened. Details Randy Fielding interviewed Phorecast: “We need to teach our kids skills, not subjects!” Click here to listen to podcast End-of-Year News: Several Exciting New Project Wins in Canada, USA, Malaysia and Abu Dhabi.Details Mid-Year News Update: New projects, EFEI launch and publications. Details The Cristo Rey Jesuit High School & Colin Powell Youth Leadership Center has been awardedDetails Randall Fielding awarded CEFPI International Planner of the YearDetails Microsoft Taps FNI For Key Role in Global Innovative Schools Program Details Cristo Rey Jesuit High School and Colin Powell Youth Leadership Center in operation in Minneapolis.Details Health and Fitness Centre Opens at Scotch Oakburn College. Details Groundbreakings on Cayman Islands.Details A Comfortable Truth – 8 Truths about Comfort in Schools. Click here for link to new article. FNI Adds several new consultants and expands service offerings. Building Futures – Video Interview with Prakash Nair Randall Fielding Interviewed on Charlotte Radio Randy Fielding interviewed on WCCO radio: “Human Rights and Design for Learning” New Project Wins The Language of School Design – New book by Nair and Fielding. Fielding Returns from Sri Lanka and Heads to Azerbaijan and Australia Details Dr. Lackney criss-crosses land to lead design efforts on behalf of FNI – Details Nair’s Latest trip covers 5 Australian States, Thailand and Singapore Details Nair Returns from Planning & Design Consultation Workshops in 4 Australian States and Singapore Details Nair in Australia – Nair to Keynote Australian Conference in April 2005. Details Fielding in Singapore and Australia Details Nair in Alaska Details Fielding at NAF – Randy Fielding addresses National Audience at NAF Conference in New York. Details Better Schools for Ohio – State of Ohio hires FNI to conduct detailed study of school designs. Details FNI Wins MacConnell Award – Reece School in Tasmania Australia by FNI is MacConnell Award winner! Details
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FNI in the News
 Prakash Nair Featured in “Education World Magazine” for his Dedication in Transforming India’s Education Landscape
U.S. based Fielding Nair International’s President, Prakash Nair, has a passion to create innovative 21st century learning environments all around the world. Addressing a group of academic heavyweights recently at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, Mumbai, Nair’s 60-minute lecture on “Learning by Design in the Creative Age”, which centered on how educational environments can be transformed to induce creative and critical thinking, wowed the 54-strong audience.
“Education World Magazine” features an article and interview with Prakash Nair regarding FNI’s long-term commitment in the design of 100’s of schools in India over the next 5 years. “This is my way to give back to India,” says Nair. FNI’s Senior Designer, Mariana Boctor, featured in “Cocotte Design”: Designing the NextGen Schools — Just Like Home
“Cocotte Design”, an e-based site dedicated to outstanding females in design and interior decor, has chosen Fielding Nair International’s, Mariana Boctor, as their “Star of the Week”. In this informative article, Mariana describes how she is designing next generation schools worldwide that look and feel just like home.
FNI Projects Win Two International Awards
FNI’s Duke School in North Carolina and Scotch Oakburn College in Tasmania have received awards from the American School Board Journal’s Learning By Design, “The Premier Source for Education Design Innovation & Excellence”. Click here to download Reprints from the Spring 2010 Issue of Learning by Design.
Fielding Nair International: Educating the Masses
Minneapolis, Minn.-based Fielding Nair International approaches projects a bit differently than most architectural firms designing for the education sector, Chairman Randall Fielding admits. “The typical way to begin a design project is to listen very well and to take good notes,” he says.
“Most architects are great listeners. They will take out a yellow pad and take dozens and dozens of pages of detailed notes about what the client wants. We don’t start there. If Henry Ford asked people in 1905 what they wanted, they would have said a faster horse. Even innovative educators are not necessarily visionary when it comes to the integration of space and learning.” “The idea is you don’t know what you don’t know,” CEO Prakash Nair explains. “We’re trying to get people to tell us what they need and what they want, but we also need to open their eyes to the possibilities. Our process is what we call ‘active listening,’ where we challenge the status quo and get people to focus on real data vs. perception. Randall Fielding, Prof. Stephen Heppell discuss link between technology and education at the World Innovation Summit for Education in Qatar
“School architects and change agents for education, Fielding Nair International’s chairman Randall Fielding stressed the necessity for schools to have sustainable design.
