Schools and new learning spaces in Milan. An educational experience

The article reflects on recent models for pedagogy and their impact on educational space, from an architectural design point of view. It starts by framing the present-day situation of the existing schools in Milan, built under legal requirements from the 1970s, resulting today in a great number of obsolete educational facilities.Recent programs and educational policies, both at national and local levels, are presented to frame the new programme “Inventing Schools,” a collaborative partnership between the Municipality and the Politecnico di Milano. The goal is to explore and apply these pedagogical models to the design of new educational facilities in Milan, thereby intended to replace or refurbish the (now) problematic old schools.Dealing with second year students of the Bachelor Programme in Architecture, the primary school at Via Massaua was selected for their project. The student design proposals are approached by exploring the link between the school and the public space, the school and the neighbourhood, and the school and the street. The students considered different pedagogical models translated into spaces, confronting them with theoretical models and reference case studies, ultimately contributing to the discussion surrounding the school of the future.The project experiences explore the possible forms and organisation of spaces, so that the school becomes a centre open to the inhabitants of the district, and a space for learning about society and the city. This requires a clear articulation between safety solutions designed to protect the very young pupils, while providing coherent and autonomous access to adults and other users from the community, so as to share the cultural and sporting facilities of the school. This avoids double investments from the municipality and, of paramount importance, strengthens the sense of sharing and belonging to a social community.Cet article réfléchit sur les modèles récents en pédagogie et sur leur impact et connections avec les espaces d’apprentissage d’un point de vue du projet architectural. Une première partie est consacrée à l’encadrement de la situation actuelle des écoles à Milan, pour la plupart issues des règlements datant jusqu’aux années 1970, ce qui en fait, dans un nombre important de cas, des établissements obsolètes.Des programmes et des politiques de formation récents, nationaux comme locaux, sont présentés afin d’encadrer le programme « Inventing Schools », un partenariat entre la Municipalité de Milan et l’École d’Architecture du Politecnico de Milano, ayant l’intention d’explorer et de mettre en pratique les nouveaux modèles de pédagogie dans les projets pour les nouveaux établissements qui remplaceront ou rénoveront une partie des écoles existantes.Les cas qui ont été objet d’étude et de projet peuvent être reconduits à de différentes conditions urbaines en permettant d’explorer : le lien entre l’école et l’espace public, le lien entre l’école et le quartier, le lien entre l’école et la rue.Les étudiants ont pris en compte des différents modèles de pédagogie traduits en espaces et ils ont confrontés avec des modèles théoriques et avec des études de cas de référence. Les expériences conduites explorent les formes et l’organisation possibles des espaces afin que l’école devient un centre ouvert aux les habitants du quartier, un espace d’apprentissage sur la société et sur la ville. Cela demande une relation claire et bien définie entre les questions de sécurité des élèves et le problème d’un accès indépendant pour les adultes et les autres membres de la communauté locale qui devraient partager les services culturels et sportifs de l’école afin d’éviter un double investissement de la part du budget de la ville, mais surtout afin de renforcer la sensation de partage et d’appartenance à la communauté locale

From the “soft media” to the concept: legacy of Le Corbusier and his collaborators based on Jerzy Sołtan’s designs and teaching

The relevance of “soft media” – such as charcoal, soft crayons, and clay – is essential in order to reach the very essence of architecture, at least according to Le Corbusier. Along with artistic and visual research, using such techniques contributed to the poetics, meaning, and definition of his work. This article analyses the work and teaching of Polish modernist architect Jerzy Sołtan through the prism of Le Corbusier’s heritage and legacy and it examines how the use of specific tools and techniques could influence development of a design concept. Based on archival data and oral histories interviews, it explains the connection between Le Corbusier, his collaborators, and their own students, looking for the continuity of design approach in the first stages

