Innovative educational concepts must be coupled with designs that are inviting, stimulating and versatile. They should offer places to learn, play, or escape the fray

   
An excellent introduction (above) to Detail's latest issue DETAIL Concept 3/2013 which focuses on the architecture for children. Exploring pedagogy, architectural typologies and contemporary exemplary case studies – the projects range from small facilities located in garden settings to large school buildings in a dense urban fabric.

I MUST get my hands on a copy - in the mean time here is a snippet view of what's inside....

 
The cover (left) illustrates an array of school spatial arrangement - ranging from sporadic or town-like compositions, dynamic or regular linear arrangements or with classrooms surrounding a central core.

Introduction

The introduction (right) describes traditional school design which follows a strict standardized approach (of functional zones, circulation, safety and fire regulations etc) rather than exploring spatial and aesthetic qualities or the influence of colour and light on children's learning experiences; an approach which leads to rather dull and monotonous environments.

Today, education pedagogy is moving away from frontal forms of tuition and focusing on more autonomous, interactive and collaborative learning processes, a characteristic of the revolutionary and radical early childhood pedagogies. Today, schools are beginning to take a leaf out of the early childhood facilities - providing spaces that inspire physical, imaginative and collaborative learning activities.

 
Kindergarten and Primary School in Saint-Denis, designed by AAVP Architects.


Materiality and colour

Above is a Kindergarten and Primary School in Saint-Denis, which is situated on a former factory site in the north of Paris. In contrast to this somewhat neglected district, the school, with its golden outer face of perforated sheet aluminum and a cladding of larch strips and turned wooden members, resembles a precious jewellery box. The architects wished to stress the social significance of the structure through a striking, carefully designed facade that would recall oriental-Arabian mashrabiyas.

 
Left: Kindergarten and Primary School in Saint-Denis, designed by AAVP Architects; top-right: El Chaparral Nursery in Albolote, designed by Alejandro Munoz Miranda; and bottom-right: Plaza Ecopolis in Madrid, designed by Ecosistema Urbano.


Right is a feature on the contemporary trend of adding colour into children's play and learning areas. Using two examples in Spain, which both use Armstrong DLW linoleum said to offer qualities that are advantageous to children. One, the Plaza Ecopolis features sunny yellow interiors and exteriors and an artificial oasis with a pond than purifies the building's waste water, as well as large sandboxes and ramps and slides. In contrast, the El Chaparral nursery (top right) is designed to blend in with the surrounding buildings, however its coloured windows and contrasting coloured flooring creates a vibrant atmosphere and gives a unique character to each room.


Childcare Centre in Sienne, designed by Giorla & Trautmann Architectes.

Urban Context (the centre as a miniature town)

This child care centre in Switzerland catering to 200 children bravely negotiates the existing urban fabric placing it centrally in the town in an existing carpark and in immediate proximity to the schools and the children's library. An existing pedestrian bridge now links the new structure with the playground of the of a nearby school.The architects with the educationalists created a bespoke programme in which openness and flexibility play a central role. The centre includes a kindergarten on the ground floor for two to four year olds, a creche on the first floor for children three to eighteen months. Larger spatial units are housed on the second floor: a gym and a multi-purpose space, while two internal patios give light to the interiors and provide a goldfish pond, a garden with rabbits. The "heart" and distribution zone of the centre is the atrium that extends the full height of the centre, while three cubes as "structures within structures" contain a children's kitchen, a theatre or reading room and workshop. Circulation areas flow around these like the streets and open areas of a small town.

Two early childhood centre case studies:


Creche and kindergarten in Berlin, designed by Winkens Architects.


Day Nursery near Prince Alfred's Hamlet in South Africa, designed by students of the Department for Building Design of the RWTH Aachen Project architects.

This edition of Detail I think nicely encapsulates this exciting new movement which focuses on architecture that is derived from children's unique perspectives and experiences. It is architecture that is also beginning to take children seriously and emphasises the important role they play now and will play one day.