“Daylight, natural ventilation, and indoor-outdoor connections should be the key elements,” he explained while observing that most of the new higher education buildings “are built on the wrong idea.” “These structures end up as spectacular buildings by star architects, from the public relations point of view,” Fielding said. Heppell.net CEO professor Stephen Heppell said that if 20th century saw building big things for people, 21st century helps people to help themselves through communication technology. “The 20th century was an era of global conflict, whereas the 21st century is the age of learning,” he added. ” FNI to partner with India’s Yash Birla Group in a venture that will develop 300+ new schools
“The 3,000-crore Yash Birla Group has earmarked Rs 500 crore in the next three years to establish nearly 350 educational institutions for students and teachers through the group company, Birla Edutech.
This will comprise around 200 pre-schools, over 100 K-to-12 schools, 15 super-speciality colleges, and 20 teacher training institutes, the Group Chairman, Mr Yash Birla, said at a press meet here on Wednesday… ..Birla Edutech has tied up with Fielding Nair International (FNI), a company that designs school facilities. ” Other sources: Projects Today Myiris Designing Schools for 21st Century Learners
The Mobile Learning Institute’s film series “A 21st Century Education” profiles individuals who embrace and defend fresh approaches to learning and who confront the urgent social challenges that are part of a 21st century experience. “A 21st Century Education” compiles, in short film format, the best ideas around school reform. The series is meant to start, extend, or nudge the conversation about how to make change in education happen. In this film, architect Randall Fielding demonstrates the connection between where and how students learn in the 21st century.
 Nair, Prakash (2009) Don’t Just Rebuild Schools—Reinvent ThemEducation Week, Vol. 28, Issue 28, (8 April) Pages 24-25DOWNLOAD PDF
“If we simply repair broken structures, we will ignore the real problems with American education while giving renewed life to a model of teaching and learning that has been obsolete since the end of the industrial era.”
Randy Fielding interview podcast on Phorecast
Randy Fielding was interviewed by Swedish consulting firm Phorecast for a podcast on FNI’s educational philosophy, including some of Randy’s own techniques for maintaining creativity in his design studio… from exercise equipment to reindeer antlers! He discusses some of FNI’s innovations in challenging and exciting schools around the globe, and reflects on how FNI’s philosophy is viewed by both supporters and critics.
The class of 2009Geelong Independent, Victoria, January 2009
Torquay College in Victoria, Australia, has been designed by John Patrick Architects using the Small Learning Community model. Prakash Nair has been credited as the concept developer.
Porirua College transformed into high-tech learning environmentDominion Post (Advertorial), Wellington, October 2008DOWNLOAD PDF
Fielding Nair International FNI was the planning and design consultant for this project — including Te Ara Hou Ala Fou and the forthcoming school rebuild. Some very positive comments from the staff and students: “The kids are different — being kind to each other — and have a different attitude to their learning.”
Democratic Architecture: The Community Centre ModelAnneberg Institute at Brown University, Voices in Urban Education, Spring 2008DOWNLOAD PDF
This paper by Annalise Gehling and Prakash Nair discusses the democratic aspects of an autonomous small learning community with minimal or no classrooms.
Accommodating an Education Revolution: How Victorian schools are re-organising for the 21st CenturyAustralian Education Union (Victoria), Professional Voice Vol. 5 Issue 3, 2008DOWNLOAD PDF
This paper by Annalise Gehling and Prakash Nair describes some of the key elements of several new school campuses in Victoria, Australia.
School Open to Change: Design changes and new teaching methods bring enlightenment to Hillel SchoolCarrollwood News & Tribune, 27 August 2008DOWNLOAD PDF
“When students returned to the school last week, they discovered light-filled classrooms, places to play and cozy study nooks. Teachers are planning time for outdoor learning, and parents may find themselves staying at Hillel to chat rather than simply dropping off their children and driving away.”
