perspectives on architecture and children

National Art Education Association

Perspectives on Architecture and ChildrenAuthor(s): Anne TaylorSource: Art Education, Vol. 42, No. 5 (Sep., 1989), pp. 7-12Published by: National Art Education AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3193171 .

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PERSPECTIVES ON ARCH ITECTU RE AND

CHILDREN Anne Taylor

Introduction

~.:iA A :BB^ ̂ iBU9L \A fter twenty years of work in the design of learning environments for children, George

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Q Vlastos, Architect, and Anne Taylor of the University of New Mexico School of Architec-

ture and Planning and School Zone Institute, have developed a new system for teaching Architecture and Design. It is called Architectural Design Education. The system teaches

_~,.-.l: ^^_'^?~^^^ _ the problem solving process used in the creation of material --- ^culture and buildings to students at a young age. It integrates

of style with elevation models. creative activities usually associated with art class with the traditional disciplines taught in a classroom setting. Finally it improves both teachers' and students' ability to interpret, relate to, and positively affect their environment This profile of Architectural Design Education presents the reasons behind the development of the program and how it is being implemented, and looks at some of the results.

The Philosophy How is creativity and "higher level thinking" best encouraged in children? The fostering of creative thinking has traditionally been a challenge of art educators, yet many programs have not been able to fulfill this role. Despite the plethora of research in art education as well as theories of how to teach art to children, art products often reflect a sameness and a lack of challenged participants. Part of the reason is that art has often been regarded as a "frill" less important and a holiday from other learning activities.

g s uarisArchitectural Design Education seeks to minimize the aper stri ps. separation of artistic and creative endeavors from "class-

room" learning by integrating many different types of knowledge through the theme of architecture and design.

The concept of integrated learning is not new. General and art education literature often testifies to the value of integrated and "applied" learning, which promotes the use of

Art Education/September 1989 7

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all knowledge in solving problems. Contrary to rigid classroom teaching styles, the thinking process cannot be memorized or rehearsed. Rather, it requires the application of knowledge as a means to achieving higher levels of thinking. Thus to encourage creativity, a student must be given a challenge, along with the freedom to pursue a solution with a variety of tools. Visualization and graphic communication are some of the most important of these, but often sadly neglected in the classroom.

Similar to Architectural Design Education, recent theories about how to teach art have attempted to strengthen the relationship of art to the classroom. Discipline-Based Art Education, for example, seeks to develop students' abilities for self expression, perceiving art, criticism and judgement of art, and the relation of art to culture and history. Architectural Design Education complements DBAE in that it also develops self expressive skills, critical aesthetic thinking, and relates to cultural history. However, unlike DBAE, it does not concern itself only with methods for teaching "art", but provides a number of methods for teaching creative problem solving. It does not encourage only "art for art's sake" but focuses on design problems related to the creation and control of the physical environment. Architectural Design Education views people as a part of the environment, not apart from it. Thus it treats art and architecture as integral to all of life's activities, not as a separate subject to be taught by itself.

Implementation A primary challenge in Architectural Design Education is implementing the ideas into present teaching curricula and practice. Implementation efforts have focused on two areas of concern: the training of teachers by architects, and in support of this training, the provision of adequate teaching materials.

Materials for Teaching Architectural Design Educa- tion -The Learning by Design Curriculum A core curriculum, recently published by Taylor and Vlastos with the help of the American Institute of Architects, takes a holistic approach to learning. In it, architecture and design become a theme through which basic skills and subject matter content are utilized. For skill development, the curriculum contains lesson plans that address children's needs on three levels: the body, mind, and spirit. "Body" related learning involves the use of the five senses to extrapolate information from the environment. "Mind" related learning deals with the broad spectrum of verbal and visual communication, qualitative and quantitative analysis, testing solutions, classifying and categorizing information, and the forming of opinions. "Spirit" aspects of learning involve creative self-expression, cultural understanding, valuing, and ethics.

The Curriculum (a set of seventeen core posters written for teachers with several regional variations) provides lesson

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plans and helps teachers to set up studio design centers in the classroom. A series of seventeen lesson plans offers a menuS K of design experiences - from simple to complex. The / lessons include a definition of a "client" with a problem to s solve. As students respond to the needs of the "client," they mimic the architect or designer and use knowledge from math, science, and art to solve a particular design problem. The lesson components contain variety, from walking tours of neighborhoods and cities, to designing one's own space from creating a house for a mouse to designing a new classroom or landscape design for learning (a park-play- ground).

