Table of Contents

List of Illustrations Acknowledgements Introduction..........................................................................................................................................1 1.School Architecture: Historical Cornerstones...................................................................................4 1.1 From a Furnace of Workers to the Recognition of the User's Opinion and of the Importance of the Spaces for a Successful Learning Process...................................................4 1.2 Architects as Educators.......................................................................................................8 1.3 From the Past Projected to our Future................................................................................9 2.The Present......................................................................................................................................11 2.1 The Discipline as a Blocking Phenomenon in Schooling and Cities...............................11 2.2 Children and their Progressive Detachment from Nature................................................12 2.3 Children and Ecology.......................................................................................................14 2.4 Technology........................................................................................................................15 2.5 The Current Educational System in the UK as Model for other European Countries......18 2.6 Curricula: Tradition or Innovation, Passive or Active Learning?.....................................21 3.The Future.......................................................................................................................................24 3.1 School: a Building that Serves the Community 24/7.......................................................24 3.2 Architecture and Design Make Pupils more Conscious about Social Problems..............29 3.2.1 Environmental Education..................................................................................30 3.2.2 Alimentary Education........................................................................................31 3.2.3 Sexual Education...............................................................................................32 3.3 Exploration: an Essential Architectural and Learning Principle......................................34 3.4 The Role of Architects as Translators of our Evolving Society........................................36 3.5 The Urgency of a more Social and Extreme Planning Approach.....................................37 Conclusion..........................................................................................................................................40 Appendix 1.........................................................................................................................................41 Appendix 2.........................................................................................................................................43 Appendix 3.........................................................................................................................................46 Bibliography.......................................................................................................................................47 Background Bibliography...................................................................................................................49

List of Illustrations
Fig. 1 One of the many ex-churches used as schools...........................................................................5 Dudek M. (2005) Children's Spaces. Oxford. Architectural Press, Elsevier. Fig. 2 Example of classroom in 1908...................................................................................................5 Dudek M. (2000) Architecture of Schools. Oxford. Architectural Press, Elsevier. Fig. 3 Robson's ideal can be seen in this early classroom....................................................................6 Dudek M. (2000) Architecture of Schools. Oxford. Architectural Press, Elsevier. Fig. 4 Nigel Frost's workshops.............................................................................................................8 Dudek M. (2005) Children's Spaces. Oxford. Architectural Press, Elsevier. Fig. 5 Hunstanton by Alison and Peter Smithson (1954): a modernist example.................................9 London's Learning exhibition, catalogue available at http://www.buildingcentre.co.uk/downloads/londons_learning.pdf. The Building Centre. (Accessed date 21.11.07) Fig. 6 Flexibility.................................................................................................................................10 Ceppi G. and Zini M. (2001) Children, Spaces, Relations: Metaproject for an Environment for Young Children. Cavriago. Reggio Children s.r.l. Fig. 7 Children supervised by adults at the park, in town or at school..............................................12 http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/045t7ZIfCy4vc/610x.jpg (Accessed date 21.11.08) Fig. 8 Lyce Franois Magendie courtyard with a mature oak tree...................................................13 Dudek M. (2007) Schools and Kindergartens. A design manual. Berlin. Birkhuser. Fig. 9 Sterile school yard....................................................................................................................13 http://ourhealthyschool.hrsb.ns.ca/user/Image/Harbour%20View/DSCF1190.JPG (Accessed date 21.11.08) Fig. 10 Wet area worktops made of recycled plastic..........................................................................14 Dudek M. (2007) Schools and Kindergartens. A design manual. Berlin. Birkhuser. Fig. 11 Ballifield Community Primary School...................................................................................15 Dudek M. (2005) Children's Spaces. Oxford. Architectural Press, Elsevier. Fig. 12 Computer room......................................................................................................................16

Kelly J. (2008) 'Can Schools be Sustainable?'. School building. Issue 23, August/September. Fig. 13 Collaboration among architects, school staff and local community......................................21 Kelly J. (2008) School building. Issue 23, August/September. Fig. 14 Box-shaped classrooms..........................................................................................................23 Kelly J. (2008) 'Can you hear me at the back?'. School building. Issue 23, August/September. Fig. 15 Feather River Academy welcome entry that shows the 'dynamic folding roofs'...................25 http://www.designshare.com/index.php/projects/feather-river-academy/images@3847 (Accessed date 10.11.08) Fig. 16 Feather River Academy 'campus plan' layout........................................................................25 http://www.designshare.com/index.php/projects/feather-river-academy/images@3847 (Accessed date 10.11.08) Fig. 17 and 18 Students at Chafford Hundred Campus.....................................................................26 http://www.thecampus.org.uk/index.php?catid=1&subcat=1 (Accessed date 10.11.08)

Fig. 19 and 20 Sure Start Aylesbury Plus: entry and plan................................................................27 London's Learning exhibition, catalogue available at http://www.buildingcentre.co.uk/downloads/londons_learning.pdf. The Building Centre. (Visited on 11.07) Fig. 21 and 22 South Bronx School of Arts......................................................................................28 Dudek M. (2007) Schools and Kindergartens. A design manual. Berlin. Birkhuser. Fig. 23 and 24 'The mysterious glance of children on the city' exhibition: bill board and some images of children taking pictures in Reggio Emilia.........................................................................29 Author's own photographs. August 2008. Fig. 25 Children cleaning vegetables at school..................................................................................31 Ceppi G. and Zini M. (2001) Children, Spaces, Relations: Metaproject for an Environment for Young Children. Cavriago. Reggio Children s.r.l. Fig. 26 and 27 The edible school yard .............................................................................................32 Dudek M. (2005) Children's Spaces. Oxford. Architectural Press, Elsevier.

Fig. 28 and 29 Design for children's toilets and service stairs..........................................................33

Dudek M. (2005) Children's Spaces. Oxford. Architectural Press, Elsevier. Fig. 30 Girls hiding under a table.......................................................................................................33 http://www.dasharts.org.uk/cms/exhibitions/2/childrenunderbench.JPG (Accessed date 15.08.08) Fig. 31 Children exploring their learning environment......................................................................34 Dudek M. (2007) Schools and Kindergartens. A design manual. Berlin. Birkhuser. Fig. 32 and 33 Interiors .....................................................................................................................35 Dudek M. (2007) Schools and Kindergartens. A design manual. Berlin. Birkhuser. Fig. 34 and 35 Child-scaled classroom landscape.............................................................................37 Ceppi G. and Zini M. (2001) Children, Spaces, Relations: Metaproject for an Environment for Young Children. Cavriago. Reggio Children s.r.l. Fig. 36 The Pantheon in Rome (1748)...............................................................................................38 Dudek M. (2005) Children's Spaces. Oxford. Architectural Press, Elsevier. Fig. 37 Flexibility in Bruce Jilk's strategy.........................................................................................38 http://www.designshare.com/index.php/articles/list-only (Accessed date 15.08.08)

Acknowledgements
A special thanks goes to my tutor Mark Ingham that has given me a continuous support throughout my dissertation. Thanks to my mother, the best art teacher ever, to Francesco for his support, to my ex philosophy teacher Franco Verri for his consultation and last but not least to my classmates with who I shared doubts and worries about this study. I need also to thank all the LinkedIn community that has answered my questions on-line offering fruitful suggestions. Besides, I would like to thank the employees of the Reggio Children Centre for their time and consideration.

Towards a New Approach for School Architecture

Introduction
In my whole life I've attended seven different schools. Each experience was unique but, looking back with an architectural eye, I can say that in all of them there was a peculiar architectural scenario behind. My curiosity, as a young designer and architect, made me think of analysing some of the logistics in the wide educational landscape to see until where an architect may contribute to educate the new generations. Furthermore, I have always been fascinated by the power that architecture can have on the society. Urbanism was another interesting potential topic for my dissertation but it was too wide and complex for a short bachelor thesis. Because of this, I reckoned school architecture had similar urban dynamics and was, at the same time, a more student-scaled topic. Recently I have discovered a passion for architecture of public spaces since they can change the aspect of areas, cities, counties and countries. I was born in a small town in the north of Italy and I personally felt the excitement of upcoming the village fte. When the event was in town even the wide main square of the village seemed to be small due to all the amusements. A similar effect may be provoked in citizens when a new park or school or museum is built or restored; in the film about Frank Gehry, for instance, several inhabitants of Bilbao says that the city had come to life since the Guggenheim museum was built. For these reasons, I took the decision of exploring the power of architecture and design to improve the future education.

