FuturArc 2Q 2010 Edition: Education

In looking at Education this issue, we cast the net wide, selecting campuses and schools in Asia that broadly speak of sustainability, from resource conservation to synergy with climate and nature. Does their design reinforce what is then taught in the classroom? In most cases, we cannot be sure (but we hope it does).

The sole union of design and curriculum that we could find is the FuturArc Showcase: Green School, Bali. Its cofounder, John Hardy, and director, Ronald Stones OBE, are also subjects of The FuturArc Interview.

A secondary issue that the Green School raises is that of architecture without architects (it was designed by a sculptor-designer who worked with Hardy in his jewellery business). If this project needed no architect, yet is able to offer us reflections on architecture and sustainability, what then are we teaching in schools of Architecture?

To answer this we invited professors from several universities to tell us how they have (re)fashioned curriculum around sustainability. The Main Feature is a collage of perspectives from some of the top institutions in the region. It is prefaced with a contribution from Robert and Brenda Vale at the University of Wellington, New Zealand, who have been long-time advocates for a rethink of design pedagogy. They ask if we—in training architects—truly understand a fossil-fuel-free future ourselves. Is the tinkering with curriculum, in the name of sustainability, simply old wine in new bottles?

Some of the schools the issue looks at include:

Pine Community School in Australia: Although a small independent primary school, it has been steadily growing over the last few years and had outgrown the facilities of their 1970s weatherboard building. Riddel Architecture was asked to provide a scheme that included a new purpose-built library, office and store, as well as refurbishment of the existing building.

Discovery College Private Independent School in Hong Kong: Located within a seaside residential community in Discovery Bay, the school with its distinctive roof canopy aims to create a “total education environment” that inspires learning and fosters interaction among the students and teaching staff.

School of the Arts (SOTA) in Singapore: The design strategy was to create two visually connected horizontal strata—a space for public communication below, and a space for safe, controlled interaction above. This simple, bold strategy solves in one bold stroke the twin objectives of porosity and communication with the public and wider arts community on the one hand, and a secure and safe learning environment on the other.

For more of what the 2Q 2010 issue offers, visit www.futurarc.com.