thanks for sharing the writing Stephen - I'm interested in what kinds of
architectural theory you will draw from to design?
As a remotely related question, what are you thoughts about the new
Guggenheim in Balboa, Spain: and what do you think of fluid design/Frank
Lloyd Wright-esque structures of flight and spaces?
designs which represent kinds of radical freedom from structure, ...might
these be incorporated into a education-based site?
diane
p.s. Why early childhood? Why not high schools? (not an accusatory inquiry:
a question is all... )
>
>
>"Architecture and the Culture of Learning"
>
> American society, over the years, has developed a tradition of how
>its children should learn. This tradition is the current school systems as we
>know it, where the teacher lectures to rows of unquestioning students. This
>has been American education since the 1600s. In the past few decades, the
>demand for school reform has increased. The emphasis moves towards the school
>being a place where children can think on their own and develop themselves as
>individuals. To respond to this demand, I would like to develop an
>architectural environment that promotes and encourages learning in the
>primary grades of a child's education. I believe the key to understanding
>what a "school" can be lies in our better understanding how a child thinks,
>develops, and learns.
>
> The next step is to find out what exactly does promote and encourage
>learning. Many theories and discoveries have been made by members of other
>disciplines involved in childhood development. Their observations have
>cultivated into an undertsanding of what role the culture of learning has in
>an individual's development. By understanding what these professionals have
>already discovered about children, it is possible that many presuppositions
>about what "school" should be and is can be rethought. Traditional schools
>have been building for learning to occur but do not necessarily inspire
>learning. "School" architecture can often best be described as a series of
>boxes inside a bigger box where children sit at little boxes to learn.
>Contradictory to that analogy, my goal is to develop a learning environment
>that will inspire and support an individual's most natural way of learning.
>So, can we reformulate many of the thoughts and feelings about what the
>institution of "school" can be? It is important that a vas, new rethinking of
>"school" emerge now and that we begin to question whether American childrens'
>learning capabilities are really being "tapped into" by the architectural
>environments they are subject to.
>
>
>
>Well, that is my thesis. I am curious to find what everyone thinks.
>
>I want to thank many memebers of this group that have helped to get to this
>point.
>
>Thank you.
>
>--Stephen
>
>--
>Stephen Van Hoose
>5th Year B.A. Architecture Student
>Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute School of Architecture
>Troy, NY
> mail: vanhos who-is-at rpi.edu
> web address: http://www.rpi.edu/~vanhos