Prakash Nair

Prakash Nair
Occupation	School architect
Known for	Advocate for innovative school design

Prakash Nair, is a globally acclaimed architect and educator who specializes in the design of innovative schools. He is the recipient of many international awards, including the A4LE MacConnell Award, the highest honor worldwide for school design.

His international experience is vast, having worked with schools in 59 countries on six continents over the past 23 years, bringing a rich diversity of global insights to his work. This extensive international exposure has greatly influenced his student-centered approach to educational architecture and design.

Today, he serves as the Founding President & CEO of Education Design International (EDI) a company with multiple studios around the world. His expertise in architecture, education, neuroscience, psychology, and child development has driven EDI to the forefront of integrating research-driven innovations in school architecture. Prakash champions enhancing children’s health and wellbeing in school environments, embodying the principle of “Wellbeing for Learning.”

Prakash’s career began with a significant role as Director of Operations for New York City’s multibillion-dollar school construction program, where he honed his skills for a decade before establishing his own private practice.

As a renowned author, Prakash has penned many influential works including A New Language of School Design,  Learning by Design: Live | Play | Engage | Create,  The Language of School Design, Building Minds: Designing Learning Spaces for Connection & Coherence,  and Blueprint for Tomorrow: Redesigning Schools for Student-Centered Learning published by Harvard Education Press. His scholarly contributions also extend to several published articles in reputed journals and white papers on neuroarchitecture, biophilic design, and outdoor learning.

An esteemed educator, Prakash’s contributions to the Harvard edX “Leaders of Learning” course have impacted over 280,000 global participants. His frequent keynote presentations at international education conferences and his TEDx talk further establish him as a preeminent figure in Innovative School Design.

Under Prakash’s stewardship, EDI has developed a unique suite of apps for enhancing learning environments, an innovation that garnered him the prestigious Kelly Tanner Award by A4LE in 2023.

Works

• Nair, Prakash (October 1, 2014). Blueprint for Tomorrow: Redesigning Schools for Student-Centered Learning. Harvard Education Press. ISBN 978-1612507040.
• Prakash Nair; Roni Zimmer Doctori; Richard F. Elmore (April 15, 2019). Learning by Design: Live Play Engage Create. Education Design Architects. ISBN 978-0976267065.
• Prakash Nair; Randall Fielding (September 30, 2009). The Language of School Design: Design Patterns for 21st Century Schools (3rd ed.). Designshare, Inc. ISBN 978-0976267003.
• Prakash Nair; Dr. Parul Minhas (September 21, 2023). A NEW Language of School Design: Evidence-Based Strategies for Student Achievement and Well-Being. Independently published. ISBN 979-8861102575.
• Dr. Parul Minhas; Prakash Nair; Kevin Bartlett (August 30, 2024). Building Minds: Designing Learning Spaces for Connection & Coherence. Independently published. ISBN 979-8337503899.