Program Highlight Details

Model City Workshop Series, Trust for Architectural Easements The Trust for Architectural Easements, a nonprofit historic preservation organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., has been working with public schools in the nation’s capital to teach youngsters about architecture and urban design. As the country’s largest historic preservation easement-holding organization, the Trust works to preserve the nation’s historic architecture; and one of the best ways to accomplish this is by teaching children to appreciate, value, and ultimately preserve their architectural heritage.

During the fall and spring of 2008, the Trust’s director of education, Laura Thornton, visited classes of children ranging from the first through the sixth grades at three different schools. Over the course of six weeks, each class designed and built its own imaginary city out of cardboard boxes, construction paper, and other found objects, as well as learned architecture basics and vocabulary.

The children enjoyed the project, giving their cities unique names such as Pizza Land and Disco City. As they assembled their box “buildings” on large pieces of cardboard mapped out to serve as city land, they were encouraged to think like urban planners, considering which buildings should be located together, which ones should be separated, and how to best design a “downtown” area. The concept of “walkable urbanism” was enthusiastically discussed, and students planned for bicycles, pedestrians and city buses.

At the end of the project, each class had produced a large model of an imaginary city to display to classmates, teachers, families, and friends. And, in a few decades, some of these kids may be planning real-life urban centers in a city near you!

To learn more about the Trust for Architectural Easements, historic preservation easements, or the Trust’s educational programs, please visit the Trust’s website or email Laura Thornton.

_____________________________________________________________ KidsBuild! - Boston Society of Architects As part of the 1992 AIA Convention held in Boston, the Youth Visions committee of the Boston Society of Architects (BSA), which aims to educate children about the built environment, decided to provide an event that participants with children could attend. Thus the birth of KidsBuild!

In 1992, the BSA partnered with the Museum of Science and held the KidsBuild! event at the Museum of Science again in 1996, 2000, 2002 and 2004. Over the course of these years, the program evolved from a one day event to a three day event and was attended by almost 3,000 children each year. The BSA was approached by The Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston (ICA) about forming a partnership to host KidsBuild! as part of their “Play Dates” series with the opening of their new building at Fan Pier. This new partnership began in 2007 with a one day event.

The 2009 event took place on May 29th and 30th. The first day was open to school groups and community groups, and was a huge success and attendance exceeded BSA’s expectations. The children had fun, were amazingly creative and the teachers were thrilled with the event. One principal wrote to the ICA after the event to say that their school had no art program and that most of the students had probably never seen the inside of a museum. Comments like this are the most rewarding for Andrea Kerr, Project Architect at TRO|Jung Brannen, and who has been active with the Youth Visions Committee at the BSA and with KidsBuild! since 1994.

So what is KidsBuild!? Through a series of four steps, the children are given the opportunity to build a kid-sized building out of boxes and really cool materials. The four steps are as follows;

1. Obtain a building permit. The children are asked to consider building one of the four building types; commercial, public, industrial and residential. They select a specific building type (malls and sports stadiums were rather popular this year), and they select a site for their building within "ICA city" (I see a city!). BSA color coordinates the city by zones for the different types of buildings. Once they select their site, participants are issued a building permit with a site number. The building permit has height limitations and students are restricted to build within their site plot only. One site per family, or on school group day, one site to a group of 4-5 students, is issued. This ensures the need for teamwork and collaboration.

2. Survey the site. Students and families then take their permit and meet with a city guide to survey their site, which helps in understanding the context of where they are building. This also allows the groups to take measurements and gives them the opportunity to sketch out what they want to build on a sketch portion of their permit book.

3. Construct the building. The groups are then ushered to the building materials area where they are given the opportunity to select from thousands of materials that are donated from local architecture firms’ sample libraries. Everything from paint chips, plastic laminate, ceramic tiles and Astroturf is available for participants to use in creating their buildings.

4. Obtain a Certificate of Occupancy. Once the buildings are complete, participants are given the opportunity to take a photograph of their model so they will have a memory of what they built. They then place their building on their site and get an inspection by an inspector. At this time, the dialogue that participants engage in really becomes the driving force, and participants are asked to touch upon their permit restrictions, general architectural principals etc. This step of the process really gives the children an opportunity to express themselves through their creativity. Once the inspection is complete, the inspector signs the building permit and participants proceed to the Building Department and get a Certificate of Occupancy Seal on their permit book.

The event is really fun and engaging on many levels, both for participants (children and parents) and volunteers that run the event. The majority of materials are donated. The interaction with the children every step of the way is a chance for the children to learn and think about architecture and the built environment. Having the event at the ICA, which is housed in a fantastic building, really makes for an amazing backdrop and experience for the children in and of itself.