Via Detail.

Svet vmes = utilising the spaces in-between

   
I love the philosophy behind svet vmes, a young architectural practice that transform poorly designed educational and working environments; thus utilising the spaces in-between.

I have selected a few of my favourite projects to showcase and was fortunate enough to interview the group, who have shared with us their inspiration, passion and experiences of designing for our younger population.

INTERACTIVE STREET, Šenčur Primary School, Šenčur, Slovenia, 2011

At the Šenčur Primary School, Šenčur, Slovenia, 2011, the young architects have re-designed this boring (and rather depressing) school corridor with a colour scheme (the colours also giving each classroom a unique identity), and fun interactive components for climbing on and sitting in; thus offering the children a variety of play - individual and social experiences.

UNDERGROUND CAVE, Ledina Kindergarten, Ljubljana, Slovenia, 2012

From storage space to a magical underground cave, this project works within the existing and rather constrained space using colour, texture, light and a multi-faceted form to create an exciting play landscape for the children attending this kindergarten. The new environment, with it's gloomy shadows, lights, secret corners and steep inclines encourages the children's imagination and tests their physical capabilities.


CHILDREN'S POLYGON, Supernova Shopping Centre, Ljubljana - Rudnik, Slovenia, 2013


 

This project poses a way of transforming commercial (and very adult) spaces into something that considers children's play. Situated within the busstling shopping mall, svet vmes have successfully created a Slovenian-inspired varied and experiential landscape, where children can crawl, climb, draw, listen to stories and hide from a rather aggressive shopping environment.


INTERVIEW WITH THE TEAM

1. Where did you go to university, and how did you guys meet?

We met at the Faculty of Architecture in Ljubljana, Slovenia. We all studied or worked abroad for a shorter period of time after our studies (Italy, Germany, Denmark and Belgium).

2. How did you come to create an architectural practise that focuses on the "in between" spaces? 

We have done extensive research about educational buildings already during our studies. All three girls in our team of four have focused on architecture for children in their respective theses so it only made sense to join our efforts and knowledge in establishing the main »theme« of our studio.

The second reason for focusing on the spaces »in between« was the fact that all educational architecture should obey very strict design rules and regulations. This fact results in architecture, that can be quite cold and lifeless, especially the common areas of each such building. Therefore, much can be done to give character and life to an existing building by adding to those »spaces in between« (corridors, halls, threshold spaces, unused spaces, etc.) It made sense to use our theoretical and practical knowledge on the subject of educational architecture and start improving the quality of living and learning conditions of younger generations. It is the quality that matters, not the quantity...

3. How do you think this relates to children?

A child is very prone to stimulation from its environment. It makes a huge difference if his or her school is made in a way that stimulates these senses, or if it is a cold and foreign place. Based on the projects we have already done, our work has achieved this in no small measure. Children tend to stay in the newly refurbished spaces for longer periods of time, they achieve better academic results, find interest in collaborating with others and love to come back to school. This is really important.

4. What do you believe is the most overlooked or neglected architectural characteristics or false presumptions that architects make when designing for young children? (i.e. scale, textures, light, function, decoration)

Usually architects forget the simple fact that it is the children they are designing for. The most overlooked characteristics is therefore playfulness. Children sense the world differently and much more intensive than adults. Adults perceive their surroundings mostly by sight and interpret the information more rationally, while children employ all their senses and react to the inputs on more emotional level. They learn on their every step and should be encouraged to do so. The spaces, designed for children, should be involving for them, but not intimidating. When creating spaces for children, one should think "outside the box". 

These guys are ones to watch, and I for one can't wait to see these projects come to life!

Hospital art injects a bit of life into sterile hospital spaces

 
It is great to witness the long overdue recognition of the role that art, design and architecture can play in forming positive spatial experiences in spaces that otherwise can be marked with trauma.

