Scottish Executive – Schools Estate BranchBUILDING EXCELLENCE

Royal College of Surgeons’ Hall - Edinburgh

29 March 2007

ENABLING PLACEMAKINGThe role of design in supporting

Community Learning

John WorthingtonFounder DEGW

Graham Willis Professor University of SheffieldProfessorial Fellow the University of Melbourne

www.degw.com

Bristol - Glasgow - London - Madrid - Melbourne - Milan - New York - Paris - Sydney

Buildings can be both a liability and an asset

• Space may be:– Expensive– Poorly utilised– Costly to maintain– Slow to procure and dispose of

• However, space can be:– Focus for communicating identity– Key education resource– Stimulant to individuals and the

community– Valuable source of return

Charles Renee Mackintosh, Scotland Street School, Glasgow

Architects design spaces, people make them places

Managing Continuous Change

“Enjoyable Cities are the result of DESIGNING MEANINGFUL SPACEwithin which people are stimulated to interact to make MEMORABLE PLACES”

Bristol - Glasgow - London - Madrid - Melbourne - Milan - New York - Paris - Sydney

Bristol - Glasgow - London - Madrid - Melbourne - Milan - New York - Paris - Sydney

The School is a Microcosm of the City

DEGW: Farnborough College, Interiors 1986

Bristol - Glasgow - London - Madrid - Melbourne - Milan - New York - Paris - Sydney

Your building can support:

• Efficiency– Achieving more with less– Driving down costs and using

space more intensely

• Effectiveness– Improving learning outcomes

• Expression– Transmitting knowledge and

community values

Will Alsop, Fawood Children Centre, Brent London

Bristol - Glasgow - London - Madrid - Melbourne - Milan - New York - Paris - Sydney

New building creates a framework to support creative teaching

Play Connection Non Programmed Learning

Storytelling Experiment Reflect

Hellerup School, Denmark

Bristol - Glasgow - London - Madrid - Melbourne - Milan - New York - Paris - Sydney

Inviting Forms Herman Hertzberger, Apollo School, Amsterdam 1980-83

Bristol - Glasgow - London - Madrid - Melbourne - Milan - New York - Paris - Sydney

Continuous dynamic process – briefing, designing, using, learning

Building Project ProcessMerging Two InterestsLearning and Building

Introduction to:• Forms of learning• Pedagogic models• Different intelligences

STUDY TRIP:• Inspiration• Exchange experiences• Shared/common references

TOOLS:• The Sketch• “Goblen” Visualising settings• Space diagrams• Virtual models• Cardboard models

“Translating the learning process and pedagogic principles with building blocks is a metamorphosis for both the project and the participant”

Hellerup School, Denmark

Bristol - Glasgow - London - Madrid - Melbourne - Milan - New York - Paris - Sydney

Match pedagogical aspirations to building opportunities

Kazumi Kudo, High School, Fukuoka, Japan

Bristol - Glasgow - London - Madrid - Melbourne - Milan - New York - Paris - Sydney

Three themes for thought:

1. Managing paradox• Accepting conflicting demands

2. Intensification• Using existing resources more

effectively

3. Upside down thinking• Questioning perceived wisdom,

rethinking the paradigm

Bristol - Glasgow - London - Madrid - Melbourne - Milan - New York - Paris - Sydney

Success is the outcome of continuous commitment and attention

DEGW: Big Arts Week: Working with Schools