Classroom and Office Space: Extreme Makeover!

1. Classroom and Office Space: Extreme Makeover! Sara Burd Reading Public Schools Behavioral Health Coordinator FengShui Design Student

2. Close your eyes… Think of your favorite place for relaxation. A beach, a library, bedroom, backyard… Think of an extremely energizing place. A night club, a gym, a mountain top… Think of a place where you feel uncomfortable. A bus, a basement, dining room…

3. Optimal learning environments • Research on office environments and building designs has focused on this question of how worker productivity can be affected by the work environment (Becker, 1982; Pappas, 1990; Steele and Jenks, 1977). • “ Spaces for …learning experiences are shaped by administrators, teachers, maintenance personnel, and even learners. The way these physical environments are arranged and manipulated can affect learning experiences.” Ralph B. Brockett, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Where We Learn Shapes Our Learning (Richard S. Vosko) • “If we want to change education, we literally have to change the way we design the space,” Trung Le, a principal in Chicago’s Cannon Design and lead designer for its education group http://360.steelcase.com/articles/exploring-how-space-effects-learning/

4. Our Goal Today • To learn more about how our space effects our mood, our goals and energy • To learn about space design and space alignment • To evaluate our working space • To create a design plan for our offices/classrooms

5. My Background FengShui Design Student Consultations in homes, offices, schools, colleges and outdoor spaces Interior Design Program Certificate

6. FengShui (phung- shway) FengShui is a Chinese approach to interior design that has been practiced for thousands of years. FengShui emphasizes the need for people to live in harmony with their environment.

7. How can FengShui help? • Increase or decrease the flow of energy • Balance the energy and elements • Align your space to your goals • Identify unhealthy aspects of your space • Remedy unhealthy spaces

8. First- Clutter Clearing De-cluttering a space is the first step in FengShui and any other interior design practice. Clutter blocks energy and drains visual and mental energy! Clutter inhibits working and learning!

9. Things to know about clutter There is both obvious and disguised clutter in a classroom. • Obvious clutter is what you try to put away before Parents' Night. • Disguised clutter is the file cabinet filled with old dittos, desk drawers that hold confiscated items from five years ago, and storage cabinets that have never been organized. Tackle the obvious clutter first!

10. Clutter Rules of Thumb • All surfaces ( including floors) should be 80% clear of objects. • All shelves should be 40% clear of objects. • The only objects that should be in your space are objects that are useful or beautiful. Nothing else!

11. Find your clutter! Make a list of: • Obviously cluttered spaces • Discretely cluttered spaces • Surfaces with more than 80% covered • Shelves with more than 40% covered • Spaces where you lose things

12. The Bagua

13. Bagua Inventory Give each area a 1-5 rating. 5=Stable/Love it! 1=Unstable/Unhappy • Health • Career • Helpful People and Travel • Creativity and Children • Love and Relationships • Fame and Reputation • Wealth and Prosperity • Family • Self-Knowledge and Wisdom

14. Space evaluation Chi: The flow of energy in a space Yin/Yang: The balance of energy in a space Elements: Harmony within the space and with your goals

15. Your Turn! • On a piece of graph paper, draw a simple floor plan of your workspace. • Include doors, windows, furniture • Draw the bagua over the floor plan (Focus on your top 1-2 guas) • Indicate poor chi flow • Indicate poor yin/yang balance • Indicate poor balance of elements

16. Chi Flow Envision chi as water flowing in through your main door and through the room. Where does it pool and get stuck, where does it rush too quickly? • Long, overhead beams • Desks in rows • Pointy edges or corners • Stairs or mirror directly facing the door • Direct path from door to window • Objects that point downward from the ceiling • Classroom door at the end of a long hallway • Sharp corners on tables and cabinets • Square pillows

17. Yin / Yang YIN: feminine, cool/cold, even, passive, wet, winter, dark, low, soft, small, slow, rounded, curved, black/silver, death, ornate, negative, matte, left, back, floral, textured, inward, still, sinking, receptive, valley, horizontal, contracting, wide, moon, earth, listening. YANG: masculine, warm/hot, odd, active, dry, summer, light/bright, high, hard, large, fast, sharp, angular, straight, white, life, plain, positive, shiny, right, front, geometric, smooth, outward, moving, rising, projecting, mountain, vertical, expanding, narrow, sun, heaven, speaking

18. Elements Wood • Green, wood, plants, rectangle, tall, trees Fire • Red, pink, light, triangles, candles Earth • Yellow, brown, dirt, clay pots, stones, mountains, square Metal • Silver, white, black, metallic, circular, mirrors Water • Blue, purple, curved, wavy, aquariums

20. Remedies • De-clutter • Move furniture • Add/Remove Element • Add mirrors • Add/Remove colors • Add/Remove emotionally charged items

21. Remedies specific to schools • Face the direction of the front door • Back to a wall • Computer between you and door • Use mirrors to reflect doors or views • Plants balance electronics... Pothos, Spider • Convenience in your work space equals convenience in work • Family pictures • Desk bagua • Lighting • Aromatherapy • Peppermint • Sweet orange • Cotton ball and water spritzer • Stones or mountain pictures when their back is to a window • Focus on where you spend the most amount of time

22. More classroom specific… • Hang a drape from one side of the corner to the other (remember to use the appropriate color and pattern for that corner as it applies to the controlling element). Behind that drape, neatly stack your labeled boxes, preferably on shelves so the custodial staff can easily clean the floor. • Use a Japanese screen style of barrier. This is very effective in a reading corner where you can use the screen to post pictures related to the text. • Place wood or metal shelves(again, consider the controlling element for the corner) diagonally. If you are concerned about the visible cavity formed behind the shelves, string holiday lights behind them. • Hang knotted rope or a beaded curtain from the ceiling across the corner. Attach clothespins at regular intervals and hang student work. This is especially good in the fame or wealth area of your room.

23. Questions…? Time to practice!

24. Space Design • On graph paper, draw a simple floor plan ofyour work space. • Indicate windows and doors • Draw the bagua over your space • Indicate which remedies you would like to use in your top 1-2 guas. • Indicate which remedies you would like to use in the rest of the space.