Child Architect
Several weeks ago, we were asked at the start of class if we thought that architecture theory was relevant in the workplace today. While a lot of us agreed that it was important to learn about and understand, many of us felt as though it was harder to find firms who truly take the time to continue to study and implement architecture theory.
As we all approach our upcoming job searches, it is important to not get hung up on some of the more negative and discouraging topics in class, but to have hope for the future and that we can find firms who are trying to make a change.
Yesterday I had an interview with a firm that I am really excited about. There were three different times throughout the interview that an idea or discussion came up about topics that we have recently been covering in class. I was able to speak to these topics in an educated way and show my value to the firm by contributing to their ideas for change.
One of the main discussions was about getting the community involved in design. They already do a fairly good job with getting teachers, parents, students, and the community involved in school design projects, but they admitted that there was still room for improvement. With our culture changing drastically, and the access to technology that kids have today, who are we as architects to think that we know exactly how learning environments for children should be designed today? All we have is our past experiences from school, in a very different time.
I think that we owe it to ourselves (and to them) to give the students, parents, teachers, and communities around our buildings, the chance to speak up and potentially come up with innovative solutions to design. What better way to build up a new generations of brilliant architects than to let them have a part in the design of the environment that they will learn and grow in!
Whoever said kids aren't designers?
Love it! I've worked for two firms who actively engage with their "end user" in order to bring relevant design to the table and I think this is super important. At least to me, it has shown me that those projects have been more successful than the ones where the community or the end user wasn't fully involved. I think it is a valuable practice for our profession and especially with kids! One of the firms I worked for did K-12 and higher ed and OMG the ideas that the kids brought to the table were fantastic! They not only felt part of their school but when it was built they had pride in it. I cannot agree more with you.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a very important aspect that is overlooked way too often when we design buildings or outdoor spaces for the occupants who are going to be using it. The involvement of the community is hardly ever used to generate ideas on the design and involving the community is a key component for any design in order to give them a space that is going to meet all of their needs.
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