The functional structure of a modern school building is complex and multifaceted. In recent projects, a number of clusters can be distinguished: educational, administrative, auxiliary and school-wide. Analysis of the development of the last of the above is of the greatest interest. The inclusion of areas such as lobbies, seating stairs, media library rooms, areas for installing lockers, atriums and transforming spaces of concert halls into the structure of school-wide spaces allows architects to model the environment of a school building, taking into account the modern needs of the younger generation. The study pays special attention to the transformation of this type of spaces and their development in domestic practice, starting with typical projects of the Soviet period and ending with modern designs of school buildings.