Klassenräume von morgen

How can a classroom make a democratic learning culture tangible in its spatial design? This collaborative project between Helene Lange School Wiesbaden and AMD Wiesbaden’s Interior Design program explores this question through a three-stage participatory design process that actively involves pupils.

1. Identifying needs:
   In a workshop, pupils and designers jointly analyze which spatial conditions are required for group work, self-directed learning, concentration, and quality breaks. Inclusive solutions, opportunities for movement, and protected spaces for retreat also play a vital role.
2. Developing and evaluating ideas:
   Based on the identified needs, design students develop concepts which are reflected upon together with the pupils. In a dialogical process, ideas are refined, priorities are negotiated, and spatial atmospheres are aligned with real learning and break scenarios.
3. Evaluating designs:
   The developed concepts are presented on site and critically reviewed. These include, for example, movable walls between classroom, corridor, or side room; a curtain system that creates flexible zones for group work and quiet learning areas; an inclusively designed mini-kitchen for lessons and breaks; multifunctional worktables with storage space; mobile trolleys; seating cubes for relaxation; a spatial system for movement and retreat; and a foldable mini-workstation that allows students with special needs both retreat and participation in the class community.
   The result is a classroom with an atmosphere that can be adapted in many ways, designed to invite participation, negotiation, diversity, and the freedom to shape learning environments together. As a model project, it aims to inspire other schools to rethink learning spaces in dialog with pupils and designers.

The results of the participatory design project will be presented to the public at WerkRaum in Wiesbaden. Date: expected to be September 2026

AMD Akademie Mode & Design Wiesbaden / Studiengang Interior Design
Prof. Dr. Thilo Schwer
Kilian Schmitz-Hübsch, freischaffender Architekt
Helene-Lange-Schule Wiesbaden / UNESCO-Projekt-Schule, Club of Rome Schule, Versuchsschule des Landes Hessen
Fachteam für Schulentwicklung: FLUG.VERSUCH
Tarek Aichah, Inga Frommelt, Fabian Veil