Tim Holt speaks with futurist, change agent and world renowned school designer Prakish Nair. Mr Nair talks about how schools need to be designed, how they are not being properly designed to match the learning needs of today’s students, and what needs to be done to get the mind shift in education to start making schools like the ones his company designs.

A great interview with a very interesting person. Hopefully, you will become a committed sardine after listening to this podcast.

About Prakash Nair:

Prakash Nair, REFP

Partner, Fielding Nair International

Prakash Nair is a futurist, a visionary planner and architect with Fielding Nair International, one of the world’s leading change agents in school design. He is also the Managing Editor of DesignShare.com which attracts over one million visitors each year. He is the recipient of several international awards including the prestigious CEFPI MacConnell Award, the top honor worldwide for school design.

He has written extensively in leading international journals about school design and educational technology and their connection to established educational research. He is also the author of two guidebooks on school planning including the landmark 2005 publication, The Language of School Design which he co-authored with his partner Randall Fielding.

Prior to co-founding Fielding Nair International, Prakash worked for 10 years as Director of Operations for a multi-billion dollar school construction program for New York City.

In 2003, Prakash completed a project with the University of Wisconsin on a Rockefeller Foundation-funded grant to develop international best practice standards for tomorrow’s schools. He also led the effort to develop a new research-based tool to evaluate the educational effectiveness of schools. This tool, now being tested by schools and governments in the United States, Australia and Singapore will revolutionize the way we look at how school buildings and campuses actually work to support teaching and learning.

Prakash has served as the Northeast Regional President of the Council of Educational Facility Planners International and serves on the ICOPE Task Force — New York City’s Independent Commission on Public Education.

Prakash Serves as a Managing Principal on several projects scattered around the world. He has served as a school planning and design consultant, presenter and/or keynote speaker for clients in Australia (five states), Canada, India, New Zealand, Qatar, Singapore, Thailand, The Netherlands, Spain, U.A.E., U.K. and the United States.

By staying current with the research as well as national and international social, economic and cultural trends, Prakash is always able to bring best practice thinking from many disciplines and fields to bear on education-related problems and projects. This approach has helped education clients save millions of dollars while still achieving or exceeding their schedule and quality expectations.

Prakash’s signature talent lies in his ability to communicate his passion for a new approach to education across the globe. He has consistently built strong partnerships with local firms, helped client communities visualize their future, built consensus for uniquely tailored solutions, and helped execute them successfully.

Contact Prakash Nair at Prakash@FieldingNair.com

www.fieldingnair.com

www.designshare.com