Our take: “Children realize they have agency, and when design is less prescriptive and more intuitive, we don’t have to tell [them] how to use the space,” says Danish architect Bjarke Ingels. The founding partner of BIG and chief architect at WeWork is helping to revolutionize education with WeGrow, just one of the programs leading the charge in crafting out-of-the-box learning environments that are incorporating the basic tenets of coworking and hospitality.

Groupe Scolaire à Strega, Corsica: Courtesy of Aix-en-Provence, France-based Amelia Tavella Architects, Groupe Scolaire à Strega effortlessly blends into what was formerly a vast equestrian field in the remote village of Santa-Maria Siché. The exterior features vertical pine battens that evoke the surrounding forest, while granite walls honor traditional Corsican construction methods. Inside, a soothing palette prevails, including acoustic ceiling panels that give the austere space an inviting quality.

Groupe Scolaire à Strega, Corsica

WeGrow, New York: WeGrow’s founding class of 3- to 9-year-old students will experience a curriculum focused on “mind, body, and soul [that aims to] help them identify their superpowers and discover how to use them to help others,” explains WeGrow founder and CEO Rebekah Neumann. The nature-inspired design from Bjarke Ingels’ firm BIG eschews the compartmentalized layouts traditionally found in schools for a calming interior, which includes acoustic clouds made of felt, modular classrooms, reading hives, a “magic meadow,” and digital portals that “unleash the creative potential of all generations,” adds Ingels.

WeGrow, New York

Blue School, New York: In following Blue School’s philosophy, the design for its middle school, courtesy of Rockwell Group, is meant to connect to the neighborhood and foster collaboration. Defined by saturated colors, large windows, and exposed ceilings, the Cellar Lounge ties the lofty six-level space together. Neon yellow stairs feature storage cubbies and complement geometric wallpaper, while blue foam block furniture is a nod to the local firm’s design of the Imagination Playground. “We wanted the school to feel light and airy with infusions of color—but nothing too elementary,” adds firm associate Shannon Farrell.

Blue School, New York