The design of our schools impacts upon much more than just the built environment – in helping to shape the lives of the young people who attend them, schools also help shape the future of society. As Nick Mirchandani and Sharon Wright point out in their new book, Future Schools, other than our homes, these are perhaps the only building type of which almost everyone has first-hand knowledge. But what makes a well-designed school and what lessons can be learned from the innovation we have seen recently? We talked to Mirchandani and Wright about the evolution of school design, how the emergence and demise of the Building Schools for the Future initiative has affected the current landscape and why design has to work even harder in times of budget restrictions and austerity