Finding Sołtan - heritages and legacies of modernist architecture

The research aims to rebuild connections between modernist architecture and contemporary architectural thinking and practice. It seeks to position modern architecture, through an evaluation of the work of Polish modernist architect Jerzy Sołtan (1913-2005), as material and immaterial heritage, in order to restate its meaning and possible ongoing relevance to architectural theory and practice. Through a cross-disciplinary case study of the design, teaching, and theory of Sołtan, the thesis questions the accepted canonical vision of modern architecture from several perspectives, asking what is Sołtan’s legacy. Firstly, reviewing the historiography of modern architecture, it brings attention to the often neglected discourse of Central and East European countries, whilst specifically analysing Sołtan’s design activity in Poland. Secondly, analysing Sołtan’s lifelong teaching and theoretical work, it reinstates, through his beliefs, the importance of ideals and values instead of forms and materials into the discourse on modern architecture. As a result, the thesis aims to answer the broader question on how the modern architecture legacy can be redefined and assessed as heritage, through the case study of Sołtan’s work. It offers an alternative reading of modern architecture historiography, which calls for a reinstatement of the modern ethos, which was so misunderstood and thus criticised by latecentury postmodern critics and architects. Following Sołtan’s reading, modern architecture and its heritage, while connected to the past, are projected towards the future and potentially still bear answers to important issues. Sołtan’s work for, and close relationship with, Le Corbusier and his direct involvement and relevance in CIAM (Congrès International d’Architecture Moderne) and Team 10 show his relevance in core places of the discussion on modern architecture throughout the second half of the twentieth century. As a result, through Jerzy Sołtan’s presence, the thesis includes new insight to the dynamics of late CIAM and Team 10, as well as their influence in Poland and in the United States. The study of Sołtan’s work starts with his texts and ideas, which lay down the basis for the analysis of his teaching and designs. The emerging theoretical framework is centred on the ideals of beauty and poetics, in collaboration with other arts and with science, and on a social-political vision of architecture as a contribution to the society and to the future of human civilisation. This enables us to fully understand the meaning of his professional and academic activity. The former, though limited due to the importance of his lifelong teaching work, stands as an interesting demonstration of Sołtan’s theoretical position through design work. Different design teams and projects were able to engage with a number of typologies including exhibition and interior design, religious architecture, school design, private residences, and others. In addition, the relevance and the importance of his teaching in both Poland at the Fine Arts Academy in Warsaw and the United States at Harvard Graduate School of Design enable us, through a gathering of oral histories, to understand Sołtan’s ideas, reading, and vision of architecture and modernism. His teaching – recognised in 2002 with the Topaz Medallion for Architectural Education awarded by the American Institute of Architects and the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture – stands as an important contribution to education of new generations of architects in the spirit of modernism. The thesis develops an original methodological synthesis of information gathered from a range of different records: researching unpublished archival documents, private archive materials including diaries, and through the taking of oral histories, both unofficial and untold, from Jerzy Sołtan’s former colleagues, students, and co-workers. It combines these documents with material studies of the architecture and drawings produced. Through this approach, the research illustrates the importance of modernist architecture as a ‘living heritage’, tightly connected to the problems of the present-day world, recognising similar issues, and with the potential of proposing relevant solutions to contemporary issues. It reads modern architecture as a resource, necessary for the development of present-day practice, and needing recognition as a legacy to be protected

Dai “soft media” al concept: eredità di Le Corbusier e suoi collaboratori nei progetti e insegnamenti di Jerzy Sołtan

The relevance of “soft media” – such as charcoal, soft crayons, and clay – is essential in order to reach the very essence of architecture, at least according to Le Corbusier. Along with artistic and visual research, using such techniques contributed to the poetics, meaning, and definition of his work. This article analyses the work and teaching of Polish modernist architect Jerzy Sołtan through the prism of Le Corbusier’s heritage and legacy and it examines how the use of specific tools and techniques could influence development of a design concept. Based on archival data and oral histories interviews, it explains the connection between Le Corbusier, his collaborators, and their own students, looking for the continuity of design approach in the first stages.L’importanza dei “soft media” – come carboncino, lapis morbidi o argilla – è essenziale per raggiungere l’essenza dell’architettura, perlomeno secondo Le Corbusier. Assieme alla ricerca artistica e visiva, l’uso di tali tecniche ha contribuito alla poetica, al significato e alla definizione dei suoi lavori. Quest’articolo analizza progetti e insegnamenti dell’architetto moderno polacco Jerzy Sołtan attraverso il prisma dell’eredità di Le Corbusier e illustra come l’uso di strumenti e tecniche precisi potrebbe influenzare lo sviluppo di un progetto. Basandosi su dati archivistici e su una serie di interviste, si esamina la connessione tra Le Corbusier, i suoi collaboratori e i loro studenti, cercando una continuità nell’approccio al progetto nelle sue prime fasi

Schools and new learning spaces in Milan. An educational experience

The article reflects on recent models for pedagogy and their impact on educational space, from an architectural design point of view. It starts by framing the present-day situation of the existing schools in Milan, built under legal requirements from the 1970s, resulting today in a great number of obsolete educational facilities.Recent programs and educational policies, both at national and local levels, are presented to frame the new programme “Inventing Schools,” a collaborative partnership between the Municipality and the Politecnico di Milano. The goal is to explore and apply these pedagogical models to the design of new educational facilities in Milan, thereby intended to replace or refurbish the (now) problematic old schools.Dealing with second year students of the Bachelor Programme in Architecture, the primary school at Via Massaua was selected for their project. The student design proposals are approached by exploring the link between the school and the public space, the school and the neighbourhood, and the school and the street. The students considered different pedagogical models translated into spaces, confronting them with theoretical models and reference case studies, ultimately contributing to the discussion surrounding the school of the future.The project experiences explore the possible forms and organisation of spaces, so that the school becomes a centre open to the inhabitants of the district, and a space for learning about society and the city. This requires a clear articulation between safety solutions designed to protect the very young pupils, while providing coherent and autonomous access to adults and other users from the community, so as to share the cultural and sporting facilities of the school. This avoids double investments from the municipality and, of paramount importance, strengthens the sense of sharing and belonging to a social community