The Meaning and Perception of School Buildings

This study explores how people interpret and perceive school buildings, and how specific meanings influence people’s judgements. The survey included photographic images of different architectural styles, an adjective rating scale, and questions related to familiarity, and friendliness. Results indicated that preferred school building images were described as dynamic, complex, attractive, and interesting. Disliked images were static, common, boring, simple, and unattractive. Generally, high-tech and post-modern school buildings, which the respondents described as not very familiar, were considered more flexible than traditional school buildings. Results from this study can be influential in expanding the people’s vision of building images beyond their everyday experiences with school building.