Archinect - News

A classroom for the 21st century: where are the best places for learning?

2013-05-14T18:21:00-04:00

... how does using a different physical space have an impact on learning? Bosch argued that changing the environment helps teachers and students to break free from old habits: "One of the things you can do is create an environment where you cannot function the same way as you used to. What happens when you go out of the school into a theatre, you have to improvise. When you improvise, you start learning and developing."

Architecture as Child's Play

2013-05-01T19:31:00-04:00

At university, students from other courses felt that we in architecture weren’t really studying at all; to them the studio seemed like some kind of uber-kindergarten, legitimated for academic credit.... The architecture profession seemed from the outside, and perhaps even to us on the inside, to promise an idyllic eternal childhood of balsa and glue and gee-whiz drawings on computers.

On Places, Naomi Stead discusses the popular conception of architecture as a kind of "child's play."

What do dollhouses and architectural models have in common? Why should we care about Lego Architecture and Architect Barbie and the romantic depiction of architects in Hollywood movies?

She concludes: "If the profession of architecture is constructed from the outside as an escapist daydream, available for the idle fantasizing and wish-fulfillment of all, then this leaves the whole profession operating inside a doll’s house: idyllic, hermetic and controlled, but largely powerless to act in the actual world."

After Newtown, Architects Weigh School Design Changes

2012-12-22T17:46:00-05:00

Mark Simon, a founding partner of Centerbrook Architects and Planners, agrees. “I think [bars and other fortifying techniques] send the wrong message to both kids and teachers,” he says. Based in Centerbrook, Connecticut, Simon has designed 20 school buildings, including five public elementary schools, though none in Newtown. “Buildings tell stories, and when a building is designed that way, it tells you that it doesn’t trust you. And kids intuit that they’re not trusted,” he says.

Our hearts are with the families at Sandy Hook Elementary School

2012-12-14T15:25:00-05:00

I'm sorry for using this platform for a personal, off-topic, message. It's been a while since I have. But, today's tragedy in Connecticut is about as sad as it gets. This isn't an issue of politics or civil rights. This is an issue about humanity, and good vs. evil. I hope that if anything positive comes out of today's event, it's that the gun control debate will end in this country.

Are Playgrounds Too Safe?

2012-11-26T15:42:00-05:00

Some child-development experts and parents say decades of dumbed-down playgrounds, fueled by fears of litigation, concerns about injury and worrywart helicopter parents, have led to cookie-cutter equipment that offers little thrill. The result, they say, is that children are less compelled to play outside, potentially stunting emotional and physical development and exacerbating a nationwide epidemic of childhood obesity.

Fentress Architects co-creates app for children

2012-10-15T11:32:00-04:00

From the Eiffel Tower in Paris, to St. Basil’s cathedral in Moscow, to the Forbidden City in Beijing, the architecture featured in Clover is among the world’s most memorable. “We purposely selected works that most children would find fascinating,” says Josh Heidebrecht, Clover co-creator and Soma Creates founder. “Each building is from a different culture and shows a different perspective on the world.”

Make a Buckminster Fuller Blanket Fort

2012-05-19T17:26:00-04:00

In 1975 Buckminster Fuller first defined the term tensegrity, a portmanteau of “tensional integrity.” It refers to structural systems that derive their stability from various elements acting against each other with equal force, like the surface tension of a bubble. Tensegrity lies at the heart of giant projects like the Georgia Dome. But you can apply it to build the ultimate blanket fort, supported by finely balanced brooms that never touch one another.

New York’s Public Architecture Gets a Face-Lift

2011-10-10T15:21:44-04:00

Designed by 1100 Architect with an interior by Lee H. Skolnick Architecture & Design Partnership, the Children’s Library Discovery Center, as it’s called, is part of a quiet revolution reshaping the city’s public architecture. Piecemeal across the five boroughs, New York is gradually being remade.

Calling all young arts critics

2011-05-23T13:16:22-04:00

Next month sees the launch of the Guardian's fourth annual young arts critics competition, open to all readers aged 18 and under. To help us get it under way, we want to put your questions to our team of critics.

“Creatives Unite for Japan” Relief Effort

2011-05-19T13:33:24-04:00

The Art Directors Club and One Club, in partnership with AKQA, have joined together to form Creatives Unite for Japan, a new charitable program that provides the creative community with a direct way to help victims of the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

Creatives Unite for Japan is strictly a donation program, with each organization featuring a banner on their home pages with program information and PayPal link. One hundred percent of donations will go to fund The Ashinaga Foundation, a non-profit organization formed in 1963 that provides aid to children who have lost parents due to hardship, economic or natural disasters.

“This is not a call for entries, it’s a call for a cause,” said Rei Inamoto, chief creative officer, AKQA and ADC board member who developed the program mission and logo design. “Because right now, Japan does not need ideas that win gold, silver or bronze Cubes or Pencils, they need our support. We urge fellow creatives around the world to un...