Classroom Design for Living and Learning with AutismAutism Asperger’s Digest, May/June 2008
“Eight design standards and solutions gathered from interviews with
people most directly affected by autism – parents, teachers, and therapists, as well as college students and adults with autism”
Prakash Nair’s Keynote Presentation to Key Biscayne’s community stakeholders
Click here to see youtube Videos of Prakash Nair’s Keynote Presentation to Key Biscayne’s community stakeholders as they plan the first new Municipal Charter High School within this Island Paradise near Miami Beach, Florida. Presentation is titled: Best Practices in Education and Facilities Design:
Prakash Nair on School DesignIntended Consequences, 24 January 2008
“A great interview with a very interesting person.” Tim Holt interviews Prakash Nair for his regular podcasting series
Education 2020: From Knowledge to Wisdom (Full Video of Keynote address)Baruch College Teaching and Technology Conference, 26 April 2006
Prakash Nair discusses the future of education and educational technology in the keynote address to the 2006 Baruch College Teaching
and Technology Conference, City University of New York.
 Visions of a Brave New Washington: Contest Shows the D.C. of 2108 Salvaging Decay For New Modes of Harnessing Water, Food, EnergyWashington Post, 16 January 2008
FNI Senior Planning Consultant Isaac Williams leads the team of faculty and
students from University of Maryland, winners of the IBM Innovation Engineering Award at the History Channel/IBM/Infiniti “City
of the Future” competition at Union Station, Washington DC.
 Washington and Virginia Schools to Receive 2008 Architectural Awards from AASAUS Fed News, 4 January 2008DOWNLOAD PDF
FNI wins a citation award for design of Cristo Rey Jesuit High School and Colin Powell Youth Leadership Center, Minneapolis.
Schools for the Future: Design Proposals from Architectural Psychology(To be published by Hogrefe & Huber in 2008)Jeffery Lackney has contributed Chapter 6, A Design Language for Schools and Learning Communities to this international publication.  Local education gets attentionCayman Net News, Cayman Islands, 2 January 2008
‘Celebrated international name in education’, Prakash Nair, credited in Cayman Islands’ presentation in London at
the prestigious World Ministerial Seminar on Technology in Education.
 Friends share mission of advocating for quality educationMinnesota Spokesman-Recorder, MN, 26 December 2007DOWNLOAD PDF
FNI Associate Tiffany Green speaks about her twin roles with FNI and the Black Alliance for Educational Options (BAEO) in Minneapolis
 Worldwide Forecast 2008: Asia, Eastern Europe to See Heavy Investment in Educational FacilitiesCEFPI e-News, December 2007
Randy Fielding consulted on worldwide school building trends
Randall Fielding is CEFPI 2007 Planner of the YearCEFPI News Release, 18 October 2007
“Planner of the Year is the highest and most distinguished individual honor conferred by the international organization. It is
presented annually to the individual whose professional facility planning activities have produced a significantly positive regional,
national or international impact on educational facility planning.”
 Spaces for LearningArchitecture Australia, September/October 2007
Prakash Nair listed as a partner in Victorian Government’s ‘vast’ education facilities investment program
Cayman Islands Ministry Blog
“Not education as usual — History in the making as the Cayman Islands take a holistic approach to the transformation of
its entire government education system and blaze the trail towards building the ultimate 21st century learning spaces.”
New Education offices at CountrysidePrakash Nair and Stephen HeppellRandy Fielding, School Planner, wins international awardCayman school campus designs set new benchmark for innovation $122 million would revamp Middletown schoolsThe Providence Journal, RI, 21 November 2007DOWNLOAD PDF
FNI makes recommendations for Rhode Island district’s schools: “The plan, while certainly expensive, would be more
beneficial to modern learning and more cost-effective than remodeling the district’s aging school buildings (to the tune of
$108 million)”
 1 campus, at last, for Duke SchoolThe Herald-Sun, NC, 17 October 2007DOWNLOAD PDF
“‘We think the facilities are pretty cutting-edge,’ said Dave Michaelman, the head of the school.”
