In a recent interview architect and founder of Avoid Obvious Architects, Vicky Chan, sat with City Lab to discuss the importance of teaching children about design and urban planning. Having taught on the side since his freshmen year at the Pratt Institute in New York City, Chan has shared his love for architecture and design with children for the past 15 years. After graduating from Pratt, and moving back to his home town of Hong Kong, Chan has continued his passions for teaching schoolchildren through his voluntary organization, Architecture for Children.

According to Chan, one of the most important skill sets educators can teach children is learning how to sift through information, comprehending the information, and figure out how to find solutions amidst adversity. By posing a variation of broad and complex topics to students, Chan voices that it is important to present children with these concepts early on in order to create thinks and doers. 

For example, students were shown an image of a walled building. When Chan asked the students if the walled building produced any design problems all of the children said no. "They didn’t see a problem; they haven’t yet been told what is good and what is bad. In fact, they might even live in walled buildings. But if we can teach them from an early age that there are better ways to build and construct, then perhaps flawed proposals will less easily find widespread support."

Through these courses, Chan and a team of volunteers provide students with the space to draw and experience patience through architecture and design. During the first five weeks of the program students focus on drawing and planning. Many soon become bored and impatient, and quickly want to jump to the building phase, however, this is the moment where Chan emphasizes the importance of instilling processes and steps. Much like the fast passed world around them, students expect to have answers and experiences faster. However, the beauty of the design process teaches students the nuances that come through design planning and problem solving.

With the emergence of readily accessible technology, like iPhones and iPads, many students now lack basic mechanical skills. As much as our daily lives are surrounded by technology, it is important to emphasis what a design perspective can provide for students in the long run. In a single day schoolchildren are asked question after question, but many of them lack the analytical skills to provide a solution. Many may say there are several variables to blame as to why students today lack such skill. However, according to Chan the answer is simple, "once you discover a problem, you learn to see opportunities. Problems present opportunities. [...] We architects spend a lot of time thinking about complex ideas, but sometimes you just need something simple and pure."