By VS America��

Today’s libraries, media centers and learning commons support research, instruction, collaboration, creation, reflection and connection — often within the same shared space.��

That means the physical environment has to do more, too. A successful library should support multiple ways of learning at once while remaining adaptable, welcoming and easy to navigate.��

Here are seven important considerations when designing libraries for how learning happens today.��

1. Make Information Easy to Access

Learners must be able to move freely, find resources easily and engage independently. Open shelving, clear pathways and intuitive layouts make information visible and accessible, removing barriers to learning.

Resources are integrated throughout the space, supporting both structured instruction and spontaneous discovery. Mobile storage and flexible shelving allow materials to shift with learning, keeping resources within reach as needs change throughout the day.

2. Create Space for Learning Together

People gather to discuss ideas, solve problems and build understanding together. Flexible tables, mobile seating and shared surfaces support conversation and movement, allowing multiple groups to work at once without disruption.��

As the heartbeat of the learning community, libraries support collaboration and communication. This means deliberately designing spaces where people can engage with one another, exchange ideas and learn through shared experience.��

3. Support Creation, Not Just Consumption

Today’s learners don’t just access information, they create it.��

Libraries encourage hands-on learning, from STEM exploration to prototyping and design. These environments must allow for experimentation, movement and iteration without becoming restrictive.��

When the environment supports making, the library becomes a place where ideas can move from research and discussion into something tangible.��

4. Integrate Digital Learning Naturally

Students move fluidly between physical and digital resources, often working quickly and independently. Whether it’s charging a device over lunch or taking a deep dive into database research, spaces that support short-duration work, device use and media interaction are essential.��

Access to technology, power and flexible work surfaces allows students to research, produce and interact with information in ways that reflect how learning happens today.��

5. Make Room for Quiet Study and Reflection

Reading, research and reflection often require settings that support concentration and reduce interruptions. These spaces must feel calm, comfortable and separate, while still connected to the larger environment.��

Thoughtful layouts, softened acoustics and intentional zoning help create environments where people can focus without distraction and engage in deeper thinking.��

6. Design for Choice, Comfort and Inclusion

Everyone learns in different ways, at different paces and with different needs. Providing a range of spaces, with seating and tables that adjust to accommodate everybody and can be easily rearranged to create clear, open pathways for movement allows each learner to find a place that works for them.

7. Plan for Community

From daily use to larger gatherings, these spaces support a wide range of activities, serving individuals, groups and the broader community. They must adapt easily between focused work, informal interaction and shared experiences.��

Open layouts and flexible furniture allow spaces to shift throughout the day, supporting both individual use and group engagement. Areas can accommodate presentations, collaborative work or community events without requiring permanent changes to the space.��

At VS, we design furniture that helps libraries create purposeful spaces, where each area supports a different way of learning.��

This article was sponsored by VS America, Inc., a manufacturer of educational furniture for K-12 schools, colleges and libraries. Focused on best practices for educational facilities worldwide, VS develops adaptable, ergonomic and sustainable furniture solutions which allow for the creation of agile learning environments. For more information, visit .��

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• The new 100,000-square-foot Gladstone Elementary School in Cranston, R.I.,��consolidates��Gladstone and Arlington elementary schools and is designed for 798 students in grades K-5.��
• Finegold Alexander Architects organized the school around six Learning Communities rather than a traditional classroom-and-corridor layout.��
• Curiosity Centers connect the Learning Communities with dedicated music,��art��and maker spaces, while shared areas include a cafetorium, gymnasium and gathering stairs.��
• The design uses the existing site’s topography and solar orientation to support a compact footprint, natural��daylight��and views.��
• Student input helped shape an inclusive “tree concept,” with student artwork incorporated into lobby graphics and interior signage.��

CRANSTON, R.I. — Cranston, R.I., is hosting a ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house Sept. 17 to celebrate the new Gladstone Elementary School designed around collaborative learning rather than the conventional classroom-and-corridor model.��

Designed by Finegold Alexander Architects, the 100,000-square-foot Gladstone Elementary School will serve 798 students in kindergarten through fifth grade and��consolidate��the former Gladstone and Arlington elementary school communities.��

The project centers on six Learning Communities, each arranged as a connected suite of spaces with��different sizes��and uses. According to project materials from Finegold Alexander Architects, each community includes a��learning commons, learning studios, an active lab, a teacher collaboration��workroom��and small-group rooms. The approach is intended to support a more community-based, collaborative teaching model.��

Specialized Curiosity Centers link the Learning Communities on each floor. These areas include purpose-built music,��art��and makerspaces. Larger shared spaces include a first-floor cafetorium described as the school’s “Social Heart,” a lower-level gymnasium and gathering stairs that can accommodate informal seating and interaction among students,��staff��and families.��

The school also extends learning outdoors through three outdoor learning areas, multiple��playgrounds��and a community garden. Finegold Alexander says the building was positioned to work with the site’s challenging terrain, creating a compact footprint while��optimizing��solar orientation for daylight and views.��

Student participation also influenced the interior concept. Project background materials say fourth graders developed a “Radiating Respect” project that helped inspire a welcoming and inclusive environment. The school is organized around a tree concept, with each floor��representing��a different part of the tree, and student artwork appears in entry lobby graphics and interior signage.��

“This is community (and) student-centered-driven from all aspects … It’s just such a great design,” said Roxanne Gustafson, Executive Director of Curriculum, Assessment and Grants for Cranston Public Schools.��

Finegold Alexander also emphasized cost-conscious design decisions, including vertically stacking the learning community wings to create structural and mechanical efficiencies and using durable, low-maintenance masonry for much of the building envelope.��

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FLINT, Mich.—Stantec, a global leader in sustainable design, was selected to provide architectural and interior design services for the recently unveiled Learning Commons at Kettering University, located in Flint. The new Learning Commons complements the unique Kettering curriculum with a facility that is focused on collaboration, ideation and digital technology.

The new 105,000-square-foot Learning Commons incorporates building systems that speak to the permanence and longevity of the institution while offering durability for the decades ahead. The four-story design features an open-air atrium, and a skylight that fills the entire interior space with natural light. The first and second floors feature public gathering, dining, and collaborative spaces, focused on creating dynamic social spaces for students. The third and fourth floors consist of additional collaborative spaces and environments for research, student support, media resources, individual focus, and group project work.

Other exciting elements of the new Learning Commons include a digital library, a 200-seat multi-media auditorium, dining facilities, outdoor patios and rooftop terraces, and an overnight suite for guest professors and lecturers.

The new Learning Commons features more than a dozen ”D-Spaces.” These spaces serve as collaborative study and team rooms that provide comfortable and functional seating for students, faculty, and staff along with digital and analog work tools. There are two Knowledge Bars hosting an entirely digital library, which holds over 900,000 e-books, 100,000 e-journals, and 100+ databases. Other amenities include a 1,600-square-foot roof-top garden designed to reduce run-off and lower temperatures on its surface and the surrounding area.

The Stantec team focused on giving the new facility a timeless and elegant design. The interior has been strategically designed to provide optimum flexibility, with power and technology woven throughout. The building can easily transform to meet the needs of students and faculty, while also allowing for easy adaptability to future programs or space reconfigurations.

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