This paper presents a comparative study to identify how the concept of risk can be construed in terms of disruption in school design. We do this through the analysis of two case studies of designing educational facilities that intentionally disrupt existing educational provision. The cases are in dynamic countries located in the Middle East and South America respectively, that have a vision for their new schools that draw on contemporary pedagogical concepts (Halpin, 2007). The case studies analysed draw on current design processes (2018-19) for a new school in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and for a preschool in Montevideo, Uruguay. For the school in Riyadh the data collection involved interviews with key school leadership and teaching staff. The interviews were conducted by an educator and an architect, to capture dual language, symbols, concepts and perspectives through both a design and education lens. For the preschool in Montevideo, data was collected through staff focus groups centred on visual activities and discussions, walks through the existing facility with staff and students and workshops with teachers and teacher assistants to identify their perspectives. Meetings with the architect, the head and key school leadership were also held to capture the educational framework to match the school design. In both case studies the analysis focused on the integration of education and design concepts, leading to identification of a framework that influenced the final school design and use. The comparative analysis focuses on disruption as a key concept. When applied to school design this construct includes two mutually dependent ideas: the school must be contextually and academically viable; and it should disrupt current education provision. The necessary conditions for disruption are the introduction of new pedagogy already in use outside the current system, including personal, experiential and self-directed learning; and where school communities are unable to access these disruptive ideas from current educational providers (Christensen, 1997; Christensen, Raynor, & McDonald, 2015). The main comparative analytical themes are: the alignment of education and design concepts with the local (Saudi and Uruguayan) context, while also considering the applicability of global educational theoretical concepts; identifying pragmatic design considerations and criteria for success; and identifying the relationships between cultural traditions and socio-economic drivers of change (Rißler, Bossen, & Blasse, 2014).

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