With Colin Campbell, Ecophon Group & Nigel Oseland, Workplace Unlimited

Despite resistance to open plan classrooms in the UK, the movement towards innovative learning environments continues in parts of Europe, especially Scandinavia, Australia and New Zealand. Their definition (ILEs) is an ongoing discussion in itself and their success is dependent on many aspects. However, understanding the changes in pedagogic approaches, including aspects like the profile of teachers in this context and the quality of the acoustic design are key to informing the design process in order to deliver successful and sustainable learning outcomes.

Colin Campbell is Global Concept Developer - Educational Environments with Ecophon Group, based in Sweden. His main focus is raising awareness about the importance of acoustic design for sustainable learning spaces.  This is done via Ecophon’s group of national Concept Developers in EDUnet, working with key education stakeholders, working groups and research studies. EDUnet are actively involved with ongoing Phd research studies with the University of Melbourne and Lund University as well as numerous applied case studies.

Nigel Oseland is an environmental psychologist, workplace strategist, change manager and author with 11 years research and 19 years consulting experience. He advises organisations on how to redefine their workstyles to provide cost-effective workplaces that enhance performance. Nigel has developed accommodation strategies for many academic institutions and regularly conducts post occupancy evaluations. Working amongst people from a wide range of disciplines gives Nigel the unique ability to connect with and understand the requirements of the occupants of varying organisations, allowing him to instigate change. Nigel began his career at the BRE researching the impact of environmental conditions on occupant behaviour and performance to inform European standards. He then moved into consulting to apply his knowledge to the design of learning environments and workplace. As well as conducting independent research and presenting his results at international conferences, Nigel also lectures on wellbeing for UCL’s new masters course.