How often does meaningful work in education go unnoticed?
A school is transformed, but the story ends when the photographs are published. A thoughtful learning environment changes how children engage, yet the people behind it rarely receive recognition. An architect creates with purpose, a school leader takes a risk, an educator helps shape the vision- and the impact quietly becomes part of everyday learning.
What if those stories were worth celebrating too?
At GLSN, we believe they are.
Introducing the PULSE Learning Space Awards 2026
As part of PULSE 2026, GLSN is introducing the PULSE Learning Space Awards- created to recognise the people, ideas and environments shaping the future of learning.
This is not about finding the most impressive-looking school.
It is about recognising what lies behind the space: the intention, the learning philosophy, the response to context, the innovation, the inclusivity- and the difference it makes to the people who use it.
Six categories. Different contexts. One shared purpose.
The awards welcome projects across:
- Outstanding New Learning Environment
- Transformation of a Learning Environment
- Early Childhood Learning Environment
- Innovative Learning Studio
- Outdoor Learning Environment
- Grassroots Change Award
From a new campus to a transformed classroom. From a nature-led landscape to a low-cost intervention in a government or community school.
Because meaningful change does not always come with a large budget or a landmark building.
What Makes a Learning Space Worth Recognising?
The jury looks beyond aesthetics to consider four essential dimensions:
Pedagogical Alignment – Does the space genuinely support the way learning happens?
Spatial & Ergonomic Innovation – Does design create better possibilities for learners and educators?
Impact & Use – What has changed because the space exists?
Inclusivity & Climate Responsiveness – Does it respond thoughtfully to people, place and environment?
Special Honours & The Grand Prix
Every shortlisted project is automatically considered for three Grand Jury distinctions– no separate application or additional fee.
Climate Responsive Design
Rewards projects that harness climate as a design driver, delivering intelligent passive strategies, daylighting and regenerative material choices.
Inclusive Design
Honours projects that remove barriers and expand belonging, through universal accessibility, sensory integration and neuro-inclusive design.
GLSN Grand Prix
The supreme honour of PULSE 2026. Celebrates the one project that sets a new benchmark for learning environments across design, pedagogy, people and place.
Where Culture Meets Learning
The awards form part of the larger PULSE 2026 conversation: “Where Culture Meets Learning.”
Because every school tells a story about its place.
Its climate. Its community. Its culture. Its aspirations. Its understanding of childhood and learning.
The PULSE Awards seek to bring those stories into focus- and give the people behind them a platform to be seen, shared and remembered.
Perhaps Your Project Belongs Here.
Maybe you designed a campus that changed the way a school teaches.
Maybe you transformed an existing building instead of starting from scratch.
Maybe you created one room, one landscape or one intervention that made a real difference.
Don’t let meaningful work remain invisible. Put it forward.
Submit a project. Nominate a learning space. Tell us what changed- and why it matters.
Your work shaped a place. Now let that place tell its story.
Enter the PULSE Learning Space Awards 2026.
