Recently, Chris Lehman — principal of the soon-to-be-opened Science Leadership Academy in Philly — wrote a series of reactions and questions to one of Randy Fielding’s articles on myths within the school design realm. Randy just offered the following set of responses. Here they are in order:

Regarding Myth #1:

Current guidelines by the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA) identify a low of 20 foot-candles (FC), medium level of 30 FC and a high of 50 FC for a classroom. I suggest that you have your architect/lighting designer set the design foot candle level at about 40k with an allowable range that can go down to 28 FC–at that level, you can take part in any normal classroom activities. A lab space might have a design FC level at 75 FC with the low end at 40 FC.

Regarding Myth #3:

Two or three “field” colors (lighter) and two or three accent colors is good rule of thumb. We know from research on the brain that the mind is wired to process information in a simultaneous rather than linear manner. A confident designer will enjoy the complexity of selecting a dynamic combination of hues (colors) and shades (darkness/lightness/contrast). Rather than rely on small swatches, have your designer show you similar completed installations, or purchase quarts of paint and create some mock up areas on walls or on large poster boards–this will boost your confidence in the end result.

Regarding Myth #8:

In my experience, cost increases for a dynamic pallet are negligible. If a contractor is holding up cost as a reason not to provide five or six different colors in your school, he probably just wants to keep his life simple. However, it’s the contractor’s job to manage complexity. It’s best to listen to all, but not to let contractors and maintenance people design your learning spaces.

Regarding Myth #9:

Chris, the article notes: “Using north light, filtered light, and adjustable lighting control devices are just a few ways to utilize natural light in a competitive athletic environment…” Doing anything well takes some effort, including the placement and modulation of natural light in a gym.

Regarding Chris’ final question (”So how do we combat that desire to retreat back to these old assumptions without feeling overwhelmed when it comes time to make these choices? “):

Chris, I’ll give the same answer here as above regarding myths three and five: we know from research on the brain that the mind is wired to process information in a simultaneous rather than linear manner. A confident designer will enjoy the complexity of selecting a dynamic combination of hues (colors) and shades (darkness/lightness/contrast). Rather than rely on small swatches, have your designer show you similar completed installations, or purchase quarts of paint and create some mock up areas on walls or on large poster boards–this will boost your confidence in the end result. Also, give yourself permission to take some measure of risk. In order to be successful in the new market economy, learners need to be comfortable with complexity. Shouldn’t we model that? Arm yourself with research and a good team, then take Shakespeare’s advice: “Arm me with Audacity!”