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Anna Zabezsinszkij 124944 BA Dissertation Thesis
Anna Zabezsinszkij 124944 BA Dissertation Thesis
..
Anna Zabezsinszkij
ABSTRACT
The aim of this Bachelor Thesis is to find a Design Approach for
Architects and Design Professionals which emphasizes the
academic, physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of the whole
child in an Educational Environment.
Children Development
Child-Centred Philosophies
Consensus Design
Spiritual Design
Ecological Design
Cradle to Cradle
Waldorf/Steiner Education
Feng Shui
Modularity
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to deeply thank for the greatest consultants I could have for
the final thesis work: Heidi Merrild and Dr Antal Lszl.
I also would like to thank for the Rudolf Steiner School and Kindergartens
in Arhus and Vejle for the Interviews, help, support, insight they gave
and the privilege to visit their institutions.
I also would like to thank to my University for their amazing amount of
help, support and for the doors are always open attitude.
Last but not least I would like to thank for the countless comments and
advices have been given by Linked In professionals. It helped me to
understand the objective professional, the subjective parental, the
visionary and scientist perspectives and point of views.
Thank you.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
LIMITATIONS
While seeking a critical framework to evaluate trends in new learning
environments discovered there is little published scientific research study
and experiment have been performed in combination of education,
architecture and interior design literature that interrogates the interior
design of schools connection with children development and the role of
the designer in assisting a school community to identify its needs.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1.0 Introduction ___________________________________________ 1
1.1 What is Healthy Environment for Children? _________________ 2
2.0 Children Development, Educational Environment ______________ 5
2.1 Different thinking, different needs ________________________ 7
2.2 Children Architecture __________________________________ 8
3.0 philosophy or No Philosophy _____________________________ 10
4.0 Children behaviour Studies ______________________________ 11
5.0 Children centred Philosophies ____________________________ 16
5.1 Childhood Journey by Rudolf Steiner _____________________ 16
5.2 Montessori Schools ___________________________________ 18
5.3 Reggio Schools ______________________________________ 20
6.0 Architectural and Design Concepts ________________________ 21
6.1 What Ecological means? Do we need our schools to be and
Children to think ecological? _______________________________ 21
6.2 Concensus Design ___________________________________ 22
6.3 Modularity - in Children space __________________________ 23
6.4 What Cradle to Cradle is? ______________________________ 23
6.5 Modularity of Cradle to Cradle- modularity of chinldren needs _ 24
6.6 Feng Shui and Sutainability ____________________________ 25
Case Studies ____________________________________________ 26
Vejle Steiner School _____________________________________ 26
Aarhus Steiner School ___________________________________ 28
Conclusion ______________________________________________ 30
List of Reference _________________________________________ 31
TABLE OF FIGURES
Figure 1 - Proportional scales ________________________________ 6
Figure 2 - Children spaces in a room. Sufficient and uncluttered space for
active play (5) with an additional cosy (1, 4), intimate space (2, 3)
set aside for individual and quite play (Christopher Day 2007) ___ 7
Figure 3 - Simple rep. of a Bobo doll __________________________ 12
Figure 4 - Faux technique __________________________________ 15
Figure 5 - Christopher Day, Consensus Design p.14 ______________ 22
Figure 6 - Cradle to Cradle concepts of circular economy __________ 23
Figure 7 - Noosa Pengari Steiner School (AU) Performance hall _____ 26
Figure 8 - Chrysalis Waldorf School (AU) _______________________ 26
Figure 9 - Lakota Steiner School (USA) Design Plans _____________ 26
Figure 10 - Vejle Waldorf School and Kindergarten _______________ 26
Figure 11 - Fairy tale ceiling motive, Vejle _____________________ 27
Figure 12 - Round, soft shaped Steiner chair ___________________ 27
Figure 13 -'Hideout' corner, Vejle Kindergarten __________________ 27
Figure 14 -Cooking snug, Vejle Kindergarten ___________________ 27
Figure 15 - Aarhus Steiner School 2009 _______________________ 28
Figure 16 - Aarhus Steiner School site ________________________ 28
Figure 17 - Interior Aarhus Steiner building 09 _________________ 29
Figure 18 - Interior Aarhus Steiner building '09 _________________ 29
Figure 19 - Climbing tree, Aarhus, Steiner School
_____________ 29
1.0 INTRODUCTION
The roots of the thesis leads back to the initial interest of mine in
ecological, green architecture, cradle-to-cradle system and spirituality.
