How workplace design strategies can transform university education spaces

Traditional lecture theatres with fixed seating and rigid formats no longer support how students learn today. The solution is to apply modern workplace design principles such as activity-based layouts, flexible spaces and neurodiversity-focused environments. By doing this, underutilised campus spaces turn into valuable assets that improve student outcomes and prepare graduates for collaborative careers.

Once a defining feature of the campus experience, the lecture theatre has become one of universities' most problematic spaces. 

Increasingly, they are recognising that fixed-tiered seating, lecture-heavy content and rigid presentation formats fail to support modern learning styles. This leaves thousands of square metres of campus space requiring transformation into dynamic, multipurpose environments. 

The modern workplace offers a roadmap for this evolution.

Over the past decade, the lecture theatre has faced a similar story to the office cubicle: once a defining feature of its environment, but now a relic as workplaces shift towards activity-based working, adaptable layouts and technology-integrated environments. 

“Offices have been designed on the basis that people work best when they are empowered to choose from a variety of spaces, be it individual work areas, collaborative team set-ups or presentation environments,” says Sally Edelsten, director, design and asset experience, PDS Advisory, JLL. "Universities that apply this thinking and provide these informal settings, particularly through multi-functional spaces, will see dramatic improvements in how students engage with their campus. These are the spaces that get used constantly throughout the day, not just during scheduled hours."

Research by architecture firm Hassell titled Not Lazing, Learning, supports this thinking. Leading universities are providing areas that are “non-faculty specific and free from timetabling, enabling students to programme their own activities and supporting new pedagogies such as project-based and blended learning models”, it states.

Edelsten adds that shared workspaces and meeting zones can also help prepare students with the collaborative skills they need for modern careers.

Modern workplace strategy demonstrates that providing choice improves performance. Just as employees thrive when given control over their work environment, students perform better when they can select spaces appropriate to their immediate learning needs and personal preferences.

Flexible design of university spaces is already changing the way students and academics interact.

Monash University, Clayton campus, Australia has embraced collaborative learning with the ‘flipped classroom’, turning didactic spaces into areas where students and staff can gather and learn. A ‘learning-in-the-round space’ creates an immersive environment where facilitators walk around a circular room and display any group’s work on a central digital screen.

JLL produced a complementary workplace strategy for the university’s academics, professional staff and higher degree by learning students.

Heriot-Watt University’s Dubai Campus puts staff, academics and students at the heart of its design. The campus features collaborative lecture theatres with booth-style seating to encourage small-group discussions, ‘pod’ rooms facilitating group-based learning with interconnected PCs and screens, and a ‘Bloomberg Trading Room’ providing simulated financial market experience.

The most successful workplace transformations balance supporting autonomous user experience with facilitating meaningful human connection. This is through carefully designed transition zones – spaces that invite informal interaction whilst respecting the need for focused work.

“For universities, this might mean transforming lecture theatre foyers and corridors into active learning commons, where students naturally converge between formal sessions,” Edelsten says. “These interval spaces become as valuable as the lecture theatres themselves, supporting the social dimension of learning that remains irreplaceable despite technological advances.”

Multi-zone approaches to campus design enable different pedagogical methods while supporting varied learning styles and neurotypes. This represents a significant equity opportunity for education providers given 15-20% of the global population is neurodivergent, according to a 2020 study, yet less than 40% of autistic students successfully complete their studies.

In the workplace, design for neurodivergence includes clear wayfinding, biophilic design elements, varied sensory options and acoustic choice. They are measures that benefit all users, not just those with diagnosed differences.

Lecturers and students at Arden University in the UK recommend universities focus on physical attributes, plus the content and pace of teaching as important steps towards equity.

"A reimagined lecture theatre might incorporate quiet focus zones with reduced sensory stimulus and high sound attenuation alongside collaborative areas with higher energy and acoustic activity," suggests Camilla McMahon, director, JLL Design.

Adjustable lighting, varied seating options and multiple entry and exit points give students agency over their learning environment. Technology integration allows seamless transitions between large group instruction, breakout discussions and independent study all within the same footprint that once served a single, inflexible purpose.

Rather than abandoning large group learning, neuro-inclusive design creates spaces flexible enough to support traditional lectures when needed, while enabling reconfiguration for seminars, group work or individual study.

"The physical environment becomes an active participant in learning rather than a passive container," McMahon says.

Putting the insights from this article into practice, here are five principles for applying workplace design to your campus.

Provide choice and variety. Create multiple learning settings within single spaces, including individual focus areas, collaborative zones and presentation environments, allowing students to select spaces matching their needs.

Design active transition zones. Transform corridors and foyers into learning commons where informal interaction and social learning naturally occur between formal sessions.

Apply neurodiversity principles. Incorporate adjustable lighting, varied acoustic environments, clear wayfinding and diverse seating options that support all students whilst specifically addressing neurodivergent needs.

Enable flexible reconfiguration. Integrate technology and movable elements allowing spaces to shift from traditional lectures to seminars to independent study within the same footprint.

Balance autonomy with connection. Design environments that respect individual work preferences whilst facilitating the collaborative skills modern careers demand.

By applying proven workplace design strategies, universities can transform their most underutilised spaces into their most valuable assets, improving student outcomes, supporting diverse learning needs and better preparing graduates for contemporary professional environments.

Ready to talk about a design strategy for your university space? Contact us here.