Initially this dissertation was going to be based on the comparison between the Italian and the British educational landscapes. While conducting my research, I have however realised that the experiences and the knowledge that I already had on the Italian schools could have strengthen a more specific analysis based on the UK. I have carried out my analysis looking for several different points of view and facets of the educational landscape. The curiosity on the topic brought me to even post some questions on a social on-line community. I have spoken to some teachers in Italy about some issues raised in my 1

reading. I went to visit the town of Reggio Emilia in Italy to have access to the academic collection of books at the 'Reggio Children' centre and personally visit the Diana scuola materna, cited in the Newsweek as excellent day-care facility. (Hinckle, 1991, www.newsweek.com/id/123875) One of the aims of this thesis is also to explore how, in the years, architecture has conquered a preponderant role in the success of a school. For this reason the argumentation will be structured with the help of the time line to give a complete view of the dynamics in past, present and future. Another objective of this dissertation is to guide architects in the complex process of planning schools for the future. The school for the future will contribute to educate responsible and socially active citizens and it will be one of the main places of the reference for the community. A Bruce Jilk's planning strategy that talks about empty spaces, indefiniteness and freedom for students or the book Deschooling Society by Ivan Illich that more in a philosophical way suggests to start deconstruct schooling and society to obtain a more valuable education, have leaded me to explore some basic topics to understand their radical point of view. Since I strongly agree on the need for changes in education, across my dissertation I will suggest some less radical possibilities for a more proactive approach to plan the school of the future. In the first session I will take in consideration the events, papers or people that have contributed to develop the figure of a school from a furnace of workers to the recognition of the user's opinion and the importance of the spaces for a successful learning process. In this process we have seen Education Reform Act, reports on public education, competitions open to students, stimulating political backgrounds and debates between students and architects. In the second session I will examine the current social context and I will give an overview on the educational systems in the industrialised countries and I will discuss about curricula, some of their principles and the spacial implications that occur. In the third session I will consider some of the for the creation of the ideal school in the future. Among them are: school as a 24/7 community building, architecture and design as teaching devices and exploration as a key-principle for a challenging environment. It follows a reflection on the role of architects and designers in the society and, in particular, as planners of schools. In the end I will report a innovative planning strategy by the architect Bruce Jilk as inspiration to the static and rigid school of the present. To summarise, this research wants to illustrate some of the possibilities that an architect-designer may adopt to shape the education of the upcoming generations. The students of tomorrow have to 2

be supported in a continuously changing era; therefore in this thesis there will be presented some of the salient topics about planning the school of the future.

1. School Architecture: Historical Cornerstones.

This section aims to give an overview of the events that have contributed to focus the publics attention on the real subject of schooling: students. Beforehand neither the point of view of the students or the architectural framework were considered at all. For this reason I find important to document the events that, year-by-year, that have shaped a more user-oriented planning process.

1.1 From a Furnace of Workers to the Recognition of the User's Opinion and of the Importance of the Spaces for a Successful Learning Process

Horace Mann, father of the Common School in the US, wrote about school architecture: 'It is an indisputable fact that, for years past, more attention has been paid, in this respect, to the construction of jails and prisons, than to that of schoolhouses. Yet, why should we treat our felons better than our children?'(Mann, 1840, pp. 20-24 ). From this quotation the lack of attention towards architectural spaces in schools can be perceived. In fact just at the end of the 19th century we had a mass education in the UK and the act of 1870 ratified compulsory education for children from five to 11 years old. It was at this time that the first local boarding school in London was founded. The importance of an adequate learning environment for children was considered after the publication of School Architecture: Practical Remarks on the Planning, Designing, Building and Furnishing of School Houses written by E. R. Robson in 1874. (Dudek, 2000, pp. 11-15) As a matter of fact, before his publication ex-churches or ex-factories were mainly used as school buildings crowded with hundreds of students in each class. (see Fig. 1)

Fig. 1 One of the many ex-churches used as schools.

After his book, and the result of trips to Germany, Switzerland and the USA, schools started to resemble our present schools. Robson did not just talk about the most appropriate style for the exteriors but he proposed new solutions for the interiors of the schools and even the furniture. It was possible to finally obtain a reduction in the number of students in classes formed of 40-60 pupils, a clear circulation in buildings often with a wide atrium at the centre and a more suitable ventilation and lighting system. Unfortunately not much importance was given to the outdoor playing area since it was usually the space left between the building and the street. (see Fig. 2)

Fig. 2 Example of classroom in 1908.

After Robson, John Dewey also contributed to bringing further changes in the scholastic background; between 1894 and 1904 he explored new teaching methods based on democratic principles and professional and practical instructions.(see Fig. 3) As a matter of fact, following the Montessori theories1, he believed that a more community-based and practical curriculum would have stimulated and developed the inner potentials of students. (Nicholson, 2005, in Dudek, pp. 55-59)

Fig. 3 Robson's ideal can be seen in this early classroom layout with two desks for each teacher and dividing curtain.

Until 1950 listening to students' opinions was completely ignored by the scholastic agenda; the main focus was still on how to discipline students rather than listening to their suggestions and needs. Therefore also during the planning stage children had to be contained rather than be taken into consideration for the design process. One of the papers that have most significantly contributed to increase the importance of users in schools is the Plowden Report. In 1967 the Central Advisory Council for Education published a report Children and their Primary Schools, better known as the Plowden Report by the author Plowden Bridget. The report proposed a new curriculum and new teaching methods for all Primary Schools in the country. A new pupil-centred theory was suggested as a way to create a learning space where students and teachers work together. This theory considered for the first time, the pupils' needs as the main focus of school institutions. (Gillard, www.infed.org/schooling/plowden_report.htm.)

Montessori acknowledged both the need to develop new ways for adults to work with children in educational settings, and the importance of the environment on the children's learning. (Montessori M., 1936, p. 75)

Furthermore, since every child has different needs and potentials, the Plowden Report counselled the introduction of integrated days into the curriculum. In those days children could have received individual tutorials from their teachers in order to meet all their needs. One of the main problems of the integrated days was that the resources for all these innovations, such as newer buildings and more teachers, were never placed at the children's disposal. Nevertheless, until now the Plowden Report is still one of the most outstanding documents since the current National Curriculum started to be shaped and it has focused public attention on the real subject of the educational system: the child. Also the National Curriculum, introduced into Great Britain with the Education Reform Act in 1988, was crucial for clarifying the importance of new learning and teaching methods in order to build a more effective educational system. (Dudek, 2005, pp. 74-96) This document was drawn to define compulsory and optional subjects, the standards for each subject and also the possible teaching methods. Unfortunately in neither documents, the Plowden Report or the National Curriculum, was there any mention of suggestions about the learning spaces that would have enhanced the teaching innovations. Another important moment in the history of architecture as a closer discipline to communities and therefore to education, is the one regarding the competition called by the two British newspapers, The Observer and The Guardian. Thanks to the activism in the air in the same year of the Plowden Report, the Observer launched a competition called The School that I'd like. This competition asked all secondary school students to describe how they would have liked their schools to be. Edward Blishen, an English writer, realised that most of the people were tired of the old buildings and of the squared geometry used for them. In 1967 The Observer received almost 1,000 proposals for new schools. (Dudek, 2005, pp. 117-119) After 30 years the success of the first competition encouraged the Guardian to promote a second one called 'The School I'd like'. After seven weeks 'The Children's Manifesto' was published as a collection of all the entries; the publication was about beautiful, comfortable and secure schools. (see Appendix 2) (Birkett D., 2001, www.guardian.co.uk/education/2001/jun/05/schools.uk7)

1.2 Architects as Educators

During the 70s and 80s architecture was seen by public opinion as an elitist discipline and enemy of the society. (Koralek and Mitchell, 2005, in Dudek, p.119) Now we have new, knowledgeable generations interested in architecture and thousands of design and architecture students applying to study every year. These outcomes are the result of the remarkable communication between architects, the public and politicians that have been taking place since the 70s.

As a matter of fact, in the early 70s the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) organised some educational walking tours in several cities in order to explore and explain the exciting world of modern and contemporary architecture. In the middle of the 70s new architectural workshops for children were introduced in 11 cities in Great Britain with the aim to introduce the architectural culture to the youngsters. Also the project conducted by Nigel Frost helped children to understand and appreciate the merriness of the construction of some of the most famous buildings of their town. (see Fig. 4) At the beginning these initiatives did not encounter a great success from the public and they were, therefore, intensified over the 80s by Richard Rogers, Nigel Frost and others.

Fig. 4 Nigel Frost's workshops

In the 90s 13 new architectural and design centres2 were inaugurated all over the UK and two important annual events3 were starting to promote a new image of architecture. (Koralek and Mitchell, 2005, in Dudek, p.124)
2

New architectural centres were founded to 'promote the high quality of contemporary architecture and urban design to as wide as audience as possible... to encourage public participation and debate on the design, planning and sustainability of our cities...' (Architecture Foundation booklet, 2005, in Dudek, p.124) London Open House and National Architecture Week

The workshops, the activities open to the public and the new architectural centres and fairs contributed to creating a solid and present image of architecture into society. Furthermore all these new changes gave birth to a more collaborative and architecturally educated generation.

1.3 From the Past Projected to our Future

Now it is our turn to not waste the important results obtained in the last decades and build up a structured dialogue between architects and students. Just in this way we can improve school buildings, help local communities and shape responsible and well-educated individuals who will be ready to face the developments of the future. The school buildings that we have inherited from the past can be divided into two main categories: heavy but resistant buildings or modern but obsolete buildings. Usually, on the one hand, with heavy buildings we refer to ex-churches or ex-factories that are still in good condition but are not flexible enough for the new curricula. On the other hand the lightweight structure of the modernist schools are not up to standard any more due to poor insulation4. (see Fig. 5)

Fig. 5 Hunstanton by Alison and Peter Smithson (1954): a modernist example.

For these reasons the UKs government allocates 1.2 billion every week to education and, of the programmes running at the moment, the Building Schools for the Future (BSF)5 aims to renovate or
4 5

One of the trends in modernist architecture was the extensive use of glass and concrete, two not insulating materials. Building Schools for the Future is the biggest ever school buildings investment programme. The aim is to rebuild or renew nearly every secondary school in England over a 10-15 year period. The programme started in 2005-6. For more information about BSF visit the portal http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/management/resourcesfinanceandbuilding/bsf/

rebuild every secondary school in the country in 10-15 years time. (The Building Centre, 2007, exhibition catalogue, p. 9)

Until the 21st century school planning was based on the concept of class and the modernist principle 'form follows function'.(Jilk, 2005, in Dudek, p.31) Bruce Jilk suggested that the idea of school is still too close to the idea of classroom. Even though it has not been unanimously recognised, several studies have accredited the importance of the environment in the learning process of children. Therefore it is essential to move forward from the obsolete idea of a classroom as a containing box for students. The more stimulating the learning environment, the more curious and investigative will be the children towards the space around them. As a matter of fact, many of the succeeding schools at the moment enjoy multifunctional, flexible and explorative spaces. (see Fig. 6)

Fig. 6 Flexibility

Also the modernist 'form follows function' principle has by this time become restrictive. In fact the spaces were perfectly planned in accordance with the spaces needed at that time; therefore the modernist architects pursued flexibility as the only way to keep the building up-to-date. In spite of these attempts, the flexibility of modern school buildings is not ductile enough for our continuously evolving society.

