The new methods of learning and the emergence of technology in the learning process led to a new configuration of the educational spaces and created a new open environment that encourage the interaction between students themselves and with teachers, foster the collaboration and raise the satisfaction and retention rates which would change the way people feel and behave while studying or working within buildings. Therefore, the need for an interaction spaces and the efficiency of their design has became essential in the universities buildings and a significant factor in making the university buildings a practical resource for the community.
The efforts of many libraries to reinvent themselves provide an interesting parallel and source of information. Here and there, but thus far not so much on campus, many libraries are experimenting with creative spaces so their future roles might define themselves. Because the role of libraries 20 years hence will have changed and will likely embrace multiple new forms and functions, libraries are designing creative spaces to enable clients, audiences, and partners, not forgetting staff, to experiment and determine what ideas draw attention and get traction. With social innovation, possible uses for creative spaces include art studios; band practice rooms; blogger stations; cybercafés; daycare facilities; drama studios; exercise bicycles and treadmills; gamer stations; imagination rooms; mini-theaters; podcast studios; recording studios; video studios; and virtual world stations. Design thinking can likewise be applied to the design (or possible redesign) of university buildings (including the libraries).
Designers are trying to re-purposing library space by adding more collaboration spaces but even in the colleges buildings, many architectural firms such as: Henning Larsen architects, 3XN, Perkins+will...most of them are in Netherlands and in Scandinavia are following new strategies in designing the atrium of the educational buildings and they believe that educational buildings two environments the formal one; (the classic classrooms, libraries ..) and the informal one;( Hallways, circulation areas, entrance areas, common spaces...). New designs now are focusing more on the daylights, spatial complexity and informal gathering spaces
There was a proposed project at Physics Faculty, Sofia University, to create a space for indoors drone testing and exhibitions, but never met the understanding of the dean. Nevertheless, I am convinced that such spaces, except undoubtedly productive for the learning process, are suitable for the general visitors and are valuable for the community and the dissemination of university educational successes and advance in the tutoring practices.
Interactive spaces have been always been part of the (building) design of universities and peer communication is an essential element of higher education and scholarship. New technologies just provide new ways of recognising the informal and non-formal activities in these spaces. Many university projects leverage on that. There is a good overview by DG Kuh (https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ527218) of the relevance of these spaces for academic professionalisation and scholarship (also not new). There are some efforts to operationalise these concepts for teaching and learning with technologies (spearheaded by Lung-Hsiang Wong and Chee-Kit Looi)
Here is an example with a new build at Carnegie Mellon University:
https://www.cmu.edu/cdfd/tepper-quad/
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