As educational institutions around the world adapt to shifting societal needs, the architecture of learning is also evolving. This curated selection brings together projects submitted by the global ArchDaily community, highlighting how architects are rethinking the future of schools and universities through design. These proposals reflect pressing global concerns: the importance of community-centered education, the revitalization of historical buildings and neighborhoods, the integration of natural systems, and the search for spatial expressions that accommodate both formal instruction and informal exchange. Whether situated in dense urban centers, rural villages, or coastal landscapes, these projects respond to specific cultural and environmental contexts while engaging with broader architectural questions about sustainability, access, and identity.
Several proposals explore how educational spaces can serve as catalysts for urban renewal or heritage preservation. In Accra and Barcelona, for instance, projects propose the adaptive reuse of historic school buildings, introducing new educational programs while maintaining a connection to local history. Others address urban growth at the edge of cities, such as a new primary school in Rimini or a vocational campus in Rui'an, using landscape, zoning, and scale to navigate the tension between development and preservation. Common across many of these designs is a commitment to circular principles: reusing materials, reducing energy consumption, and creating flexible frameworks for future change. Together, these unbuilt works illustrate how educational spaces continue to serve not only as places of learning, but as tools for shaping resilient, inclusive, and context-sensitive environments.
