Teaching through architecture

photo: Viola Hertelová, 2019

The world we move in and that partially defines us is also influenced by us. Interventions into the environment created based on planning aim to respond to human needs, address existing structural problems, and automatically create new problems. This is an ongoing process in which most of the society we know has been born and lives its life. But do we care about the environment in which we live? Do we understand it? Can we formulate our own opinion on it and possibly think constructively about improving the existing situation? Or are we just passive observers?

The process of planning the space we inhabit, whether public or private, is most often carried out by architects. This complex activity is of course interconnected with a whole range of subfields and involves a multitude of problematic and demanding tasks. In its broadest form, it interferes with territorial planning, is linked to politics, current trends in environmental care, etc. However, one does not need to graduate in architecture to understand the environment around them and to be able to respond to it actively. Almost all of us are navigating here. The problem generally lies in the low engagement of general education in stimulating an active interest in this environment. If a child learns from the foundation to passively receive information and their creativity and opinions are pushed into the background, they will very likely carry this habit into adulthood.

Let’s set aside various forms of alternative education such as Waldorf, Montessori, or Dalton schools and look at various associations and organizations that spark children's interest in their surroundings in a playful manner through clubs, workshops, etc. In Brno, there is the artschool.cz association, which, among other things, organizes the so-called Architecture for Children, a creative club inspired by similar projects existing abroad, e.g., in Finland. The intention of these clubs is clear. To let children actively respond to stimuli and observe or slightly correct the outcome. The principles that are adhered to include: comprehensive problem-solving, creativity, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration. Thus, children develop their innate creativity in collaboration with others while learning to look at things around them with critical eyes and to respond positively to problems. Instruction often takes place in an external public environment so that children are at the center of the action. This form of teaching is usually facilitated by architects, but the goal is not for young students to later study architecture, but to awaken that mentioned active interest in the environment in which we live.

Within the project Elementary Architecture (a subpart of a specific project Priority of Educating Architects at the Faculty of Architecture VUT in Brno 2018/2019; researchers: Ing. arch. Barbora Ponešová, Ph.D., Ing. arch. Jan Foretník, Ph.D., Ing. arch. Nicol Gale, Ph.D.), there was verification of some methodologies taught in the subject ZAN during workshops with elementary school children. Some of these workshops were held in cooperation with Artschool – a private organization in Brno for art courses and architecture courses. Artschool has been creating a program for teaching spatial imagination and developing aesthetic perception for several years. It operates an interactive program where children actively respond to the environment in which they live through playful learning. The curriculum includes working with spatial models, activities in both the interior and exterior, workshops at the Faculty of Architecture building, and one-off programs at elementary schools. The preparation of workshops for children involved students from the Master's program at the Faculty of Architecture VUT in Brno.

photo: Viola Hertelová, 2019

Workshops

At the Faculty of Architecture building in Brno, workshops intended for elementary school students are traditionally held as part of the Architecture Days and the VUT Junior project. Each year, the central theme is something different. In previous years (2017 and 2018), young students focused on drawing and working with clay through removal or addition (addition and subtraction). These are two basic models of spatial creation that the students practically experienced. From the resulting models, they assembled a city together, and it was interesting to observe how carefully they selected neighbors for their clay creations and how thoroughly they pondered to ensure that the chosen place met their requirements. Another workshop (2018) focused on working with rods and joints, represented by skewers and jelly candies. The children worked in groups, and the output was structures in the form of bridges, towers, or domes. The main theme was understanding the basic principles of this type of construction. / Instructors: Ing. arch. Barbora Ponešová, Ph.D., Ing. arch. Nicol Gale, Ing. arch. Kristýna Smržová, Ing. arch. Igor Serenčko

Another series of interesting workshops, organized by Artschool in collaboration with the Faculty of Architecture in Brno, took place in Moravany (2019). The program was specially built for the local children, focused on working with a specific place and divided into two parts. The work consisted of orientation in public space and urban design for "my city." The part of the workshop that took place outdoors focused on how well the children know the city in which they live and the places they encounter every day. Activities were aimed at spatial orientation in a way different from what students are used to. Children, divided into pairs, explored the environment using hearing and touch and discovered many sensations they had previously overlooked in familiar surroundings. The second part of the workshop involved creating an urban design for their city based on an event they drew. They worked in groups, and the result was a collective collage and presentation of proposals where children shared their intentions and discussed them. This program was also modified for workshops in Litomyšl and Brno / Instructors from Artschool: Ing. arch. Ivana Zlámalová, Ing. arch. Vladimír Schmid; students from FA VUT in Brno: Adéla Hajšmanová, Zuzana Šperlová, Terezie Javůrková

photo: Jakub Stýblo, 2018

As part of the collaboration project between VUT and elementary schools, a three-day competitive workshop with a subsequent public presentation for teachers, parents, and students was held at Antonínská Elementary School. The workshop took place directly in the premises of the elementary school (2018), where 7th, 8th, and 9th-grade students together with students and instructors from FA divided into mixed groups and tried to define problems or opportunities of the school building and adjacent public areas. Work was conducted in a total of four teams; another team was a reporting team, contrasting with the creatives addressing the potential of school spaces, which produced a video and a survey on the same topic, which was a preliminary analysis to uncover the hidden identity of the school. Each group was led and consulted by an architect, and first-year architecture students were also available to the students. The outcome was several conceptual projects that the students presented in a public performance introducing their proposed solutions. The expert jury (representatives of ZŠ educators, FA, and the education department of JMK) evaluated not only the best concept but also the quality of execution, the realism of the vision, as well as the open approach and potential for the life of the entire urban district. Each proposal reflected prior considerations of the school spaces that each student knew intimately. An important moment was the consideration that the environment in which we move can be critically evaluated and contemplated over its modifications and improvements, not just passively accepted. / Instructors: Ing. arch. Nicol Gale, Ing. arch. Jan Foretník, Ph.D., students from FA VUT in Brno: Ing. arch. Kristýna Smržová, Ing. arch. Igor Serenčko, Ing. arch. Jakub Stýblo, Expert jury from FA VUT in Brno: Ing. arch. BcA. Barbora Ponešová, Ph.D.

photo: Barbora Ponešová, 2017

The central theme of all these courses and creations is both individual work and group work, independent thinking, and creation as opposed to stereotypical learning of information and repetition. Children learn to actively think about the world in which they live, to understand it, to cooperate, and to form their own opinion on matters. At a later age, they should then be able to recognize the quality of space more easily and apply their opinions, whether in their creation or as active citizens capable of creating an image not only of the place where they live and engaging positively. The workshops themselves show that children often come up with original proposals, and some outputs are conceptually comparable to those of fresh architecture students. Creative work with the youngest, who are not yet burdened with the rules of our system, can thus be a rich source of inspiration and enthusiasm for the architects themselves, making working with children mutually beneficial.