 A Comfortable TruthEdutopia Magazine, April 2007
Randy Fielding and Prakash Nair advocate an ergonomic, humanistic approach to the design of learning spaces
 Healthy Schools Campaign Blog A Comfortable Truth: School buildings and healthy learning7 May 2007
The Healthy Schools Campaign gives Randy Fielding and Prakash Nair’s article, A Comfortable Truth, the thumbs up
Traditional buildings inspire new schools’ architectureCayman Net News, Cayman Islands, 19 March 2007
The Cayman schools’ design team studied the local shapes, sounds and traditions for reflection in their world-leading designs
Award-winning school planners promise world-class designKapi Mana News, New Zealand, March 2007DOWNLOAD PDF
FNI worked with the Porirua College community to envision the spaces that would best support students for the 21st Century
 “Building Futures” Interview with Prakash NairDepartment of Education, Victoria, Australia, 2006Audio Transcript (PDF)
An in-depth discussion of the basic principles of 21st Century school design with Prakash Nair
Minister heralds change for education at annual conferenceCayman Net News, Cayman Islands, 4 December 2006
“I believe that the work we are undertaking to transform our education system is to produce students and young adults, allowing
them to emerge more and more as empowered, self-positioned, motivated, capable individuals, able to hold their own in the global
market place,“ — The Hon. Alden McLaughlin, Cayman Islands Minister for Education, Training, Employment, Youth, Sports and Culture
Education stakeholders to gather for another conferenceCayman Net News, Cayman Islands, 24 November 2006
Prakash Nair, “a globally acclaimed change agent for the enhancement of teaching and learning through improved school design,
” is one of the keynote speakers at a conference on the future of education in the Cayman Islands
New primary school planned for George TownCayman Net News, Cayman Islands, 24 November 2006
“With the major cost implications of the planned new facilities, it is essential that we seek world class advice and get it
right. There is no second chance,” — The Hon. Alden McLaughlin, Cayman Islands Minister for Education, Training,
Employment, Youth, Sports and Culture
New ideas for old-school schoolKingborough Times, Australia, 12 November 2006DOWNLOAD PDF
INTERNATIONAL school design expert Prakash Nair met with students, staff and key community representatives in Kingston this month to
discuss its $30 million new high school.
 Designing Healthy Schools Our Children DeserveSchool Planning and Management, 1 November 2006DOWNLOAD PDF
A discussion of knee-jerk and constructive responses to anti-social student behaviour, by Jeff Lackney and Christian Long
US firm hired as architects for three new public schoolsCayman Net News, Cayman Islands, 24 October 2006
Announcement of design team for 3 new public high schools on Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands
Randall Fielding interviewed on Charlotte radio
The American Institute of Architects had a symposium in late September 2006 to improve the quality of schools in Charlotte. Randy is
interviewed along with Harvey Gantt, former Charlotte Mayor.
New School DesignBlog for TheThinkingCurriculum.com, Australia, 6 September 2006
A reflection on Prakash Nair‘s presentations regarding new schools in Bendigo, Australia
 Building boonThe Age, Australia, 28 August 2006DOWNLOAD PDF
Jeff Lackney, Prakash Nair and Randy Fielding all mentioned in article on recently-developed and in-planning respectful spaces in
Victorian high schools.
Proposal to build world-class education and community facilities in Vines RoadCity of Greater Geelong, Australia, 8 August 2006
“Apart from the obvious benefits to local students, this innovative concept would mean the wider community would have access to
the very latest facilities including a new library, performing arts and recreation facilities and learning areas” Kildare Ward
Councillor Stretch Kontelj
Getting beyond the School as TempleEdutopia Magazine, July 2006
A discussion of two community-centric approaches to school design: the ‘Community Learning Center’ and ‘Community
as School’ models
 Learning by LiberationThe Hobart Mercury, Australia, 21 July 2006DOWNLOAD PDF
On Reece High School, the design of which won Prakash Nair the McConnell Award for school planning: ‘The school is now
protected by something proving far stronger than razor wire: pride. Since the opening of the rebuilt $10 million school in 2003,
there has been very little vandalism.’
Master Classroom: Designs inspired by creative mindsEdutopia, June 2006
Randy Fielding, Prakash Nair and Jeff Lackney introduce several new design solutions for student-centred teaching and learning
What They See is What We Get: Ten myths about lighting and color in schoolsEdutopia, March 2006
Randy Fielding debunks some of the myths associated with use of lighting and colour in schools
Knowledge Gap in School Building DesignPlace, Australia, April 2006
Discussion of school building design in Australian architectural magazine; mentions Prakash Nair as international expert
Learning to the MaxThe Age, Australia, 27 February 2006DOWNLOAD PDF
Prakash Nair’s work referenced in discussion of larger, non-traditional settings in Victorian schools
Small is BigEdutopia, November 2005
Randall Fielding and Prakash Nair introduce the concept of the Small Learning Community
Tassie urged to make classrooms enjoyableThe Hobart Mercury, Australia, 22 April 2005Tasmania commended on learning systemABC News Online, Australia, 21 April 2005Learn the fun wayThe Hindu, India, 4 March 2005
Prakash Nair applauds Thiruvananthapuram (India) school
Education’s Radical Idea: Child-Centric SchoolsNation’s Cities Weekly, 29 March 2004
“So many new schools look alike, asserts Prakash Nair, international school building consultant and architect, because we
continue to ‘warehouse’ children with too little thought to how the design will impact student learning.”