Given this, it can be deducted that new planning strategies for school buildings are necessary to support a turning point in which the UKs government is investing to change the schooling outline.

10

2. The Present

Since I am trying to delineate the right approach that architects need to use to build a more community based and successful school for the future, I cannot help but examine the current situation. In industrialised countries society have to face problems such as consumerism, racism, violence, drug, prostitution and so on. The educational system and therefore the success of what we, as architects and designers, plan is strictly connected to users, families and the community in general. Thus, I will try to delineate some of the social trends and phenomena that are influencing the schooling sector.

2.1 The Discipline as a Blocking Phenomenon in Schooling and Cities

For many years discipline as been strictly linked to the idea of education. Discipline is about generating self-control in children; this can often imply a reduction of curiosity since the child receives dos and donts and cannot experiment freely with his/her abilities. Discipline is still one of the main principles in today's educational system and society.

Thinking about our society, we can see that in our cities, as Helen Penn suggests, there is a lack of spaces appositely planned and designed for young people. (Penn, 2005, in Dudek, pp.178-180) This means that children can live in their cities just with the supervision of an adult and teenagers immediately experience our complicated, problematic world.

Therefore the lack of child-sized places transmit the subliminal message that the only places where children are admitted are the one where there is a controlled supervision; children can make decisions just under the control of adults. Thus, this attitude will deny children to develop selfesteem that will turn them into independent, responsible grown-ups. (see Fig. 7)

11

Fig. 7 Children supervised by adults at the park, in town or at school.

Helen Penn quotes an extract of John Muir, the Scottish naturalist and writer, that tells about his childhood in a small village outside Edinburgh in 1840. Muir remembers playing with gunpowder, digging holes, climbing walls,...Helen Penn comments that his extract highlights that similar behaviour in today's society would be categorised as inadmissible and vandalism. (ibid)

2.2 Children and their Progressive Detachment from Nature

Since there are not many safe spaces for children in cities when they are not at school, pupils tend to be often kept at home or in some exclusive and expensive private playing clubs. However in this way pupils are likely to lose a healthy link to nature. (see Fig. 8)

12

Fig. 8 Lyce Franois Magendie courtyard with a mature oak tree.

Unfortunately some of the new schools in the UK also forget to include some outdoor activities in the curriculum; thus, children end up losing the fundamental culture about natural phenomena, nutritional principles and other basic knowledge that was common a few decades ago. In some schools the outdoor space is a sterile yard with a few untidy flowerbeds. (see Fig. 9)

Fig. 9 Sterile school yard.

This often occurs because an external garden in time may be expensive to maintain and they also require an exceptional relationship between security and the freedom of the children. Even in Sheffield, for example, despite the that Ballifield Community Primary School is surrounded by green lands, the teachers were struggling to plan new activities with the new pond added during renovation. (Chiles, 2005, in Dudek, p. 107) As a matter of fact, one of the biggest difficulties in planning outdoor playing spaces is to ideate something safe and stimulating while at the same time 13

not requiring too much supervision from the teachers.

2.3 Children and Ecology

Outdoor spaces are not the only way to connect the new generation to nature; it is also vital to sensitise pupils towards environmental values, such as recycling and saving energy at school. It is crucial that we communicate these values to children; sometimes it may seem difficult to express them but architecture and design may be effective in doing so.

One important principle in school planning is that children understand that something is important if they perceive that it is for adults. The perception can come through multiple factors: the shape of the school, the materials, some rituals and activities, the design of furniture and so on. (see Fig. 10)

Fig. 10 Wet area worktops made of recycled plastic.

If, for instance, recycling is not done by the staff themselves or parents the children will never separate paper and plastic from organic waste. The basic measure to educate a young conscientious generation about our planet is, in the first place, being responsible grown ups ourselves. In Ballifield School, for example, children saw with their own eyes what could have been produced with recycled newspapers and plastic bottles; pupils got from the experience that recycling is possible and useful. (Chiles, 2005, in Dudek, p. 107) (see Fig. 11)

14

Fig. 11 Ballifield Community Primary School.

Moreover, in addition to recycling and other ecological activities, a school constructed with environmentally friendly materials or using water recycling systems or being naturally lit and ventilated, is a clear statement for the growing generation. Prue Chiles reports from the experience of Ballifield School: 'the construction itself became a teaching device.' In fact during the renovation of the school they had tried to use high-quality materials with new exciting shapes; this unfortunately meant making some compromises due to the budget limitation. 'Rainwater recycling', 'natural paints' and 'wind power operated laptops' were rejected, while instead 'healthy breathing walls' and 'recycled insulation', 'healthy natural carpets on the balcony' and 'recycled fabrics for the classrooms' were used during the renovation. (Chiles, 2005, in Dudek, p. 104) As many architects such as Prue Chiles suggest, we will not be able to build completely sustainable school buildings while the UKs government is going to keep imposing budget construction limits. As a matter of fact the prices for eco-friendly materials and technologies have been reduced in the last decade but they are still too expensive to be used together in one singular school project. At this regard, Mark Dudek in 2000 writes about the photovoltaic cells system saying 'It is estimated that current prices would need to reduce by a factor of five before they became viable for the average school construction budget.'(Dudek, 2000, p. 108)

2.4 Technology

As Prue Chiles deemed, the word 'nature' has been somehow replaced in the common language by the term 'environment'. (Dudek, 2005, p.103) Moreover 'environment' has not always been correctly

15

used in Simmons I.G. opinion: ' Technology has been used to changing so much of our surroundings that it is rarely correct to talk of natural environment' (Simmon I.G., 1993, in Dudek M., 2005, p.103) As a matter of fact, technology has radically changed our lives and, therefore, now it is difficult to even think of having houses without electricity, television or a personal computer. Technology can be nowadays found in pubs, airports, hospitals, cinemas, but less in the majority of schools in Europe. As other public spaces have been implemented with technologies, I consider it important that students are also given more opportunities to improve their learning through ICT. Since 1995 in the US and 1998 in the UK, both the American and the British governments have officially declared the will to connect all the schools of the two countries to the Internet to allow equal learning means to all students. (see Fig. 12)

Fig. 12 Computer room.

This necessity comes from the fact that the last generation has considerably changed due to the new technologies. At the beginning it was just television, then the personal computer and videogames. However not all families could afford these innovations and therefore, the chance to have free access to the computer clusters at school. At the same time technology has roused much controversy. Videogames, for instance, on the one hand keep pupils away from the danger of the public spaces of our society but, on the other hand, they restrict the contacts that pupils have always had playing with their peers. Lots are the comments on this dichotomy. Fist of all we need to admit that the streets today are not the same as they were 30 years ago and that neither the countryside is safe as it was in the past. The dangers that are nowadays outside our houses are the results of innovation, immigration and emigration, new cultures and rules that come 16

together in our metropolis and affect our countryside. After all, everything we have today is the result of the choices that we made yesterday; we just need to learn from our mistakes and take steps to put them right through responsible and conscious behaviour. This is to say that we do not have to regret what our society is not any more and the thoughtlessness that our grandparents had in leaving their children wondering around in the village. Now our parents have commodities that our grandparents did not have and the average age of the population has raised steeply thanks to innovations and research. Secondly, I found interesting the reason behind the extreme success of videogames and the World Wide Web on pupils and not only them. Many experts suggest that the indefinite idea behind them is what attracts them most. Mark Dudek, in his essay entitled 'Digital landscapes the New Media Playground' makes a comparison between John Wayne movies and the new videogames. When I was young, my father used to tell me how magic was for him to go to the cinema on Sunday afternoon with his father. As a matter of fact, Mark Dudek asserts that the same sense of indefinite that we find on the 'Net' and in videogames is the same that attracted many pupils to the Western movies during the 50s and 60s. (Dudek M., 2005, pp.154-177) The freedom and anonymity that there is in using the World Wide Web is something that even adults have difficulties in managing; the new media has been contaminated by phenomena such as paedophilia, pornography, and so on. Thus, it is comprehensible that for many years, for instance, computer clusters were not freely accessible to students without adult supervision. The experience that adults have of the World Wide Web is different from the one that pupils have; in fact, children who play with videogames and computers may not distinguish the digital experiences from the real ones due to their young age. If a child falls, he understands that the movement that he has done was hazardous and he is going to react to the stimulus by not repeating it. If the same happens in a digital landscape, the child neither experiences the physical pain of falling, neither enriches the knowledge that will help him/her in life. Therefore, thinking about all the motor and cognitive capacities that are in this way weakened, it is easy to understand the reasons behind decreasing trends in education throughout Europe. Across my research on the topic, I have realised that the laziness attributed to the current generation is in part due to a lack of external stimuli owing to easy access of standardised answers on the Internet. Beside this, there are also young people that make the most of technology and enrich their culture 17

through e-learning, such as open source and social networking communities. The Internet allows us to communicate without any physical boundaries and quickly exchange information with the rest of the world. For this reason many of the new school projects tend to use open spaces with wireless spots; this configuration empowers the students to freely move from one activity to another while always being supported by the Internet connection. For example, at the Yewlands Technology College in Sheffield, the head teacher, Mrs Angela Armytage, reports that students work on foldable desks with laptops with wireless connections. Mrs Armytage adds also that most of the activities take place in spaces with movable walls to allow students to work together and share their ideas when needed. The space is an open-space, similar to the new flexible working environments where the space changes its shape depending on the users needs. To conclude Mrs Armytage says: 'Having the CLC6 allows us to use IT across the curriculum. It has enhanced the inclusiveness of teaching and learning by allowing less able children who have difficulty in concentrating, to be more focused, and all children can produce work of a much higher level with better presentation.' (Teachernet,http://www.teachers.gov.uk/management/resourcesfinanceandbuilding/SchoolsC apCaseStudies/FundingStudies/yewlands_school_technology_college) The example of Yewland Technology College is just one of the many schools in which technology or Information Communication Technology (ICT) is used to improve the efficiency of teaching. Only in this way technology will not just be a synonym of social decay but will enhance the capabilities of the most receptive students and will encourage children towards a better education. Our role, as architects and designers, is to plan spaces where ICT can be incorporated and boosted throughout the design.