These interests have met with studies and books of Neurobiologists,
Biophilia, Children Psychiatrists, Living Architecture, Feng Shui as well
as with Rudolf Steiners Scientific-Spiritual Philosophy Waldorf,
Montessori and Reggio Emilia Education.
Todays regulations and directives focus on the physical wellbeing of
the child and environmental issues. The question follows, is that enough?
In the chapters below I will investigate researches and studies have
experimented the other factors of Children development than physical.
Has Architecture as a Physical Environment got any responsibility and
duty in mental, emotional, academic, physical and spiritual effects on
Children and Adults?
Some see ecological or spiritual design as a limitation to creation,
but design, environmentalism and philosophy can go together very well.
To achieve that, we must design entirely from an ecological harmony a
circle of life point of view, get inspired by nature and by the complexity
of how human mind and soul is working, how it is re-acting on the
surrounding. That is exactly where Steiners Philosophy and Cradle-tocradle system can engage. By introducing the conscious integration of
circular economy (the basic principle of Cradle to Cradle) in the design
process for an environment which is already preparing children to became
responsible and creative members of the society could bring alive the
Healthy, Economical Education and School Architecture 2.0.
or natural solutions. Many of these demand can only met by using certain
materials and services.
Impact of regulations
According to Sarah Scott the more detailed and exacting the
regulation, the more it seemed to interfere with a natural response to
site and community. In Japan, for instance, only flat area is included in
the play area calculations. This has forced the construction of flat playing
areas, which are not necessarily an improvement on the natural
topography. In many countries, a playroom is required for each age
group. This forces an age regiment on a centre and can put emphasis on
segregation. Using detailed guidelines combined with minimal code
requirements can enable greater flexibility and creativity in design.
CDC
Healthy schools provide plenty of light and fresh air, and use building
materials that do not pose hazards to children.- says in the CDC
directives. The Institution also emphasize the importance of parks and
green spaces as another example of the built environment that
contributes to the health of children. CDC adds: Research increasingly
suggests that children benefit from the opportunity to play outdoors,
where they can explore and enjoy natural environments. (CDC, Central
for Disease Control and Prevention 2012)
EPA
Indoor air quality is a critically important aspect of creating and
maintaining school facilities it is also intended to encourage school
districts to embrace the concept of designing High Performance Schools,
an integrated, "whole building" approach to addressing a myriad of
important and sometimes competing priorities, such as energy
efficiency, indoor air quality, day-lighting, materials efficiency, and
safety, and doing so in the context of tight budgets and limited staff.
(EPA 2012)
WHO defines a health-promoting school is one that constantly
strengthens its capacity as a healthy setting for living, learning and
workinghealthful school environment is one that protects students and
staff against immediate injury or disease and promotes prevention
activities and attitudes against known risk factors that might lead to
future disease or disability. (WHO 2012)
todays children are adults, climate change will have made this central to
every sphere of economic, social, technical life and international
relations.
What does this mean for design? How do built places meet children
needs as well as global environmental needs?
Mark Dudek, researching school architecture, concludes that
aesthetic quality is fundamental in establishing an appreciation of their
environment and raising self-esteem (Mark Dudek 2000).
Cristopher Day answer is a bit firmer. He is partly referring to Anita
Rui Olds work, Steiners lectures of The Foundations of Human
Experience and Maria Nordtsrms work from 1990: Although people
are more important for children, it is places that they tend to remember
better children absorb from values imprinted into buildings and places
are almost irresistible Quality architecture is at the heart of education
for child development means architecture for childrens needs, not for
adult criteria childrens needs may often require unconventional
buildings architecture should be design-reticent, child-development
responsive. Children need buildings designed, not for magazines, but for
children. He also adds inspiring environment an important foundation
for environmental responsibility in later life. (Cristopher Day 2007)
Design by children-perspective?
Children and Adults see the world completely different. And our
buildings are designed by adults. Even those which are used by children.
Paula Lillard distinguishes these approaches: Children use the
environment to improve themselves; adults use themselves to
Architecture can both feed sense-ofself and help build society. Form- and
space-language, harmony, melody,
tempo and rhythm are its means.