When Great Ormond Hospital in the UK ran a competition asking artists to transform a new hospital wing with an interactive artwork, the winner Jason Bruges Studio responded with the idea for a nature trail - a 50m long artwork displaying animated animals on 70 specially programmed LED panels.



The animal magic comes to life as the patient starts his or her journey to theatre by triggering sensors embedded in the ceiling. All of a sudden frogs, deer, hedgehogs, horses and birds appear on the wallpaper.  

 The result is an installation that captures the imagination, lighting up the faces of the children and improving the otherwise sometimes difficult experience of the hospital treatment.

 

Bruges was inspired by memories of his own childhood; "The idea came from remembering walks in my childhood...spotting and following things, those stolen glances and glimpses, the excitement of stopping at hides. I was trying to recreate this with the idea of digital lookout points along the corridor."

Via The Guardian.

A wonderful graphic that shows quality EC Education means a brighter future

 


Via Education News.

Architect David Businelli strives to "pay attention to the visual horizon of the child"

    

Writing about Studio 16's St Clare's Parish Child Care Center (below), David Businelli of Studio 16 recently got in touch with me.

Remarking on the number of facilities that are supposedly designed for children that in fact aren't, I asked David if he could answer a few questions of what he has learnt from his experiences designing facilities for children.

David responded thoughtfully, particularly emphasizing the importance of the child's perspective of space; to respond to the child's viewpoint - of scale, circulation and comfort. Indeed aspects which I believe have been under-valued and therefore realized in many designed child-care centres.

The visual horizon of the child. Diagram author's own.

1. What are the things you have learnt from designing for young children (as opposed for adults)? 

I’ve learned that as a designer, I have to pay special attention to the visual horizon of children. That realization triggered memories of when I was a kid, constantly looking up at adult sized – everything-counters, desks, etc. That lower visual horizon has meaning and relevance to kids, and facilities designed for them must deal with it. Shapes, color and texture can be designed to be suitable for both the younger children and the adults that occupy the space. Fun colors and right sized cubbys, tables and chairs are not enough.

2. What do you believe to be the key architectural features that help to nurture and support children's wellbeing and development? 

Key architectural features are distinct site lines at child height, clear circulation through the space, design elements that capture a child’s imagination and get’s them thinking, good natural light and superior indoor air quality. Anybody who remembers the old school buildings that they attended as kids will remember the lousy colors, bad light and uncomfortable conditions – stuffy, too hot or too cold.

3. What are the biggest misgivings within the industry of early childhood and architecture, and how do you believe we can educate others to be more mindful in providing adequate architectural spaces for early childhood?

I think that the biggest misgiving is that certain building elements should be skimped on, such as superior HVAC systems and good day lighting. School districts can tend to not understand why these things are important. If a facility for young children is going to serve them for a long period of time – say 25-50 years, why not build a superior building? It will ultimately perform better over the long term and give the kids maximum benefit. Also, they are not just small adults, so why just throw some colors on the wall and floor and maybe have a nicely shaped ceiling if the rest of the space is adult sized?

David certainly has some poignant points to make for when considering designing early childhood spaces. And here are some of his projects below:

Studio 16's Projects

St. Clare's Parish Center, Early Childhood Development Center

The St Clare's Parish Center sets out to question the role that architecture plays in structuring a learning environment. Instead of vertical walls, the concept of "activating" all surfaces is applied, to engage the child and facilitate the use of the center. The space is also designed to cater for the uses' scale, employing two horizons: one at 3'-6" for the (developing) youths and the other at normal head height for the adults (guardians). For more see earlier post.

A transparent and clearly defined entrance to the facility combined with many interbal child-oriented details designed to engage and inspire the children makes for a truly child-centred design.

FasTracKids International, Staten Island, NY

FasTracKids is a programme for children 6 months to 8 years of age, which aims to encourage children to learn by providing a fun and interactive setting utilising technology. Studio 16's brief was to build a single classroom, a waiting/presentation area with a plasma TV and reception area.