2.5 The Current Educational System in the UK as Model for other European Countries

I believe it is important to examine the current British educational system since the planning stage is limited by budgets imposed by the government and its main objective is to improve the educational standards. Throughout my research I have found many negative comments on the recent educational initiatives
6

City Learning Centre

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by the UK government. I have read about a lack of innovation in the National Curriculum, partial attention of the government after the launch of the initiative 'Building Schools for the Future' (BSF) and other critical comments.

Since I moved here just three years ago, it is difficult to not use the Italian educational system as a reference in the my analysis.

Before getting information on the British system, I already had some opinions on potential improvements for the Italian system as one of the main problems there is, in my opinion, is the almost total lack of autonomy and flexibility of the Italian state schools. In fact, the curricula that are adopted by each local school are already being predetermined by the 'Ministero dell'Istruzione Pubblica' (department of state education) and each school is given just the possibility to select them. New extra curriculum activities cannot be introduced and teachers rarely have the opportunity to experiment with new teaching methods. Also the school buildings themselves are bound by the state authority; as a matter of fact, even if the maintenance of the edifice is one of the local authority duties, the need to communicate in any way, all the administrative provisions to the main state offices extends the timing of all the procedures. Because of this situation, I had in mind an ideal solution in which local schools are totally run by local authorities, since they have direct experience of the urgent needs and the attainable teaching goals. However, in this way, it may happen that the same educational possibilities will not be guaranteed to all students of the country since local areas will always have economical or cultural disparities. Here comes the necessity of the state as main surveyor of high educational standards. Getting informed about educational systems, I found that the model that I was thinking of was already in use in some European counties such as Germany and Britain. I was aware of the many successes obtained by both countries in education but I did not know the causes. In the publication 'Architecture of Schools: The New Learning Environment', Mark Dudek quotes Peter Blundell Jones, the British architect and critic, to say that we will not see changes if a decentralisation and therefore a reduction of bureaucracy will not happen. Dudek states that locally 'we are all custodians of our environments, whether they are private or public territories.' He continues saying that there will not be a reason to improve the state education until we have the current differentiation in state and private schools; in this statement he suggests that the majority of 19

the people that may boost and innovate our current education attend private and expensive schools. (Dudek, 2000, p.131)

For this reason the state schools in Reggio Emilia in Italy are still an important landmark for the British educational system; as a matter of fact they are internationally recognised to be a successful example thanks to the still innovative pedagogical approach of Loris Malaguzzi and a strong, tight connection between schools and the surrounding city community.

The British educational system is traditionally decentralised: local authorities are in charge of managing and administrating the schools with the help of the society. However, at the same time, the Department for Children, Schools and Families supervise the educational standards and determine the critical areas for the design agenda such as cost, dimensions, the layout and the future organisation of the new schools. (Dudek, 2007, p.16) I find reasonable the fact that the government has the control of the main hinges of the educational system, as most of the schools are still built with a part of the citizens' contributions. One of the states initiatives nowadays in fact is 'Building Schools for the Future'; the plan is to restore or rebuild all the secondary schools in the UK in 10-15 years time. This has been made possible thanks to a combined scheme of privatisation and state funds. The schools that have to be redesigned or reconstructed are let by a constructive company that fulfils their duties and becomes in charge of all the maintenance costs for the following 25 years. In this way the constructive companies are encouraged to use durable materials and innovative technologies so that they do not have to replace them over the years. However there is still the doubt as to whether leaving the final judgement to the market laws can produce a good design. (Dudek, 2007, p. 17) The so-called 'Charter Schools' instead are another interesting type of schools in England and Wales since they are state schools, partially independent; these schools are usually found by educators, local communities or private organisations that operate under state charters. In these charters there are some compulsory and fixed conditions that the schools need to follow; these rules allow the state to keep its role as supervisor and guarantor of the young citizens' rights. Both the systems of the secondary and the charter schools allow an important autonomy that contributes to the development and growth of an up-to-date education. A better education comports 20

the need of a substantial involvement of architecture. For this reason in some European countries, like Italy, where changes are almost impossible due to the static educational system, there is a huge lack of innovative and fresh school architecture. Furthermore, disciplines such as architecture and design may satisfy and encourage students as well as the newest pedagogy strategy. To conclude I regard the attempt of the last 11 years of the UK government reforming the educational landscape to be an admirable example for other European countries.

2.6 Curricula: Tradition or Innovation, Passive or Active Learning?

In school architecture the link between architecture and pedagogy is essential to create functional spaces. In fact, each space should enhance the curriculum adopted by the school and be suitable for the teaching methods and activities.

This is just one of the reasons why it is extremely important for an architect/designer to deeply research the field in analysis and, above all, listen to what the users and the existing background have to say before they start planning. Sometimes it does happen that the users' needs are not included in the brief of the client. Because of this we need a tight and effective collaboration among architects, artists, pedagogues, staff, students and the whole community. (see Fig. 13)

Fig. 13 Collaboration among architects, school staff and local community.

The necessity for architecture to work tightly with the curriculum made me read up on some of the traditional and innovative pedagogical methodologies adopted nowadays by schools. 21

I heard about boarding schools when I first came to England. Through my readings I realised that boarding schools have their roots in the old monasteries that for hundreds of years have been educating children in the whole of Europe. Boarding schools are based on principles of discipline and reliability as they are completely responsible for students during their stay and they often have a religious tradition. Often these institutions are seen as columns of their modern society since they adopt traditional teaching methods that do not evolve with the changes of the society. I consider the rigidity and rigour of these semi-private schools all over Europe as one of the main breaks towards a brighter education. The teaching methods of these schools are often defined as examples of passive learning. With passive learning we describe all the teaching methods that see the student as a passive recipient of information. This approach is based on the platonic principle that sets the teacher as the only possible source of knowledge. Active learning instead is a term that comprehends all different teaching methods in which the student is responsible for his/her learning process. The concept of active learning was particularly fashionable in the 80s and it was, therefore, included in the 90s in the report 'Association for the Study of Higher Education' (ASHE) written by Bonwell and Eison. This report talks about the various ways of learning in an active way; among them group work, role playing, debates, key studies, producing small pieces of writing, learning trough teaching and rubrics. (Bonwell C. and Eison J. , 1991, http://www.ntlf.com/html/lib/bib/91-9dig.htm)

This dichotomy dictates the curriculum. Depending on which approach the school thinks best for pupils, we may have schools similar to the radical SummerHill or Room 137 schools. Therefore an architect may deal with a more exciting and active curriculum where there is the need of multifunctional spaces instead of rectangular and static classrooms and so on. As a matter of fact, if active learning involves a variety of activities during the school hours, the traditional box-shaped classroom will not fulfil the requirements anymore; this configuration is ideal when the teacher
7

SummerHill was founded in 1921 in Suffolk and it claims itself as a free school where the students do not have a rigid

timetable, they are free to play in 12 acres of garden and all lessons are optional. Room 13 instead was born as a summer course for children in a primary school in Scotland. Its main objective is to develop the artistic abilities since the young age using an approach based on mutual respect, creative equality and open communication. Room 13 is still one of the most famous and successful educational experiments recognised in all the country.

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gives instructions to all the pupils at once. (see Fig. 14)

Fig. 14 Box-shaped classrooms.

A school that tries to challenge its students with an active approach needs multifunctional spaces where students may gather for meetings, study quietly or come together with the rest of the pupils for the introduction or the conclusion of the lesson.

For these reasons new schools have started to use open spaces that can be shaped by the students and be transformed with movable partition walls, furniture on wheels and so on. I have tried to summarise and connect some of the main subjects that an architect/designer has to tackle during the planning stage of an educational space: curricula, teaching methods, active or passive learning and open spaces or closed classrooms.

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3. The Future

The final aim of this dissertation is not just simply to give some planning models to reproduce in future schools; instead this thesis is meant to generate a social, innovative and valuable approach towards a better education for the future. This approach consists of a complexity of themes that new young professionals are likely to think of during the design process. Some of them are: the schools as a community building open 24/7, the planning stage as an active tool to shape a conscientious next generation and exploration as one of basic principles to change the current idea of schools. After have explored these topics, I find important to focus on the figure and role of the architect or designer in the imminent society and the urgent need of radical approaches in school architecture.