Workshop focuses on educationThe Daily Targum (Rutgers), NJ, 5 November 2003
Jeff Lackney and Prakash Nair present at workshop ‘focused on education reform, design and redesign issues facing American
schools today.’
 Schools of the FutureABC 936 Hobart (radio), Australia, 29 April 2003
“In the same way the rest of the world has changed, education is finally catching up,” Prakash told 936 Drive Presenter
Anthony Frangi.
Tasmania leads world in approach to teachingABC 936 Hobart (radio), Australia, 2 October 2002
Speaking to Annie Warburton on 936 ABC Hobart’s Afternoon show, Prakash Nair said Tasmania’s teaching and assessment
strategies are decided after looking at the concept of schools and learning, while most other places start with assessment or test
scores, “and then back their way into learning and teaching.”
International Conference on Schools of the FutureUniversity of Western Australia, 20 May 2002
“Dr Lackney will discuss the relationship between educational environments and educational outcomes. Prakash Nair will lead an
interactive workshop session on Thursday morning on designing schools for 21st Century Learning.”
 Sunny addition nicely blends Yeshiva school with neighborhoodMilwaukee Journal Sentinel, WI, 26 November 2001DOWNLOAD PDF
On Randy Fielding’s design: “In the play area below, little boys in yarmulkes tumble down a curvy, bright blue slide, shrieking with
delight… A lot of architects would kill for raves like that.”
 Architects hear the benefits of the future’s classroomsGrand Rapids Business Journal, 15 October 2001DOWNLOAD PDF
A presentation by Jeff Lackney, who “consults nationally as an educational facility planner, advocating innovative, vision
driven approaches to education.”
Small Learning Communities are key to the new Years 7-9 program at Torquay College, Victoria, Australia
Porirua College Vice Principal Ana Rees with students in Te Ara Hou Ala Fou, the College’s first Small Learning Community
Prakash Nair
Isaac Williams (center) leading the victorious University of Maryland team in the City of the Future competition
Cristo Rey Jesuit High School, Twin Cities
The cutting-edge setting soon to be a part of powerful everyday teaching and learning for students of the Cayman Islands
Tiffany Green, Associate Educational Planner with FNI, and Minnesota Project Manager at BAEO
Randy Fielding: CEFPI 2007 Planner of the Year
Prakash Nair and Stephen Heppell: ‘singing from the same hymn book!’
The Duke School, after years of planning, crosses the final hurdle to construction
‘A Comfortable Truth’ — comfort has nothing in common with these plastic chairs (picture: Edutopia.org)
“‘Getting Beyond ‘School as Temple’” (picture: edutopia.org)
FNI has worked with the Cayman Islands Government and school communities to forge an education plan for the 21st Century
On Reece High School, Tasmania, Australia: “In 2003, Reece was rated among the top seven schools of the 21st century by The
New York Times and it is the first school outside North America to win the James D. MacConnell Award” — Hobart Mercury
Scotch Oakburn College, Tasmania, Australia
Visioning in Melbourne, Australia
The Da Vinci Studio: Student-scaled space for hands-on projects
Natural lighting is precious (pictures: www.designshare.com)
‘Small Learning Communities’ are key to the Bendigo Secondary Schools’ designs
‘Putting Facilities into Words’: Nair and Fielding’s Language of School Design
High School for Recording Arts: the line between curricular and extra-curricular activities is blurred and space becomes
student-owned. Stay tuned for news about a forthcoming MTV feature on the school, ‘Hip Hop High’.
Pathways World School, New Delhi, India
On Yeshiva Elementary School: “A sun-drenched, skylighted corridor, its wall punctuated above and below by bands of
windows, bridges the old and new sections and sends light into basement classrooms and other connecting rooms.” — Milwaukee
Journal Sentinel
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