EDUCATION THROUGH ARCHITECTURE. APPLIED TRAINING INSIDE AND OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM

Abstract

Education is always a central theme that cuts across various sectors and areas of knowledge, opening up numerous facets and forms of reflection. The relationship between architecture and education in terms of the design of school spaces and their adaptation to different teaching approaches and pedagogies has been and continues to be a widely debated topic, while the matter of education through architecture has barely begun to be discussed. Numerous initiatives are currently testing methods based on architectural thinking as a strategic tool for the acquisition of competencies and response skills at various levels of education, especially in childhood, through their inclusion in STEAM methodologies, as well as their implementation in educational systems. This article studies the current panorama of this matter by presenting a chronology of relevant cases and analysing three of its own experiences; all this serves to offer a contrasted reflection on how this type of education can influence educational plans for children, both in formal (inside the classroom) and informal (outside the classroom) education, as well as its impact on the better critical education of society in general, and, ultimately, on the improvement of the built environment. The conclusion is that there is a need to promote strategic actions and transversal and participatory experiences through the design of activities and supporting educational materials that involve an architecture designed with and for children, guiding the meaning of these activities and participatory experiences.