Thesis Topic Presentation

8/4/2019 Thesis Topic Presentation

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A School for Learning

Kate Ganim | Thesis Presentation | Fall 2011


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The Problem with Schools

Teacher-centric design reflects an ineffective educational model The traditional classroom has not evolved with our growing

understanding of learning and development "A School is a Building with a School in It"


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"There can be few building types that have so poorly evolvedduring the past hundred years as schools. It was only in theclosing decade of the 20th century that we saw deviations froma type that has been standard since the year dot. Only the form,

particularly that of the exterior, moved with the times. Howschools were organized was evidently unassailable."

Herman Hertzberger, Space and Learning (2008)


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"A School is a Building with a School in It"

School-Building

Education


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Taking Education out of its useless Shell

School-Building

Education


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Archigram's "Ideas Circus"

Instantaneous Unexpected Temporary

Educational Road Show Interchange of ideas

between unconnectedpeople


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Cedric Price's "Potteries Thinkbelt"

Abandoned railwaysystem convertedinto a university

Integrated with

community Mass education Disposing with the

"architecturalsymbolism of

academia"


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Buckminster Fuller's "Education Automation"

To truly think, one mustbe alone

School acts as ababysitter + social hall

Children will be able to

educate themselvesusing "two-way TV's"

Calls for "well-equippedcapsule-rooms to besent to all the homes" so

children can educatethemselves in private


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"There is no reason why everyone should be interestedin the geography of Venezuela on the same day andhour unless there is some 'news' event there, such as a

revolution."

Buckminster Fuller, Education Automation (1962)


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Unschooling

Similar to homeschooling,but kids are left to pursuetheir own interests freely

No formal teaching Based on premise that

children have an intrinsicmotivation to learn andexplore, and will if giventhe chance

Little data exists indicating

the relative success ofunschooled children inadulthood


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Thesis Proposal: Activating the School

Learning


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Hertzberger: The Evolution of the School

Teacher-centric model shifts to student-centric model

(collaborative instead of dictatorial) Integration of the long corridor as learning space Rectangular classroom to articulated classroom to

abandonment of the classroom altogether


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"At the end of the day, education, besides being about reading,writing, and arithmetic, is about exploring the world. It is not justobtaining insight that is important but, increasingly, accumulatinginterest and love for the riches the world has to offer. This happensin interactive situations that could be stimulated more by the

physical environment than designers are prepared to concede."

Herman Hertzberger, Space and Learning (2008)


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Waldorf and Montessori Schools

Waldorf schools:

use of pastel colors natural materials soft edges no straight angles "discovery" environment

Montessori schools: space is articulated objects are scaled appropriately

for a child's independent use unprogrammed space for retreat


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Using Scientific Findings to Foster Education

Learning styles and the multiplicityof intelligence

Attempt to integrate cognitive,developmental, and psychologicalfindings into design to optimize theenvironment for learning

Series of design experiments,modeling a space or an attribute of aspace, based on these scientificfindings


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Mapping the Interactions and Behavior ofElementary-Aged Children with their Environment


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Site Proposal: San Francisco (specifics TBD)

Innovative High value on education Many alternative schools already here Urban site with access to green space


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Questions Raised

To what extent can a building contribute to the learningprocess?What are the goals of education?How can technology be integrated into the design to support

learning and exploration?How can a building be made such that the majority is plastic +dynamic, rather than static?How can the hierarchical nature of the traditional school

building be broken down to enhance the learning process?H


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Documents

Thesis Topic Presentation