The event is typically held every two years. The biggest challenge the planning committee faces, particularly this year, is getting donations from companies. Approximately 20 people make up the committee to pull the event together, meeting monthly over the course of a year to plan the event. About 100 architects from all over Boston volunteer over the course of the event, help with everything from set-up to acting as building inspectors.

The Youth Visions Committee feels a lot of pride in the program, and they know that the program is having a definite impact on the participants. KidsBuild! opens the door to the world of art and architecture for many Boston area families, and the BSA hopes to keep providing the opportunity for many years to come.

To learn more about BSA, be sure to visit them on the web. ____________________________________________________________ www.NEXT.cc, an Eco Web - 100+ Journeys and 1000+ Resources

www. NEXT.cc considers design the 21st connection between art and science necessary for innovation and environmental stewardship. The eco web explores what design is, what it does, and why it is important, through nine connected scales of activities- nano, pattern, object, space, architecture, neighborhood, urban, regional, world. K-12 students, teachers, and families develop environmental advocacy writing, speaking, drawing, and modeling while exploring global museums, institutions, and contemporary practices.

www. NEXT.cc's journeys and resources introduce vocabulary, activities, and self-assessment tools, and move from the computer, into the room, onto the street, and into the neighborhood to observe, explore, evaluate, connect and intervene with the built and natural environment. Participants develop awareness of design vocabulary, understanding of design issues, and express individuality while building a gallery of environmentally active work. Students learn about themselves, their friends, and their community through the world of ideas.

Partnered with the Earth Day Network and US Green Charter Schools, www. NEXT.cc is a collaboration with schoolteachers, students of design, architects, artists, scientists, and environmentalists, and supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Graham Foundation, the American Architectural Foundation, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

To learn more about www.NEXT.cc, be sure to visit them online. ____________________________________________________________ Design Plus Education

Dr. Anne Taylor, founder of the Institute for Environmental Education and Professor at the University of New Mexico School of Architecture and Planning, and architect George Vlastos are co-creators of the “Architecture and Children” curriculum, which has been influential in Japan, Europe, and Mexico. The Institute and the UNM School of Architecture and Planning have led a children’s design studio, as well as a Career Discovery summer program for high students, as part of their summer school programs. In 2009, UNM will launch an “Architecture and Children” online course that will be led by Dr. Taylor and Atsuko Sakai from Design Plus LLC. Design Plus is an architectural design firm whose primary focus is in the design of educational facilities. The firm started “Design Plus Education” to encourage students and adults to understand, embrace, and celebrate their built and natural environments. Design Plus integrates its professional skills and knowledge to create challenging, hands-on educational design experiences.

The concept of K-12 architecture design education in New Mexico has developed over the years, based upon the belief that children can, and should, contribute to the design of their own environments to create a sense of ownership and participation. Architecture design education is an innovative, interdisciplinary learning tool for young people. Many creative aspects of the design process are utilized to teach a variety of subject matter and this integration can make learning both challenging and fun - particularly in an applied studio format. The following are some examples of the programming offered by the UNM School of Architecture and Planning and Design Plus Education:

Summer Design Studio at the Albuquerque Academy – The Academy offers an extensive 6-week program of over 185 courses during the summer, and Design Plus Education started the Design Studio courses in 2005. The course provides two 3-week afternoon design camps. New courses were added in 2008, including a sample course and an interior design course. Different themes and projects are introduced each year so that repeat students can advance their learning further. Although students are divided into different studios by their curriculum, and based on the students’ age and previous experiences, they share many small projects and their learning environment together. At the end of each session, all students present their work to their parents and observers from the architecture and construction community.

Curriculum Examples include:

Design Critters  - Design Critters is an introductory design studio for students entering grades 1-4. The curriculum, which is based around the “Architecture and Children” curriculum, gives children a fun insight into the built environment around them. Throughout the courses, students learn complex architectural design concepts using their five senses as much as possible in order to understand the technical concepts in a built context.

Citizen Designer - This course is an advanced design studio for students entering grades 5-9 who have previously taken the introductory studio or similar courses. It is a project-based studio designed to study issues related to events important to students’ lives and their environment through design. By combining social, civic, and scientific observations into the design process and solution, students further engage the macro and micro levels of their environment. Students are encouraged to use their interests and strengths, both individually and as part of a team, to stretch their minds in creative and challenging ways.

Theatre Designers - Theater Design In & Out - In the first session of this course, students will design a theater. They will then explore structure, acoustics, lighting, and interior design through many mini-exercises, including drawing and model making, to help them understand architectural design concepts and technical skills. In the second session, using the theater they designed in Session 1, students will chose a story, and then design a stage set and costumes. For more information about Design Plus Education, visit them on the web at http://designplusabq.com/index.htm.