3.1 School: a Building that Serves the Community 24/7

Our society is nowadays exposed to 24/7 rhythms and therefore it would be sensible that schools would be open day and night to students and the entire community. Activities such as a family advice bureau, evening classes for adults, community reunions or extra curriculum activities for students could be all held in the evenings in the local school buildings. In this way the school would become an important structure for the community and could therefore benefit from more participation from the members as well. Making school buildings accessible during extra hours means having a high level of security or a spread configuration of the campus with isolated buildings. The Building Bulletin 95 refers to this layout as a 'campus plan'. (Young E., Randall J., Hart D., 2002, pp.54-55) This type of plan has pros and cons: on the one hand it makes the evening and night access easier, but on the other hand the movements among the buildings during the day are mainly external. An example of this layout is the Feather River Academy in California, by Architecture for Education (A4E) architects. (see fig. 15)

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Fig. 15 Feather River Academy 'campus plan' layout.

Being a school for young adults that have had compromising justice problems, the security was a focal point during the planning stage. The academy is formed by several pavilions linked together forming a village based on the principle 'Learning in Action8'. (DesignShare.com, 2008) The construction has seen a significant participation of the community; the results are visible since the 'dynamic folding roofs' recall the shape of the local mountains and the Pacific Bird Flyway. (see Fig. 16) (Feather River Academy-Introduction, www.designshare.com/index.php/projects/featherriver-academy ) Thanks to its layout the Feather River Academy is an all-day facility that guarantees a free access to all the therapeutic activities that take place in its well-balanced internal and external spaces.

Fig. 16 Feather River Academy welcome entry that shows the 'dynamic folding roofs'.
8

See Active Learning in chapter 2.6

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The Chafford Hundred Campus comprehensive school in Essex is another school that follows the trend of providing a 24/7 facility to the community. There are breakfast clubs in the cyber caf at which pupils can get in a bit of early practice on their computers over their bacon and eggs, and adult education classes lasting late into the evening. You can have your wedding reception here. (Garner, 2002, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/the-247school-welcome-to-the-future-606964.html) says Alison Banks, head teacher of the secondary school. 'It can be hired out for conferences, residents' meetings, community events, you name it.' (see Fig. 17 and 18)

Fig. 17 and 18 Students at Chafford Hundred Campus.

The technological equipment and the innovative teaching methods have impressed Toshiba so much that he partially contributed to the total expenses of the construction. The example of Chafford Hundred Campus makes us think that often the concept of 24/7 is tightly connected to the will to serve the community. Therefore it is essential that during the planning stage the suggestions of the community are scrupulously taken into consideration. In this way the real needs of the users can be satisfied and the area can be enhanced. As a matter of fact, both private and state schools are encompassed in a community and have the duty to be part of it. The presence of a good school is also seen by the young members as a sign of respect and hope in them and therefore can boost and redevelop whole areas. This is one of the thousand reasons why we should invest more in education. In the UK, as in other European countries such as Italy, education is compulsory for children from five or six years old and they start going to day-care. Unfortunately day-care centres are usually quite expensive and only the well-to-do families can afford them. Families with a medium income generally rely on relatives or neighbours to reconcile work with their family commitments. In these cases children realise the difficult reality in which a family with just one salary cannot survive. A recent programme called 'Sure Start' has until now proved that even with small budgets it is 26

possible to make big changes. Sure Start, in fact, is not financed by the Government Funding for Schools and offers services of day-care, an advice bureau and medical advice in degraded areas. It has been claimed that 3,500 centres will be open by 2010 to allow all the citizens to have a close local centre. (The Building Centre, 2007, exhibition catalogue p. 10) One of the best centres that I had the opportunity to visit is the Sure Start Aylesbury Plus of Southwark in London. The facility offers 50 full day-care spaces for children up to five years old, workshops and groups for adults. The centre sides with the sustainability of our environment and it uses natural ventilation, photovoltaic panels, recyclable materials and has an internal ecology garden in the middle of the structure. (see Fig. 19 and 20) (The Building Centre, 2007, exhibition catalogue p. 40)

Fig. 19 and 20 Sure Start Aylesbury Plus: entry and plan.

The hope for a community-based education starts with the Sure Start programme and continues in several other primary and secondary schools in the whole of the UK and overseas. William Atkinson is a teacher who has contributed to strengthening the communication between the community and school environment in many schools in the UK, starting with the Phoenix High School in London. He considerably raised the levels of education in the schools of degraded areas where he worked. His secret was getting in personal contact with the community of the school and involving them in curricular activities and scholastic projects. Another two valuable overseas examples are the Bronx School of Arts in New York and the Bank Street College in Manhattan. The South Bronx School of Arts has been planned by Weisz & Yoes Studio and was completed in 2004. The school sits in the middle of the Bronx neighbourhood and it is the example that 27

architecture can re-evaluate a degraded area. The redevelopment has contributed to giving hope and life to the local community. (Dudek, 2007, pp.158-159) (see Fig. 21 and 22)

Fig. 21 and 22 South Bronx School of Arts.

The Bank Street College is famous for the contribution to education in general over the years; despite the fact that it started as a simple school of researchers, after only two years a new kindergarten was established to put in practice the initial theoretic experience. After that, a families' support centre and a non-profit centre for children's education has been founded. The Bank Street College has obtained the recognition of a university and is still an active and unique centre full of teachers, psychologists and researchers determined to work with the local community to change the educational landscape. (About Bank Street, http://www.bnkst.edu/aboutbsc) These and many other schools have understood that being close to the local community is as important as teaching pupils since it means taking care of the children's relatives. A positive school environment is one where children feel safe but at the same time, in contact with real life; problems such as environmental, sexual and eating issues have to be presented and discussed with pupils during school hours in order to shape conscious future citizens. Recently I have visited an exhibition that has seen as main protagonists the children of the Diana kindergarten of Reggio Emilia in Italy. 'The mysterious glance of children on the city' showed some pictures of details or glimpses that children considered important to portray their city. The exhibition demonstrates that children do feel part of the community and, thanks to the forefront teaching methods of Reggio Emilia, they do feel free to go around the city and take significant shots of their experiences. (see Fig. 23 and 24)

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Fig. 23 and 24 'The mysterious glance of children on the city' exhibition: bill board and some images of children taking pictures in Reggio Emilia.

3.2 Architecture and Design Make Pupils more Conscious about Social Problems
The following chapter is based on the principle that students of all ages absorb the messages of school buildings. These messages may be more or less hidden within the buildings and they can be transmitted with two modalities: they may come from the building itself or from clever expedients that an architect/designer may take. In the first case the materials, technologies, special initiatives adopted can contribute to an improvement of the efficiency and pleasantness of the school. In the second case an architect/designer may be hired to ameliorate the conditions of an existing school; the out coming interventions are usually the result of a research process and can be really effective for students. Both the modalities generate messages that are overall perceived by students as proof of care and importance towards them. As it has already been stated, students have to be acquainted with the current social problems. After accurate research it has been deemed that architecture and design have a crucial role in this regard. Many studies demonstrate that students are sensitive to the surrounding space and external stimuli. Therefore it can be claimed that, not only the curriculum, but also well considered planning may contribute to environmental, eating and sexual education of students. Mark Dudek in Children's

29

Spaces writes; 'The contemporary school building should become a lesson in its own right, communicating with its users, rich in texture and symbolism, a microcosm of the traditional city'. (Dudek, 2005, p.172)

3.2.1 Environmental Education

I have already mentioned how recycling can be encouraged with recycling spots inside schools. However there are other ways in which we could make students more aware of widespread ecological problems and of small everyday gestures that we could use to stop or prevent a crisis of our ecosystem. Allowing more autonomy to students is always good politics whereas it does not violate the security principles.

In 2000 Mark Dudek reports the case of Crookham Junior School in Hampshire, restored by Edward Cullinan Architects in 1995. It is interesting to note that the ventilation system was manually adjusted by students and, therefore, children strongly interacted and became responsible for their building. This example was then repeated over the years. As a matter of fact, in the project about the school for the future designed by Alsop, the heating and cooling system are deliberately underlined at the centre of the atrium in order to leave the possibility to staff and students to control and adjust them to their personal discretion.

In both these projects the architect has an active role, since it he is who drives, through his planning choices, the students to undertake some decisions and therefore grow up.

In other cases the approach of the architect may be less active but it is still perceived by the pupils in a positive way; the use of photovoltaic panels, grey and rainwater recycling systems, natural ventilation and lighting systems, high performance thermal insulation systems and so on make students face the importance of natural resources.

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3.2.2 Alimentary Education

In the last decades some industrialised countries have also faced serious problems of malnutrition. This phenomenon has its roots in a society that is getting more frenetic and in which there is increasingly less time to consume a hot meal sitting at a table. To answer the exigencies of quicker and cheaper meals there are many multinationals that invest in publicity campaigns based on advanced psychological researches on consumers. All this has nowadays come into schools. Young people are seen by the multinationals as adults that one day will loyally buy their products. Therefore brands such as Mc Donalds, Burger King, PepsiCo and so on subsidise a high percentage of the British and American schools in exchange for publicity and selling their goods in the scholastic canteens. Today the majority of the new generation do not know any more where their food comes from or how to follow a well-balanced diet. Once this knowledge was handed on by parents and grandparents; now the publicity campaign has more influence on the eating choices of the young than anything or anyone else. As the competition The School that I'd Like testified in 2001, there are still some young people looking for just some fresh natural still water available to drink between one lesson and the other or some healthy meals. (Burke, 2005, in Dudek, pp. 250-251)

Our role, as architects and designers, is to listen to the students and try to help them return to healthier eating habits. (see Fig. 25)

Fig. 25 Children cleaning vegetables at school (nido comunale Arcobaleno in Reggio Emilia).

