It's been a while since I blogged anything, not for the lack of anything to say, but last week consumed all of my time and more. Last Thursday, Hal, Leonie and I travelled to Birmingham to present the designmyschool.net project to a host of delegates at the conference, 'From the Inside Looking Out' organised and run by the Design Council at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole.

Both sessions were fully booked and delegates showed great interest in the designmyschool.net software and were able to see how this could be used in learning environments to support the design process. Never has there been a better time to reconsider what the future school might look like, engaging all stakeholders in the design process is an absolute must. With the government committing even more money to refurbishing, rebuilding and building new schools the time is ripe for our work to be on school design agenda.

The designmyschool.net website aims to raise pupils and teachers awareness of the design issues surrounding school design, and also serves to promote the discussions between pupils, teachers and school leaders. Although the website profiles the pupils' perception of their learning spaces it wouldn't be safe to assume that the responses to their questions provides a comprehensive view of what should happen or influence the design of the school using that data alone.

Highlights of the day includes listening to Prof. Stephen Heppell give the closing talk to the conference and drinking what might be the most expensive hot chocolate in Birmingham.

Read more about School Design