15 of the most beautiful schools around the world

Learning is meant to be a stimulating, invigorating, and engaging experience.

So shouldn’t school buildings be equally awe-inspiring?

Beautiful schools can be found all around the world – from Australia to Alabama, Denmark to Cambodia. Some are designed to resist natural disasters, while others provide first-rate education to the underprivileged.

Here are some of our favorites.

OA Kindergarten, located in Saitama, Japan, is nearly earthquake-proof. It’s made almost entirely of shipping containers to make the school as stable as possible.

But you wouldn’t know that from the inside, where pale wood and light-filled spaces give kids plenty of room to play around.

Melbourne’s School of Design at The University of Melbourne features an incredible tree-like structure in the main atrium of the building.

The interior almost has an outback feel to it, with natural colors and cargo nets.

During the day, the TAC SEV New Campus in Tarsus, Turkey might look like an office park …

… but once the sun sets, the campus emits a warm orange glow.

In Niddrie, Australia, the Penleigh and Essendon Grammar School features a jester-like color scheme. Sloping walls give the building a playful feel.

The fluid lines and vibrant colors create a rich visual experience.

The all-female student body certainly seems to enjoy it.

The Kollaskolan school in Kungsbacka, Sweden was built in 2014 by Kjellgren Kaminsky Architecture. On the outside it’s rather plain, but inside …

… light dances around the walls and pastel yellows and blues offer a burst of color.

Bangkok’s Ivy Bound International School looks more like a mansion than a place where groups of children learn about Thai culture.

Colors pop at the Sra Pou Vocational School in Cambodia. Villagers can visit the brick building to learn arithmetic​ or how to start a small business.

Tezuka Architects, the designers of Fuji Kindergarten in Tachikawa, Japan, wanted to give kids the freedom to explore without limits. Students can run around on the roof and climb trees to their hearts’ content.

The space also weaves nature into its design. Classrooms contain real trees that extend through the boardwalk above.

Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University is a master class in green architecture, from its rooftop gardens …

… to its tiered interiors.

Shunde Primary School, located in Guangdong Province, China, was built by K2LD Architects.

Its crisscrossing sky-walks throw cooling shadows onto the campus below.

Blended learning — a form of education that relies almost solely on computers and tablets — is at the heart of Copenhagen’s Ørestad Gymnasium. Kids study together in large groups for most of the day, away from traditional teacher-guided instruction.

Tokyo’s Waseda University Senior High School features an industrial, Kubrick-esque campus that is nearly all gray.

The motif even penetrates the auditorium, which has paneled gray walls and black and white seats.

Nearby is the Toho Gakuen School of Music, also located in Tokyo, which won the 2015 World Architecture Festival award for Higher Education & Research.

Serving all ages, from middle school to advanced master’s candidates, the music school uses glass walls and long lines to create a feeling of depth.

Then there’s the Russian Ballet School. Like many other schools, the exterior is humbly designed …

… but once you step inside, the wooden and glass designs are instantly striking. The World Architecture Festival crowned the stunning ballet academy the best designed school of 2015.

In Birmingham, Alabama, the Indian Springs school allows kids to study both inside and outside. In 2016, the American Institute of Architects awarded it an Education Facilities Design Award, in part for its plant-lined elevated walkways.

The 350-acre boarding and day school blends in with nature to create a calming learning environment with plenty of light.