Bruce Jilk in his essay ‘Place Making and Change in learning environments” showcases a radical view of contemporary education which, he argues, is outdated and does not meet the needs of the modern world. Instead of providing for a world of individuals operating within a wider urban environment, schools have become internalized ghettos of childhood, cutting off from communities they are supposed to serve, centrally administered in a “one size fits all” ethos. Designers and architects around the world have always been seeking a more flexible architectural model which will allow much more creativity within the learning process and the environments which serve it.
Design Kindergarten: The Latest Architecture and News
In Progress: Design Kindergarten / CEBRA
CEBRA has been designing several buildings for young users, (we recently featured their 1st-3rd grade building) and their new Design Kindergarten attempts to break preconceived notions of “what a school should look like” as a way to pique children’s curiosity and creativity. Still in progress, the daycare center’s organization is based around different “themes” that focus of specific activities -in this case art, design and architecture. This is somewhat new to the Danish model of daycare, as the building will turn into more of an educational preschool facility where knowledge is acquired, not though a formal lesson, but rather through play. In addition to the architectural strategy of redefining a daycare center, the client/architect relation is something to be noted. The parents participated in the design process in a very active way, offering ideas and criticism to push the project forward.
More images, videos and lots of diagrams after the break.