Creative Places for Collaborative Cities

This paper will focus in the urban territory and its social, cultural and economic dynamics, and in particular in the different manifestations of creativity that can be found here, namely in spaces in which spontaneous and diffuse forms of social innovation and creativity are emerging: Creative Places. It is in this urban context that Creative Places thrive, working as incubators of change, sustainable behaviours, bottom-up creativity and a subculture of collaboration. In this framework, Creative Places shape a Collaborative City, which in turn fosters the appearance of Creative Places. The assumption of design as a strategic instrument to operate in complex systems involving complex networks of actors and able to decode, combine and make sense of multidisciplinar knowledge; and in so doing, able to decline it into a coherent projectual, flexible and open-ended language in order to promote the diffusion of sustainable social innovations and widen their reach and impact through designing for sustainability and for radical systemic innovation

Learning Environments for Invention Pedagogy

Invention pedagogy requires learning environments that enable the creative activities of inventing and making in schools. Such environments include physical, virtual, and epistemic-social environments and related pedagogical conditions, which all need to be addressed when designing spaces and places for invention pedagogy. This chapter presents the ongoing co-development process of the Innokas FabLearn Labs, in which a network of technology-oriented and development-oriented teachers co-created a flexible and modifiable concept for designing a multipurposed learning environment. Through the framework of pedagogical infrastructures, the chapter illustrates how the essential underlying pedagogical conditions, i.e., epistemological, scaffolding, social, and material-technological infrastructures, were addressed in the development work to create well-functioning makerspaces in formal education. In addition, future directions for the development of the concept are provided.Peer reviewe

Building sustainable learning environments that are ‘fit for the future’ with reference to Egypt

Perhaps there is no building type that has a more significant impact on our lives than the Kindergarten to high School (K-12). We continue to carry the memories of our early learning environments through the residue of our lives. It is the quality of those learning environments that play a crucial role in enhancing or hampering our learning experience. Learning spaces are complex spaces where the collective skills, knowledge, and practices of a culture are taught, shaped, encouraged, and transmitted. Comfortable/safe and creative learning spaces can inspire and motivate users, while ugly/unsafe spaces can oppress. Based on these two attitudes, the aims of this paper are to; firstly, developing Sustainable learning environments (SLE) in the Middle-East countries with reference to Egypt. Secondly, to reviewing and extending the planning and design of the internal, external and landscaping features of a proposed eco-class to collectively pass to the learners for enhancing the quality of learning space and thus education. After the Egyptian Revolution on the 25th of January, 2011 and the hopes and dreams this brings with it, for a major transformation in all life sectors, the Egyptian government needs to recognise the right of children and young people to learn in an environment which is safe, healthy and achieves the highest quality possible. We must all be committed to improving the quality, attractiveness and health of the learning and communal spaces in our schools. Environmental factors have significant effects on pupil and teacher wellbeing. In contrast, poor school and classroom design can affect concentration, creativity and general well-being; in addition, poor quality lighting, ventilation, acoustics and furniture all have a negative effect on student achievement and health. Nowadays, Egypt endure deterioration of education quality as a result of deficient learning spaces, high number of pupils in class, insufficient governmental expenditure and funding, and lack of proper research in education developmental strategies. Therefore, new learning spaces should be able to increase flexibility in order to support hands-on and outside-class learning activities. Furthermore, they intend to encourage extra-curricula activities beyond conventional learning times. Currently, these integral learning-components are crucial for socio-cultural sustainability and positive initiatives towards minimizing recent educational underachievement. Undoubtedly, comfortable, safe and creative learning spaces can inspire and motivate users, while ugly/unsafe spaces can depress. Therefore, well-designed learning spaces are able to support creative, productive and efficient learning processes on one hand. On the other hand, ecological design measures became increasingly major keystone for modern sustainable learning-spaces. Thus, learning-spaces’ design process, form, components, materials, features, and energy-saving technologies can generate well-educated, environmental-literate, energy-conscious, and innovative future-generations. (Continued

Modular eco-class: an approach towards a sustainable innovative learning environment in Egypt

