Over the last century, dramatic advances have been made in the fields of human development and pedagogical thinking. Yet, the school building stands stagnant. Either school designers from over a century ago were incredibly forward-thinking, or weve got some serious catching up to do.
Recognizing Mechanisms and Limits: An analysis of the traditional school based on educational design literature
Material and Human Scale Interior Scale Organizational Scale Urban Relationship Scale
Playground
School Building
Playground
Buffer
Materiality: Prescribed classroom materials with uniform performance: durable, washable, antisceptic, long-lasting, child-resistant Ergonomics: Adult furniture scaled down to a childs size. Differences in a childs movement and behavior are not addressed or accounted for.
The spine plan The courtyard with classroom clustering plan
The Public School Ideas Circus Danfoss Universe Museums, Galleries, Exploratoria Informal Learning Unschooling
The Argument
Assuming that the schools goal is to prepare its students to enter the workforce, it has historically been quite successful. Its efficacy has lessened its need for change.
B+
Manufacturing
Service
While there has been an increase in the number of jobs that require skilled labor, educational attainment has increased disproportionately in the US, resulting in an oversaturation of the skilled job market.
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80
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Hierarchical
Uniformity
Metric Assessment
Service
The traditional school was successful because of its hierarchical nature, and its focus on uniformity and metric assessment, which are reinforced by its architecture. The job market, historically based in agriculture and manufacturing, valued these skills.
The job market has changed drastically in the last half century. Manufacturing jobs, which used to account for a third of US jobs, have dropped to around ten percent. This is attributed to increased automation and offshoring.
60
22.4% Unemployed
High school degree or more
50
40
30
20
1950
1960
1970 Year
1980
1990
2000
10
Year
1980
1990
2000
Source: The US Census Bureau, Current Population Survey and 1950 Census of the Population New York Times, Outlook is Bleak Even for Recent College Graduates, 2011
The high tech industry has also had an impact. Not only has it played a larger role in the job market with its fast growth, but the evolution of the field itself is the fastest of any the world has seen. Our world is evolving at an unprecedented speed. There is a growing need to adapt, create, and innovate in order to keep up with or stay ahead of the curve. Uniformity and narrow definitions of success are obsolete in this new job market; creativity and innovation have taken their place.
Source: The US Science and Technology Workforce, Report for Congress, 6/30/2009
Source: USA Today, U.S. manufacturing jobs fading away fast, 2002
Non-School Precedents
Informality: The Loose fit Material and Human Informality: Rogue Interventions Conceptual Antithesis Programmatic Antithesis (Typologies)
Over the last 50 years, the job market has changed entirely. The traditional school model continues to teach towards the job market that existed then. Students today graduate, unprepared and unable to enter the new job market. Educational architecture has sat stagnant and blind to these changes. Assuming that the schools goal is to prepare its students to enter the workforce, it must respond to and evolve with the emerging job market. With todays technology and corporate educational programs, is it so far-fetched that the unchanged school could become obsolete?
School Precedents
Lebbeus Woods System Wein Andy Goldsworthy Fall Leaves Olafur Eliasson Your Blind Passenger Playground
Interior
Adventure Playgrounds
Museum
Organization
Mall
City as School
Experiment #1: Conceptual Antithesis Experiment #2: The Loose Fit Experiment #3: The Rogue Intervention