How students interact with a university campus — inside and outside the classroom — is determined by a combination of design thinking, natural landscape, and organic socialization. Although UBC has a long history of formal learning spaces, the idea of intentionally designed informal spaces, where “organic interaction, inspired teamwork, and engaged learning are happening outside the classroom, is relatively new.” According to Jeff Miller, senior associate director of flexible learning at UBC, an informal learning space does not directly translate to mean casual or relaxed. “The creation of these spaces on campus is a way to acknowledge that real work is being done beyond the traditional learning space of the classroom. These spaces are about habitability: the beautiful pathways, the creation of new public spaces, the opening of new common spaces, the fusion of both academic teaching and social spaces, the proliferation of food outlets and cafes — all of these speak to livability at UBC.”
http://www.ubc.ca/stories/2014-fall/ins-and-outs-of-learning.html