This article explores the European dimension of a collaborative approach to school design through the lives and relationships of a group of key individuals who in England set about transforming school in the post-war era. The philosophy and practice of this group of architects, educators, designers and policy makers, who regarded the school environment as reflecting the essential humanity of children and their teachers is explored through archival documentation as well as oral testimonies. The notion that teachers might be spacious in their thinking is traced through the personal histories of HMI, architects and artists who collaborated during the years 1945-72 within a culture of commitment to public service. Design from the "inside out" is explained as a process that was rooted in the development of a common vocabulary generated by research through practice. (Contains 59 footnotes.)