One of the possibilities that may accomplish this objective is providing more intimate, quiet and cosy eating spaces. As a matter of fact, chaotic and overcrowded rooms create the same degrading

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conditions in which most of the adults nowadays regularly eat. Also dedicating a portion of the school garden to cultivate fruit and vegetables is a simple way to engage children and teenagers with nature, increase their knowledge about food and make them taste more natural products. (see Fig. 26 and 27)

Fig. 26 and 27 The edible school yard of Martin Luther King Junior Middle School in California.

Even using nature and food to decorate the school environment is a way to distract students from the overexciting publicity campaigns of the multinationals and to pursue a salutary lifestyle.

3.2.3 Sexual Education

In the past there were many single-sex schools. Nowadays few of them are left and our children attend mixed schools where, since they are young, they learn how to relate to the other sex. We often hear about cultural integration but we do not want to integrate our daughters with our sons.

It also happens sometimes that architects and designers do not take in consideration how shapes and colours can predetermine a predominant use of the space from one of the two genders. In schools, for example, the outdoor playground area is mainly occupied by boys as sportive activities such as football or rugby require quite a wide space. Through a good analysis of the existing context the planning team should be able to solve and improve the dynamics between children, designing, for instance, intimate spots for girls close to the boy area to encourage integration.

Even putting extra care in designing toilettes can help to achieve a better relation between genders.

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The separation between female and male toilettes have to be present but may be not total. Many are the possible solutions to soften the boundaries: holes in the party walls, illusions, translucent materials and patterns, communication tunnels and so on. This could be helpful also to prevent that service spaces such as toilets or stairs become no-spaces where phenomena of bullyism may happen. (see Fig. 28 and 29)

Fig 28 and 29 Design for children's toilets and service stairs (Ballifield School and St. Marylebone School).

With the help of primary research, it is also possible to predict whether niches, cavities, shadows or trees will be the favourite magic place of girls or boys. (see Fig. 30)

Fig. 30 Girls hiding under a table.

These are some of the preliminary studies that will enrich the school of the future creating an essential communication between genders for the adult of tomorrow.

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3.3 Exploration: an Essential Architectural and Learning Principle

The exploration is a recurrent theme in my readings and in my studies. Bruce Jilk writes in the conclusion of his report entitled 'Freedom and Creativity': 'There is something that learning is not; because of its nature, is not; it is not the display of a packaged product. Learning is a inner process that is manifested as a continual discovery.' (Jilk, 2002, http://www.designshare.com/index.php/articles/list-only, p.78) A school is, by definition, a place where students learn. One of the main motive during the learning process is the boundless curiosity of young people; for this reason Bruce Jilk talks about a 'continual discovery'. (ibid) A student at school should be immersed in an endless exploration of knowledge but also of spaces. (see Fig. 31)

Fig. 31 Children exploring their learning environment (Kindergarten in Berlin-Kreuzberg).

During the planning stage an architect has to recreate a spacial landscape that encourages the principle of exploration since it challenges the capabilities of students and therefore make them gain awareness of their own resources. Learning is a particularly strong and intuitive impulse in the youngest children since they do not have a complete perception of the reality yet and are strongly attracted by external stimuli. It is easy, therefore, to understand why the presence of an exploratory landscape is vital in day-care centres. In the childcare Centre of Souest in Netherlands, Mark Dudek notes that children preferred playing outside but, whenever was not possible, they were playing in the internal space as they were 34

in the garden. Their exploration comprehended stairs, tables, shelves and everything that could have implied a discovery or an adventure. (Dudek, 2005, p. xvi) From this episode, the importance of exploration can be deduced. As a matter of facts, while a child explores, he becomes confident of his ventures and, at the same time, he has the feeling of escaping from the adult supervision. Sometimes the supervision of the teacher can be partial but, when the child accidentally falls, the relation between something licit and prohibited or adventure and danger is restored. A welldesigned playground area is, therefore, a space where there is a sufficient level of security but, at the same time, the child has the means to gain confidence and self-esteem. When children grow up exploration becomes a less physical but still important experience. Some of the new schools of the initiative 'Building Schools for the Future' have a catching and technological look. (see Fig. 32 and 33)

Fig. 32 and 33 Interiors of Brunel Academy (BSF) and Satit Kindergarten Bilingual School in Thailand.

The 'digital landscape' is, for instance, a source of continual exploration for the young people since it is a boundless tool of information and stimuli. Even keeping the human and social dimension of spaces such as cafeteria, library or other recreating areas is important to make the students feel not intimidated in exploring the potentials of socialising with their peers. An explorative landscape, therefore, refers to every planning solutions where a student may discover and evolve his capabilities.

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3.4 The Role of Architects as Translators of our Evolving Society

Until now I have often mentioned the figure of an architect or designer specifying how they could lead a new approach to school planning; nevertheless a reflection about the role of designers and architects in the educational system is essential.

In general an architect is someone that absorbs all the stimuli of the surrounding society and translate them into spaces. Therefore, it is all about translation rather than creating something from scratch. (Laris, 2005, in Dudek, pp. 16-17)

Before this thesis I thought that giving more decisional power to users and communities was one of the potential solutions to improve the educational landscape. Now I know that can be possible just with the mediation of an architect and his analytical and empirical observation. Usually, in fact, the client's brief includes just a portion of the real users' needs and the deployment of several primary research methodologies is vital for a complete understanding of the real project potentials/requirements and, therefore, the final realisation of a successful building.

One of the undervalued problems in planning children's or teenagers' spaces is the difference of age between users and planners. Adults often forget the excitement of getting access of an area that was before prohibited or being able to reach the books on the shelves at school when they were little. In the introduction of the book 'Design Standards for Children's Environment' the author and architect Linda Cain Ruth declares that, just after the birth of her daughter, she rediscovered the importance of child-scaled furniture. (see Fig. 34 and 35)

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Fig. 34 and 35 Child-scaled classroom landscape.

Even the architect and designer of playground equipment, Michael Laris, writes 'Through them [his children] I have been able to enter the child's world, and design things for play that I otherwise could not have.' (ibid, p. 15) This means that children and teenagers are the key for good school design and architecture; we just need someone to listen to them.

3.5 The Urgency of a more Social and Extreme Planning Approach

Having stated the importance of a coherent and in depth research, I reckon it is essential to reform the strategies of the planning approach in the educational sector. As it has already been pointed out in the first chapter, educational spaces has been secondly considered important for the education of children. Many of the schools9 built in the 20th century have referred to modernist principles since they were innovative at the time. As a result now we have obsolete buildings with wide glass walls, problems of insulation and, therefore, high costs for heating and cooling systems. Even the famous modernist constant of flexibility has in the course of time blocked the evolution of the educational system due to its unadaptable spacial grid. The model of a squared classroom has contributed as well to brake the evolution of the current educational landscape.

Some of the most famous schools are Hunstanton School, Tulse Hill Comprehensive School, Osterburken Secondary School and Auf dem Schafersfeld. (Dudek, 2007, pp. 14-15)

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While conducting my research I was particularly fascinated by the Bruce Jilk's theories. He sees 'the school as public space' and he makes the comparison between the 2000 years old Pantheon and his ideal school structure. (Jilk, 2005, in Dudek, p.35) Even if the Pantheon has lots of empty space inside and around, it still is the venue of many activities in Rome. (see Fig. 36)

Fig. 36 The Pantheon in Rome (1748).

Jilk describes empty and incomplete spaces in which students determine and create their own spaces with movable furniture and walls, projectors and so on. (see Fig. 37)

Fig. 37 Flexibility in Bruce Jilk's strategy.

Ken Worpole seems to supports Jilk's point of view when he says 'It is the people who use the space who create it just as much as do those who design it; indeed arguably more so.' (Worpole, 2000, 38

p.74). Where the modernist principle 'Form follows Function' failed, giving just provisional answers, Bruce Jilk proposes 'incomplete' spaces in which just a variety of several sizes and intervals between public and private spaces are pre established. Furthermore, as I previously alluded, the school is a public resource and therefore there are not any barriers between the students' spaces and the public's ones: the school is immersed in the community. The incompleteness of Jilk's theory may be a successful example of one of the radical possible approaches for school design and architecture in the future.

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Conclusion
This thesis has tempted to draw the evolution of the role of architecture and design in education. In the section dedicated to the past I have started describing when school buildings gained importance in educational reforms, I have gone through the figures of architects as educators and I have ended with the 'The School I'd Like' competition when students were finally asked for consultation about their own learning space. In the second section I tried to give an overview on the most relevant topics about school architecture. Some of them were: discipline as constant in school and society, the relationship between students and nature, the fascination of technology with students, the ideal educational systems and curriculum. I have concluded in the section about the future with the exploration of some of the trends that may contribute to a more innovative planning approach for schools in the future. Some of these trends are the school as a 24/7 community based building, architecture and design to sensitise young people about social problems and the exploration as necessary constant in all successful schools. The final reflection on the role of architects and designers crowned this research addressing young people towards a profound profession based on choices for a better education and society. To conclude I have cited a strategy that, even if partially utopian, takes the side of an education formed by architecturally undetermined spaces where students can choose where and how to learn. After completing the final draft, I feel more competent on school architecture than when I started it. Therefore, I am pretty confident that this thesis will help me to shape my professional career as well as identifying the design fields where I hope to work in the future. During the journey I have acquired a stronger research methodology and developed important skills, such as time management and analytical thinking. I have also been honoured to get to know some members of the international Reggio Children centre, in contact with 13 countries worldwide. At the moment I am considering choosing a school in London as a site for my final major project and have, therefore, the opportunity to practically challenge myself in planning the schools for the future generations.