Today, Egypt suffers from deterioration of education quality as a result of deficient learning spaces, insufficient governmental expenditure and funding, and lack of proper research in education developmental strategies. Additionally, 21st century learning requires innovative spaces that connect school, home, and community. Therefore, new learning spaces should increase flexibility, support hands-on and outside-class learning activities in order to motivate learners. Furthermore, they intend to encourage extra-curricular activities beyond conventional learning times. Undoubtedly, comfortable, safe and creative learning spaces can inspire and motivate users, while ugly/unsafe spaces can depress. Therefore, welldesigned learning spaces are able to support creative, productive and efficient learning processes on one hand. On the other hand, ecological design measures became an increasingly major keystone for modern sustainable learning-spaces. Thus, learning-spaces’ design process, form, components, materials, features, and energy-saving technologies can yield well-educated, environmentally-literate, energy-conscious, and innovative future-generations. This paper represents a preliminary phase of an ongoing research project that aims to create a framework for an Innovative Sustainable Learning Environment (ISLE) in developing countries, the Middle East region, and Egypt in particular. This project aims at encouraging constructive relationships between users, buildings, ecosystems and to improve quality of learning through intelligent and ecologically well designed learning-spaces. The paper proposes the concept of modular Eco-Class as a framework of learning spaces and a stepforward in the direction of ISLE. Moreover, this Eco-Class aims to educate and provide balance between building’s environmental sensitivity, high performance, initial cost, and lifecycle costs without harming the surrounding ecology. The Eco-Class not only intends to promote a positive environmental impact to improve indoor air quality and energy efficiency, it also provides on its own an environment that educates learners and elevates environmentalawareness between future generations. Finally, the study and the ongoing research project of Eco-Class aim to provide validated design-guidelines for sustainable educational buildings, and to achieve the optimum innovative and sustainable learning environment in Egypt for effective and creative future-generation learners, parents, staff, and communities

Elementary Classroom Teachers’ Perceptions of Redesigned Classroom Space: A Qualitative Case Study

Classroom redesign is being recognized globally as necessary to better increase student’s enjoyment levels, engagement, collaboration, and learning. Instead of seeing traditional classrooms in a fixed setting where students are seated in rows facing the front of the room, classrooms are being arranged in multiple ways. As a result of this focus on redesigned learning spaces, there is a need to examine teachers’ perceptions about redesigned classroom spaces and understand the decisions behind their design. Thus, it is important to examine teachers’ perceptions of their classroom space to better understand if they consider their students learning needs, engagement levels, and reactions when designing their classrooms. As a result, there is a call to understand the features (i.e. desks, chairs, plants, technology) teachers perceive to be important in their redesigned classroom spaces. This case study investigated elementary classroom teachers’ perceived conceptualizations and rationalizations of redesigned classroom spaces during the design process, as well as any considerations of students’ potential learning, reactions, and engagement levels when designing classroom spaces. Eight elementary classroom teachers currently teaching in a full-day suburban Mid-Atlantic, U.S. public school comprised the case study in this research. Data were collected in the form of drawings with written responses, individual interviews, and a focus group. Triangulation of data was performed to develop main categories and identify central themes within the case study. Findings contributed to the field of research in elementary teachers’ perspectives of redesigned classroom spaces. The data from the qualitative case study revealed that teachers consider their students’ learning, collaboration, and needs when designing the classroom space. Specifically, conceptualization included students’ physiological needs, equity, and limited multicultural awareness. Classroom designs were perceived to support students learning through flexibility, movement, engagement, and creative spaces. Data collected through this research also supports the idea that teachers use their personal experience with students and their own experiences when constructing their classroom space. Lastly, elementary teachers perceived grouped desks, flexible seating options, and manipulatives as important features in the classroom space. Research findings from this study will inform teachers, administration, policymakers, and school building designers of elementary teachers’ perspectives of a redesigned learning space and their considerations during classroom design

Students’ views on HE learning environments for professional teacher education

There is a national debate about the connection between the physical environment and learning (McGregor, 2004) and the importance of designing the physical space to enhance the quality of learning (DfES, 2004, 2006, 2007; JISC, 2006; SMG 2006). This 2 year research project considers the views of 174 higher education students, who have undertaken professional initial teacher education programmes, on what makes an effective higher education learning environment for professional development and their evaluation of their current experience. Students views on enhancing the physical learning space for professional teacher education is explore

Introduction to architectural design: first term experience of architectural design education

Ponencia presentada a Session 3: Educación y arquitectura en las universidades / Architectural education in the universitie

Regeneration King's Cross: the Central Saint Martin's College of Art relocation project

Central Saint Martin's move to a prestigious new site at King's Cross is part of the most significant redevelopment project in London in the last 150 years. The Library will inhabit a 19th-century grain store, the Granary building, designed by Lewis Cubitt. To date the process of planning the library has included work with base build architects Stanton Williams, the fit out architects Pringle Brandon, library consultants The Design Concept and Embervision, and suppliers Demco