The architects made the most of the rather small space, creating a fun free-standing curved classroom wall. Parts of the structure are revealed to teach the children about how the components are constructed, while the ceiling utilises pexiglass panels, making use of both the natural light from the clerestory windows and artificial light. Scale is considered with a child-friendly horizon of 3' - 6" to create a sense of intimacy and confidence in the young children.


Waiting Area/Reception. The curved desk and wall promotes movement and play.

Blue and yellow are used to reflect the 'FasTracKids' branding and identity,


Reception and circulation space into the classroom.

Via Studio 16.

It takes a community to look after a child

A great initiative, Buddy Day that was run in Hamilton on the 16th of November reminds us all that 'it takes a community to look after a child' - raising awareness and initiating conversations about child abuse and how we might begin to stop it.



The first campaign of its kind, the event was a huge success with more than 180 hand-made cut-outs or "buddies" were parading the streets of Hamilton.



Early childhood centres, schools and community centres got stuck in - dressing, decorating and creating a personality for their "buddies", while discussing what a child needs to be happy, healthy and have a sense of belonging.



What a wonderful and creative idea. Lets hope the initiative lives on!

Via Voxy

Learning by doing

 
The quote for this week (seen right) is one from the famous progressive educationalist John Dewey (1859-1952). It goes:

“Before the child goes to school, he learns with his hand, eye and ear, because they are organs of the process of doing something from which meaning results. The boy flying a kite has to keep his eye on the kite, and has to note the various pressures of the string on his hand. His senses are avenues of knowledge not because external facts are somehow ‘conveyed’ to the brain, but because they are used in doing something with a purpose.” ( John Dewey, ‘Democracy and Education’, 1915)

Left: A book by Lauren N. Tanner - 'Dewey's Laboratory School - Lessons for Today'; and right: the Marin Montessori School designed by Pfau Long Architecture.

In 1895, Dewey set up his 'laboratory school' where he tested his ideas on 'learning by doing'. His early learning section (which he named 'sub-primary') was based on activities around family life and that "tapped in" to the child's natural interests. A popular pedagogical theme today that was however rather extraordinary at the time. 

Kindergarten in Bicesse Estoril designed by Atelier Central Arquitectos.

Dewey also emphasised the social context of learning, stating: “A child is not born with faculties to be unfolded, but with special impulses of action to be developed through their use in preserving and perfecting life in the social and physical conditions under which it goes.” He saw the role of education as learning to be a part of society, perceiving the school as a sort of miniature community of learners - where skills of co-operative and problem-solving were a key to everyday life and living as a democracy.

From left: Children at The Tinkering School build a wooden roller coaster. Middle: Children play on the indoor play structure, which they helped build. Right: Milan Joshi, 5-years old during a wood-working class at the Eliot School.

These ideas are beginning to infiltrate into primary education, especially in the United States, with some schools becoming more "like a kindergarten". Doug Stowe, writer of the 'Wisdom of Hands' stated “there is an awakening going on” and that until the 1900s, “there was a widespread understanding that the use of the hands was essential to the development of character and intellect” (Scelfo, New York Times, 2011).

El Porvenir Social Kindergarden in Colombia designed by Giancarlo Mazzanti.

Dewey's ideas on 'learning by doing', encouraging the child's natural interests and of learning to be a part of a co-operative and loving community are still highly relevant, and I think he would be happy to find these concepts continuing to be embraced today.

All images via

Feel inside (and stuff like that)

   


It might not be relevant to the architecture of early childhood. But it is great.

The hilarious kiwi duo Flight of the Conchords succeed in bringing together the ideas of children to create a charity song for red nose day. I highly recommend you check it out.

On another note, I will be back with more posts soon. So watch this space.

Jess

A must visit website

    

Century of the Child: Growing by Design, 1900-2000 is an exhibition and interactive website that looks at the modern child through design. 

The Website's homepage is organized into seven sections or themes, presenting individual and collective visions for the material world of children, from utopian dreams for the citizens of the future to the dark realities of political conflict and exploitation.

