Call to Action:

1. Transform school design with collaboration. Use Design Thinking to engage stakeholders, build consensus, and create impactful learning spaces.
2. Reimagine existing spaces. Invest in community-driven solutions that enhance learning environments and foster long-term success.
3. Design with, not for. Empower students, teachers, and parents through participatory workshops to shape the future of education.

Abstract: Discover how to use the Empathy-Define-Ideate workshop to gain vital insights often overlooked in facility planning. Based on Design Thinking, a well-known human-centered approach, this workshop facilitates a collaborative endeavor: designing with, rather than for, end users. This tool captures qualitative input from stakeholders and transforms it into tangible solutions. Learn how we applied the Empathy-Define-Ideate workshop at the Uruguayan American School to uncover unexpected insights that drove the design for their school-wide renovation.

Learning Objectives:

1. First-hand experience of the Empathy—Define—Ideate workshop model. Participants can use it to solicit and collate information and ultimately create consensus among a large and diverse group of stakeholders.
2. Know how to create an Empathy Map, a simple and meaningful analog tool soliciting often-overlooked qualitative information from a large group of stakeholders to develop a shared understanding of end-user needs beyond a typical space-needs programming spreadsheet.
3. Navigate the steps necessary to prepare for the Empathy—Define—Ideate workshop, from working with the project’s administrators to identify key stakeholder groups to organizing and preparing the physical materials necessary to ensure the workshop’s success.
4. Understand the value of using the Empathy—Define—Ideate workshop model and will be equipped to advocate for its importance and role in the earliest phases of a project.