The backbone of the Architectural Design Education curriculum is the Studio Design Model. It is an educational process model for solving complex and multi-faceted problems. Taught in architectural design studios at the college level, it can be easily adapted to elementary and high school students. The model involves the definition of goals, \ gathering of data, analysis and synthesis of information, and the generation of design alternatives that meet these goals. In \ \ choosing a solution from alternatives, students must evaluate and judge the pros and cons of their designs. Finally, they must present them to their peers, explain the reasoningL F behind their chosen solution, and make critical aesthetic judgments about their own results. Often student solutions Student drawings of sections of an orange are presented to school boards or city planning offices. and a green pepper. Drawings from nature

The process requires the use of certain skills and tools can suggest patterns for city planning.

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Courtesy of School Zone Institute and George Vlastos, architect.




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Learning to think visually as architects and designers does require representational thinking. Schematic drawings tell a visual story, in this drawing by a student: "The birth, life, and death of a bubble."




common to the architectural design process. For instance, students are encouraged to use representational ways of communicating ideas with arrows, circles, and lines, often a non-threatening way of communicating an idea visually. This method of visual thinking is called schematic drawing.

Another example is the use of tracing paper and the tracing of projected images, which permits students to develop ideas in layers and examine the evolution of their visual thinking. This offers a teacher a way to evaluate the generation and growth of an idea, through examining concrete evidence of the "layering" of ideas to the trace paper. In this way, students can examine their own work and its evolution. They thereby gain information about the scientific method or creative problem solving process, the evolution of an idea, and how to use the process as a tool for thinking.

Another aspect of the studio model is the use of conven- tional architectural drawing techniques (plans, sections, elevations, and three-dimensional views). Students use these

types of drawing in the refinement of ideas and the communication of these ideas to others. As children learn to use these tools and techniques, they gain confidence and skill in visual and spatial thinking, often seeing space and form evolving and revolving in their mind.

Teacher Training The implementation of Architectural Design Education theories requires, in addition to teaching materials, ade- quately trained teachers to use them. Teacher training in Architectural Design Education is essential because many teachers lack the confidence and background in art and architecture to apply studio methods in the classroom.

To counter this problem, training programs utilize the knowledge and experience of architects in practice. The components of the training include classes on architectural drawing conventions, vis,ualization drawing, model building, physics of structure, architectural history, and a sample sketch problem. Like the curriculum itself, the training relies


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on the studio design model, provides hands-on experience, and integrates concepts from many disciplines into each lesson.

The direct involvement of architects has many advan- tages. By training teachers to use the architectural drawing and problem-solving, architects show how the practice of architecture applies concepts in math, history, culture, and art to environmental design. And because teacher training often takes place in local colleges of architecture and planning, it fosters new relationships between the college programs, professionals, and the school system. Architects benefit from the experience as well, becoming more adept at the "teacher" role, while helping teachers think visually.

The success of this training approach can be measured by both the numbers of students affected, and the positive reaction of program participants. Since the beginning of teacher training programs five years ago, over 1200 teachers have been trained across the country, affecting an estimated 15,000 students. Teachers, attesting value of the program, report increased job satisfaction for themselves, as well as heightened student interest in learning.

Challenges and Benefits An important challenge facing the implementation of Archi- tectural Design Education is one of changing tradition and attitude. Some educators and administrators feel that teaching architecture only adds to the burden of teaching the core curriculum. However teachers who have participated in ADE programs often disagree. Teachers report a new interest in local architecture and urban planning, and find the introduction of new methods of visual teaching and learning is both challenging and rewarding. They report that students enjoy learning and have an increased awareness of their environment and community, work for a longer time on their tasks, and react well to working with visiting architects who end up as "pied pipers" because of their knowledge and ability to draw.

Teachers also report that students learn better when the information from one class can be used in another, such as the use of geometry in the development of a building, or the discovery of designs taken from nature to relate period styles

to certain places and times in history. Another benefit of Architectural Design Education is that

the skills gained offer an avenue to the visually oriented child who may be more adept at image communication than verbal facility. It also offers the non-English speaking or bilingual child a chance to communicate schematically. And to the timid teacher or student who thinks s/he cannot draw, this method of expression offers a representational way of communicating what one "knows" rather than visualization drawing (or drawing what one "sees.")

Perhaps the strength of this ADE program is its inherent structure for integrated learning. Architecture lends itself well to integrated or interdisciplinary learning because it so well subsumes math, science, and art. Furthermore, Taylor has often been impressed by her Native American friends who have no word for "art" in their language, but see art as a way of life - or life as a work of art. Thus Architectural Design Education becomes a way of life in the classroom promoting the use of basic knowledge content and skills as a means to an end, not as an end in themselves.l

Anne Taylor is Professor of Architecture and Planning at the University of New Mexico and President, School Zone Institute. She works part time in Seattle. This program won an award in 1989 from the Seattle King County Economic Development Councilfor promoting educational skills of the future.




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