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Appendix 1
I report two questions that I posted on the social community of professionals Linkedin about school architecture. Here are the relative answers:

Q:Do you think the Sure Start or Building Schools for the Future programmes in the UK works? (Posted on 9/28/08 8:23 AM)
Since I've been living in the UK just for 2 years I was wondering if anyone has an opinion on these two governmental programmes. Are the recent investments on the educational system really effective? A:a personal view ... I think there are 2 issues - one is whether a huge provision of modern up to date purpose designed buildings improves the education of our children, and the second is whether the vehicles you mention are appropriate, and up to the task. On the first, I have been told that every child taken into care can cost up to 200k / annum, so to invest say 1-2m in a SureStart nursery to ensure every child passing through has a good start in life could be seen to be a good investment. Unfortunately I am not convinced that even the best institutional childcare can compensate for poor parenting. Regarding new school buildings they YES in principle we need to renew a national building type that is out of date, and unfit for purpose. On the second point, whilst Surestart has produced some excellent buildings (along with some less so!) the BSF programme seems designed to produce poor value for money for the users and taxpayers. From a designer viewpoint most of the large projects now proceeding are NOT up to scratch - they will not perform well either environmentally or functionally. There is the odd good design in the pipeline - but that is not enough. Basically BSF is a result of the government's obsession with allowing big business to rip them off. And the end result will be that many of the buildings will need to be adapted, upgraded or rebuilt to suit changing needs sooner rather than later!

Q:School Design? What about the children needs? Are we enough expert to design their space? (Posted on 9/04/08 7:35 PM)
What about school design? Has someone had already experience in this field? I'm working at the moment on it and I'm finding particularly difficult to get time to research the real needs of the users (not just the client's ones:) Thanks for sharing your ideas... A:Take a look at the ECERS(Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale). It is a program/resource developed to help study the many facets of an academic environment for the young. Hope this may help you. A:I would recommend some library time and some internet searching. In fact I am quite sure you will be overwhelmed on this topic. To provide better answers, can you narrow the focus of your questions? What age are the children, how many students, teachers, urban or rural, student to teacher ratio, curricula, activities, location... help us help you. A:Hi Giulia, I would recommend that you have a look at the Nightingale Associates Website,at 41

Nightingales we aim to transform the lives of children by designing education environments that inspire them to be creative, interact and succeed. As a practice we believe that we can make a difference - not just through practical design solutions, but also by understanding the functional requirements within educational environments. We focus on providing building design that is not only fit-for-purpose, but also adds value to the user experience. www.nightingaleassociates.com A:Are you familiar with LEED for Schools? Even if not, do not neglect the basic green design principles. Daylighting and best indoor air quality bring great benefits like lower absenteeism and better test scores. There are numerous studies available on-line on this subject. Color is another neglected or abused element as it is not only aesthetics but creates an emotional response. Email me if you need more info. Good luck! A:I did my graduate thesis on educational design, and have some experience doing elementary and high school interiors. There is a ton of great peer-reviewed research in this area. Check the Journal of Interior Design, Environment and Behaviour, the Journal of Environmental Psychology, and the Journal of Architectural education, for starters. I think it is also very important to do contextual inquiry, where you observe and interview the users themselves. A:Try calling Bank Street College in Manhattan. Bank Street is a teacher's college with innovative programs. There is even a program for architects and others called "Studies for Education" A:One reputable study that you will find is often quoted is "...the study completed 1999 and reconfirmed in 2003 by the Herschong Mahone Group, which found that there is a statistically compelling connection between daylighting and student performance. Students with the most daylighting in their classrooms scored 20 percent higher on maths tests and 26 percent higher on reading tests in one year than students in the classrooms with the least amount of daylighting. These effects were observed with 99 percent statistical certainty." From http://www.djc.com/news/co/11193240.html A:It's a great place to start to go green. Teach our young minds that there are solutions and have pride in knowing that they can and are doing something about it! As I recall school chairs were very uncomfortable. I think what is missing is a pleasant environment. Schools have a tendency to be stark and institutional. A school just went up by me downtown Los Angeles and they painted it fluorescent puke green, yellow and blue. It looks really horrible and blinds you. They need to hire someone who can put appropriate colours together for learning and use softer and more welcoming tones.

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Appendix 2
Here is the article that summarised the findings of the 'School I'd like' competition in 2001.

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Appendix 3
Time Line of School Architecture

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Bibliography
Books Burke C. (2005) 'The edible landscape of school', in Dudek, Children's Spaces. Oxford. Architectural Press, Elsevier, Chapter 12 pp. 245-275. Cain L.R. (2000) Design Standards for Children's Environments. New York. Mc Graw-Hill. Chiles P. (2005) 'The classroom as an evolving landscape', in Dudek, Children's Spaces. Oxford. Architectural Press, Elsevier, Chapter 6 pp.101-113. Dudek M. (2000) Architecture of Schools. Oxford. Architectural Press, Elsevier. Dudek M. (2005) Children's Spaces. Oxford. Architectural Press, Elsevier. Dudek M. (2007) Schools and Kindergartens. A design manual. Berlin. Birkhuser. Jilk B. (2005) 'Place making and change in learning environments', in Dudek, Children's Spaces. Oxford. Architectural Press, Elsevier, Chapter 3 pp.30-43. Koralek B. and Mitchell M. (2005) 'The School we'd like: young people's participation in architecture', in Dudek, Children's Spaces. Oxford. Architectural Press, Elsevier, Chapter 7 pp. 114-153. Laris M. (2005) 'Designing for play', in Dudek, Children's Spaces. Oxford. Architectural Press, Elsevier, Chapter 2 pp. 14-29. Mann, H. (1840) Lecture on Education. Boston. Architectural Press, Education Press. Montessori M. (1936) The Secret of Childhood. London. Longmans, Green & Co. Nicholson E. (2005) 'The school building as third teacher', in Dudek, Children's Spaces. Oxford. Architectural Press, Elsevier, Chapter 4 pp. 44-65. Penn H. (2005) 'Spaces without children', in Dudek, Children's Spaces. Oxford. Architectural Press, Elsevier, Chapter 9 pp.178-180.

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Worpole, K. (2000). Here Comes The Sun: Architecture and public space in twentieth-century European culture. London. Reaktion Books. Journals and Magazines Young E., Randall J., Hart D. (2002) School for the Future - Design for Learning Communities Building Bulletin 95. London. TSO publisher. Electronic sources Birkett D. (2001) 'The School we'd like'. The Guardian. Tuesday 5 June. [online] Available at http:// www.guardian.co.uk/education/2001/jun/05/schools.uk7 (Accessed 01.10.08) Bonwell C. and Eison J. (1991) Active Learning: Creating Excitement in the Classroom. NTLF. Available at http://www.ntlf.com/html/lib/bib/91-9dig.htm (Accessed 15.09.08) Feather River Academy - Introduction, http://www.designshare.com/index.php/projects/featherriver-academy (Accessed 29.09.08) Garner R. (2002) The 24/7 school: Welcome to the future. The Independent. Tuesday 29 August. [online] Available at http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/the-247-schoolwelcome-to-the-future-606964.html (Accessed 28.09.08) Gillard, D. 'The Plowden Report', the encyclopaedia of www.infed.org/schooling/plowden_report.htm. (Accessed on 21.08.08) informal education,

Jilk B. (2002) Freedom and Creativity - A story of Learning, Democracy, and the Design of Schools, http://www.designshare.com/index.php/articles/list-only (Accessed on 15.08.08) Hinckle P. (1991) A School Must Rest On The Idea That All Children Are Different . Newsweek. 2 December. [online] Available at http://www.newsweek.com/id/123875 (Accessed 17.07.08) Internet information About Bank Street, http://www.bnkst.edu/aboutbsc (Accessed on 15.09.08) Sheffield pupil blazes a trail on the fast track, http://www.teachers.gov.uk/management/resourcesfinanceandbuilding/SchoolsCapCaseStudies/Fun dingStudies/yewlands_school_technology_college/ (Accessed 28.10.08) 48

Exhibitions London's Learning exhibition, catalogue available at http://www.buildingcentre.co.uk/downloads/londons_learning.pdf. The Building Centre. (Visited on 11.07) The mysterious glance of children on the city exhibition, presentation available at http://zerosei.comune.re.it/inter/aperto/index.htm (Visited on 29.06.08)

Background Bibliography
Books Annesley B, Horne M., Cottam H. (2002) Learning Building. London. School Works. Architect Design Partnership (2007) Education and Contextualism - Architect Design Partnership. London. Black dog publishing Limited. Asensio P. (2001) Kindergarten Architecture. Corte Madera. Ginko Press Inc. Bruner J., Gardner H., Moss P., Balaguer I., Masullo A. and Mantovani S. (2006) Crossing Boundaries: Ideas and experiences in dialogue for a new culture. Italy. Edizioni Junior. Cavoukian R and Olfman S. (2006) Child Honouring How to Turn This World Around. Westport. Praeger Publishers. Ceppi G. and Zini M. (2001) Children, Spaces, Relations: Metaproject for an Environment for Young Children. Cavriago. Reggio Children s.r.l. Dudek M. (2000) Kindergarten Architecture Space for the Imagination. London. Spon Press. Edwards C., Gandini L., Forman G. (eds) (1966) The Hundred Languages of Children; The Reggio Emilia Approach To Childhood Education. New Jersey. Ablex Publishing Company. Gruenewald D.A. (2003) The Best of Both Worlds: a Critical Pedagogy of Place. Volume 32, number 4. Educational Researcher.