Toys, books, playgrounds, schools - all are brought together here in a clear and interesting way - organised into themes, such as 'Light, Air, Health - 1920s-30s'.

Here is Norwegian designer Peter Opsvik's Tripp Trapp chair, which he designed after watching his son, Thor struggle to find a place at the family dining table. More than seven million Tripp Trapp chairs have since been sold.

The exhibition takes its lead from the 20th century Swedish design reformer and social theorist Ellen Key's landmark book (1900): 'The Century of the Child' - which predicted a new age preoccupied with the rights, development and wellbeing of children. Key advocated progressive design as a means for shaping children's experiences in a rapidly changing world.

Children during a light-therapy session in 1937. After World War 1, there was an almost obsessive concern with children's health. The child's body was seen as a perfectible human machine that could be conditioned to function within a utopian, modern world. Advances in medicine and psychology provided a deeper understanding of the environmental implications on the child's physical and mental development, and the modernist architecture reflected this providing plenty of fresh air, sunlight and water for the child's health.

Via MoMA and Cool Hunting.

Susan Isaac’s Malting House ‘child laboratory’

  

Following the early progressive educational thinkers such as Froebel and Dewey, came came the influence of research into medicine, the physical sciences and the emerging fields of sociology and psychology. Scientific data provided the basis of arguments for public investment in children and to cater for their development. The new ‘science’ of child-rearing and child development reconstructed the role and tasks of motherhood, and early childhood services came to be seen as by some experts as offering better than mothers could provide.

  

Susan Isaacs (1885-1948) was one such influential pedagogist who translated the complex psychological developmental theories of theorists such as Freud and Piaget into something that could be practically used and understood by parents and teachers rearing or teaching children in the early years.

Left: Portrait of Susan Isaacs, c.1910; right: A biography of Isaac's extraordinary life by Philip Graham (2009)

After training as a teacher and demonstrating academic brilliance, Isaacs was accepted to study philosophy at Manchester University. She later became an infant school teacher. Yet it was when she was approached by Geoffrey Pyke to head a new progressive early childhood school that she found her true vocation pioneering a radical approach to educating young children.

Malting House Garden School, 1927

Isaacs, like Froebel and Dewey, advocated an individualised approach to learning characterised by gentle encouragement to children to discover the nature of the world for themselves. She was also heavily influenced  by the scientific psychological and developmental theories of Freud and Piaget; and was a pioneer in child-psychoanalysis developing on Melanie Klein's work.

Malting House interior, c.1990. The original balconies are still visible, where stenographers took notes on the children’s conversations and behaviour. Pyke’s family quarters were to the right.

With Pyke, Isaacs established the Malting House School in 1924 devising an environment and curriculum that was to stimulate the child’s powers of curiosity and inquiry, and where the intellectual development and emotional behaviour of the child was to be observed and recorded. The role of the teacher was to facilitate and guide the child.

Susan Isaacs with children at the Malting House School.

"A large rambling residence” situated in Malting House Lane, Cambridge, the house was adapted for use as a school, yet contained no classrooms (Graham, 2008: 8). Instead, it included a range of stimulating equipment and spaces. Outside, this included a garden with a sandpit, water-tap, tool shed, a summer house with open sides, a see-saw, sliding boards, movable ladders and a “jungle gym” climbing cage (Grenier, 2009: 26). Inside was a space with paints (both artists and house painter’s paints), woodwork tools and materials, maps of Cambridge towns and country, a gramophone and records, a pendulum and a laboratory for the older children. There also included some formal educative material such as Montessori equipment, a library and a typewriter.

Children in the Malting House workshop where they used an adult-sized drill press and lathe.

In order to observe the emotional behaviour of children, as much freedom as possible was allowed. Based on Freudian principles, the aim was to “produce a new generation less nerve ridden than the old. The newest psychology has taught us something about what to avoid in the way of repression, what kind of attachments should be encouraged and what should be discouraged, what sort of emotional outlets should be provided.” (May, 1997: 169) 

Malting House children with a gramaphone they operated themselves.