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Kliment S. (2001) Elementary and Secondary Schools. Bradford Perkins. Moretto L. (2004) L'architettura della formazione educational architecture. Venezia. Marsilio Editori s.p.a. Sasso U. (2003) Forma e Formazione. Firenze. Alinea Editrice. Serie of authors (2004) Kids Spaces - Architecture for Children. Australia. The Images Publishing Group Pty Ltd. Scott K. (1978) Who shall decide?The case for community participation in progress for children and families. Los Angeles. School of Architecture and Urban Planning. Stevenson C. (2001) 'Curriculum that is challenging, integrative and exploratory' in this we believe and now we must act. Ohio. National School Association. Walden and Rotraut (2008) School for the Future. Design Proposal From Architectural Psychology. Ontario. Hogrefe & Huber. Zaffagnini M.(2006) Quaderni del Manuale di Progettazione Edilizia - Edilizia Scolastica. Milano. Hoepli. Journals and Magazines Kelly J. (2008) School building. Issue 23, August/September. Electronic sources Vaughan R. (2008) 3.5bn primary schools programme outlined. The Architects' Journal. 12 November. [online] Available at http://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/dailynews/2008/11/major_primary_schools_rebuild_progr amme_outlined.html;jsessionid=7027F50C2D53F0F2E0FF1D5FD68E39FB? tmcsTrackingInfo=$EMhcG_wRa_lSMdjewg_a-o3ZE_toAyXo0PLDiZTdFhpytFvUWz2NVRdVU2U09K08OeGSZvdtZt$ Internet information http://www.architecture4e.com/ (Accessed 15.08.08) http://www.architecture-page.com/it/projects/robbins-elementary-school/ (Accessed 21.08.08) http://ballifield.sheffield.digitalbrain.com/sheffield/schools/ballifield/web/index2.htm (Accessed 50

18.08.08) http://www.classroomforthefuture.co.uk/ (Accessed 10.09.08) http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/index.htm (Accessed 10.09.08) http://www.dsdha.co.uk/index.php?mode=home (Accessed 04.07.08) http://www.lambethclc.org.uk/ (Accessed 03.08.08) http://www.school-works.org/exemplarDesigns.asp (Accessed 01.08.08) http://www.southwark-aylesburyplus.surestart.org/index.php (Accessed 13.08.08) http://www.surestart.gov.uk/aboutsurestart/ (Accessed 12.07.08) http://www.swarch.co.uk/ (Accessed 07.08.08) http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/educationoverview/ (Accessed 30.05.08) http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/management/resourcesfinanceandbuilding/bsf/ (Accessed 02.09.08) http://www.thecampus.org.uk/index.php?catid=1&subcat=1 (Accessed 24.07.08) Films, videos, dvds A Vision of Students Today. 2007. Produced by Michael Wesch and the students of Introduction to Cultural Anthropology Class of Spring 2007. Digital Ethnography at Kansas University. Available at http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=dGCJ46vyR9o&feature=rec-fresh

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 Could school architecture be an interesting example of the relationship between architect and community? Can an architect be connected to its community? How? Could an architect and its community produce the same standard of work? Who is an architect/designer? Can I improve the sexual or environmental awareness of children through architecture?

Summer Hill: radical school 24 hours curriculum? boarding schools? parents and adults involved in school maximum use of the building

SCHOOLS? COMMUNITY? USERS? ARCHITECT? EDUCATION? PUBLIC SECTOR?

Sorrell J. and Sorrell F. (2005) Joined up design for schools Ford A. (2007) Designing the Sustainable School Dudek M. (2000) Architecture of Schools: the New Learning Environment Dudek M. (2005) Childrens Spaces Day C. (2007) Environment and Children Dudek M. (2000) Kindergarten Architecture

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April
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Chat on my dissertation with Patrick (tutor) Look at Edward Cullinan architect School at Millenium Village Architects review on school design 1990s

Could school architecture be an interesting example of the relationship between an architect and his community? How can I drive some important issues such as environmental value, sexual awareness, computing and technology, health? 24 hours opening->place where you are welcome and you feel at home schools build up the new generation

It would be interesting to give an overview of both the Italian and the British school architecture. This is because I have already a background of the Italian education and Im going to Italy in summer time.

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This catalogue is from an exhibition that I visited before starting the dissertation. It is really helpful for the case studies.

May
Divide the dissertation in past, present and future since Im focused on the school architecture of the future.

Diana day-care centre. Reggio Emilia case in Italy. Famous internationally for its unique and successful pedagogical approach. Im planning to go to visit it when Ill be in Italy.

I would like to make my dissertation more practical choosing 3 key studies and insert them at the end of every chapter.

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During my Internship at Studio Paparella in Rovigo, Italy I have had access to architectural magazines where I have found articles about the latest schools that have been built in Italy.

Ive visited the exhibition The mysterious glance of children on the city. Children between 2 and 10 years old tell, through their own photos, the identity of some places in the city of Reggio Emilia.

Im reading about the history of school architecture. Im trying to focus on the 20th century.

June

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Potential Key studies for the Past Chapter: Hunstanton School, Nortfolk designed by Alison and Peter Smithson (1953): important forerunner but it hasnt resisted in the years. example of modernism. Tulse Hill Comprehensive School designed by London County Council Architects Department (1956): negative example. Osterburken Secondary School in Germany, designed by Bassenge, Puhan-Schultz and Schreck (1967): bad example of comprehensive school. it is made of concrete.

I published some of my researches on my blog. Available at http://www.giuliacitelli.com/projects/?m=200807

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Im investigating on the Italian and British educational systems.

How can a school help a community?

Curriculum: ORACLE study (1975-1980), Galton (1980), Blatchford (1999), McPake (1999), Plowden Report.

July
Visit to Diana scuola materna, Reggio Emilia, Italy. Potential Key studies: Address: Viale Allegri Antonio 9, 42100, Reggio Emilia, Italy. Tel: 0039 0522 437308 Day-care Centre in Souest, Netherlands designed by Architect: Great experience. Indoor and outdoor spaces are perfectly balanced in the building thanks importance of the exploration! to glass walls and small yards. The glass wall allow also a naturally lit environment.

I went to visit my kindergarten in my village. :) Happy memories. San Giovanni del Dosso, Mantova, Italy.

Im researching on curricula: active or passive learning? What do they mean? Bruner (1961), Bonwell and Eison (1991), Mayer (2004), Kirschner, Sweller and Clark (2006).

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Im researching on food education here in the UK and how the topic is dealt with in schools. The edible landscape of school in Mark Dudeks book.

Even an architecturally modest building can generate a superb and harmonious interior architecture if its architect has understood and translated into building the needs of the users.

Potential Key studies: Bubbletecture M, Kindergarten, Maihara-cho, Shinga, 2001. Architect: Shumei Endo. Scuola dellInfanzia e Asilo Nido, Cantalamessa, Bologna, Italy. Architect: Stefano Magagni, Architects Dept.

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August
Visit to the Reggio Children centre in Reggio Emilia, Italy. The centre has a quite wide library on pedagogy. I found few interesting books on the relationship between pedagogy and architecture: Ceppi G. and Zini M. (2001) Children, Spaces, Relations: Metaproject for an Environment for Young Children. Cavriago. Reggio Children s.r.l. Bruner J., Gardner H., Moss P., Balaguer I., Masullo A. and Mantovani S. (2006) Crossing Boundaries: Ideas and experiences in dialogue for a new culture. Italy. Edizioni Junior.

Topics that Im investigating: The classroom as microcosm of the world. Special educational needs. New ICT Learning Strategies. Landscape as a way to shape the school of the future. Society is always more individual.

Visit to the British Library: Series of authors (2004) Kids Spaces - Architecture for Children. Australia. The Images Publishing Group Pty Ltd. Scott K. (1978) Who shall decide?The case for community participation in progress for children and families. Los Angeles. School of Architecture and Urban Planning. Cain L.R. (2000) Design Standards for Childrens Environments. New York. Mc Graw-Hill. Annesley B, Horne M., Cottam H. (2002) Learning Building. London. School Works. Dudek M. (2000) Kindergarten Architecture Space for the Imagination. London. Spon Press. Cavoukian R and Olfman S. (2006) Child Honouring How to Turn This World Around. Westport. Praeger Publishers.

There are many guidelines to plan a school since for many years the materials available for school design were difficult to find. PRIMARY RESEARCH KEY STUDIES

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How can an architect/designer contribute to make the lunch time a moment where pupils interact and socialise among each other? How can he suggests students to eat healthily through the space? Visit to the RIBA library: Kelly J. (2008) School building. Issue 23, August/September. Young E., Randall J., Hart D. (2002) School for the Future - Design for Learning Communities Building Bulletin 95. London. TSO publisher. Architect Design Partnership (2007) Education and Contextualism - Architect Design Partnership. London. Black dog publishing Limited. Moretto L. (2004) Larchitettura della formazione educational architecture. Venezia. Marsilio Editori s.p.a.

Im trying to get the view from the professional perspective and I have posted a question on Linkedin (online social community of professionals). Do you think the Sure Start or Building Schools for the Future programmes in the UK works?

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September

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Im trying to get the view from the professional perspective and I have posted a question on Linkedin (online social community of professionals). School Design? What about the children needs? Are we enough expert to design their space?

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In this last month I will spend my time revising the dissertation. I want to give more examples throughout the dissertation to make my statement clearer. I will dedicate some time collecting pictures.

October
I need to include also my negative comments on Bruce Jilks approach (last chapter). The introduction and conclusion need to be revised.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

I need to collect all the web site that I inserted in my Google bookmarks. I need to collect the books and articles that I got from Italy.

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Rewriting of Introduction and Conclusion.

Im adding the page numbers to the table of contents and the list of illustrations.

The dissertation is sent to be printed. Im formatting the all text.

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November and December

The dissertation is bound. Im revising the last draft.

Im writing the personal conclusion of the dissertation. What did I get from it?

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DRAFTS