However, Isaacs did acknowledge that within a free environment children also needed order, security and guidance. Through her observations of children in their play she saw how the children used the environment to make sense of the world, noting that children showed a capacity for logical thinking that was not fundamentally different from that of adults (May, 1997: 169). Yet she also saw the shortcomings of Piaget’s theory of stages, and questioned his reliance on clinic-based observations, noticing that children were more likely to show their thinking and capabilities in an environment like the Malting House School (Grenier, 2009: 26)

Here the children work in the Malting House science laboratory. The boy is using a bunsen burner for his experiment.

Though the school venture was short-lived, running for only five years, her writings which combined her experiences with a Freudian view of child development had a lasting impact on early years education. 

Via Helen May's (1997) Book: 'The Discovery of Early Childhood', Philip Graham's Article in the Journal of Child Psychotherapy: 'Susan Isaacs and the Malting House School' and 'Learning & Development: Susan Isaacs' from Nursery World (2009).

Walls, floors and roofs become not just shelter but double as spaces for play

    

Friedrich Froebel, the inventor of the kindergarten was perhaps the first to realise the potential of using a chid's natural inclination for play for learning, creating a series of play objects, which he called the 'gifts and occupations' (see post for more here).

It was a revolutionary concept, implying that the child might use what was presented to them to self-improve, to create, explore and test their physical capabilities; and thus grow and learn.

Almost 200 years later and architects are continuing to embrace the concept, infusing elements of play into the architecture of their early childhood environments.

Anansi Playground Building / Mulders vandenBerk Architecten

Walls may provide a surface for children to express their creative talents - becoming a changing piece of art in the process.


Kindergarten Kekec/Architektura Jure Kotnik

Or they may provide moveable elements: "as the children manipulate the colourful wooden planks they get to know different colours, experience wood as a natural material and constantly change the appearance of their kindergaten, all at the same time."


Dragen House/Moller Architects

Floors may become roofs, creating extended outdoor landscapes for play.

Skanderborggade Day-Care Centre/ Dorte Mandrup

For sliding, running or sitting...

Fuji Kindergarten/Tezuka Architects

Fuji Kindergarten utilising even steps and a slide rather than a conventional staircase to connect the roof-scape play area with the ground-floor central play area.

Left: and right: Escuela Infantil Pablo Neruda / Rueda Pizarro

Walls may provide any number of windows in varying shapes and sizes to invite different types of interaction and connection with the outdoors.

MAGK + illiz architektur/Maria Enzersdorf  Childcare Centre

And when deeply inset - may provide smaller "nooks" for children to sit and reflect and take time out from the action.

Children’s Museum of the Arts/Work Architecture Company

Hallways may become rope nets and stairs a slide!


Left: Yuyu-No-Mori Nursery School and right: Houtoku Kindergarten/Environment Design Institute

A large atrium space gets fully utilised in the Yuyu-No-Mori Nursery in Japan - where the children may play among the nets above the heads of their classmates.


Tromso Kindergarten/70N Arkitektura

Flexible internal walls may cater for a variety of functions, separating space, creating miniature spaces within, and offering a number of experiences within one larger space.

Olifantsvlei Preschool/Students

A building's form may even become a giant piece of play equipment - inviting children to climb and interact with it.

Taka-Tuka-Land/Die Baupiloten

Likewise, the Taka-Tuka-Land Kindergarten transforms a rather dull building with an exploding facade which becomes a climbing frame.

Taka-Tuka-Land/Die Baupiloten

Here a window interacts playfully with the incoming sunlight, creating a glittering and magical experience for the children playing inside.

Children thrive on challenges and will make the most of any environment presented to them. It is exciting to witness therefore, architects who are re-imagining how early childhood architecture might better repsond to the child who will grasp any opportunity to play.

All images taken from pinboard 'Children's Architecture'.