(Christopher Day 2007)
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As a result they found that adult's violent behaviour toward the doll
led children to believe that such actions were acceptable, as well as
children may be more inclined to respond to frustration with
aggression in the future
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Children and colours: 0-6 children favour clear, warm colours (reds,
yellows, oranges). Older children prefer blue surrounding calm their
mindless bodily activity, waking-up their thinking concentration, etc.
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Found children had a colour preference scale, from red, yellow, orange
to purple-grey and dark colours.
The Waldorf classroom colours evolve from these warm, reddish tones
in the early grades, through energetic orange/yellow around third
grade,
Into the middle spectrum greens around fourth and fifth grade. It is
here at the half-way-point of childhood that a kind of balance is
achieved just before the onset of puberty. Green is the balanced
colour between light and darkness, and meets this age group in a
harmonious way.
From sixth grade on into the high school, various shades of blue
dominate, and even lavender, lilac, and violet tones are indicated for
the more inwardly active, thoughtful work of the upper school
adolescent.
Craft rooms are often appropriately painted with warm colours, and
spaces for eating are aided by appetite sympathetic golden-orange
colours.
Using transparent colours: The reason for this is that with a lazured
room, one does not experience the boundary of the wall as abruptly
as with the flat painted surface. It is as though one can breathe
beyond the surface of the wall and not feel as contained or bound by
the rooms walls.
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The Higher-self
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1. YEAR 0
Most active period: Year 0-7
Birth of the physical body, the Physical-self
Key words: Imitation and Physical Role-model
In this stage of life children seeking for their physical role model and
senses towards the physical world. They touch and consume the
physical world and by imitating it their physical being/ body develops.
Design 2 cents: Colours, shapes, materials, elements should not be
passively presented with no room for development (ready-made toys,
ready-made design and layout). We must leave the space un-finished to
create opportunity to improvement.
As a very simplified example shows: If the environment has the right
proportion of ratios, colours, light, tools for development of active
imagination children eyes, mind and body adjust to the normal or even
above normal operation on the other hand if they would be kept in a dark,
short distant, unventilated, empty space their eyes, mind and body
function may suffer serious irreversible malfunction.
As Prof Gerald Hther (German Neuroscientist) says: First of all,
we all learn from the experience through our own bodies by
scientific studies its been demonstrate it happens through active
involvement not passive presence Those brain regions where structural
changes brought about by the experience and are activated during the
evaluation process as a basis, the neuroscientists are able to locate very
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well: they are the youngest and most complex region of the brain, the
prefrontal cortex (frontal lobe) can be found.
2. YEAR 7 start with tooting
Most active period: Year 7- 14
Birth of the Idea or Life-self
Key words: Following and Respect, Tales and Inner values
The period when children develop their habits, conscience, character,
memory, temper and they seeking and ready to look for an inner, moral
role model.
Design 2 cents: Use specific symbols, characters, shapes, colours to
give a room for imagination but this time add meaningful, expressive and
illustrative value to it. Not by presenting or pushing abstract concepts
but clear and familiar understandable concepts (connected to the physical
experiences in their first 7 years).
3. YEAR 12(14) start with sexual maturation
Period of 14 onwards
Birth of Emotional-self
The intellect is a spiritual power born at the time of sexual maturationRudolf Steiner
Design 2 cents: We can start to present more abstract forms and
concepts, we can shift to more strong and cool colours (blues, violin).
Regarding the colours Steiner himself recommended differ for
different schools. He emphasized that colouring shouldnt be by dogmatic
formula but should respond to the particular situation: light quality and
direction, geographical and cultural location, as well as childrens ages.
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Ages 12-18 the humanist mind; enquiring about society and the whole
Ages 18-24 the specialist mind; concerned with their role within the
whole
Working at the childs level. As this is generally on the floor, there are
often few chairs and the ground plane becomes quite important.
Valuing art more for its process than for the product. Art can be taken
home or stored away but for the most part it is not displayed, as this
distracts and inhibits further development.
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Consensus Design
Modularity
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tiles that are separable into component materials for carpet to carpet
recycling" (William McDonough and Michael Braungart 2012)
Paralleling this, Children could be invited to participate in such a
disassemble as theyd be able to learn environmentalism through a
concrete experience rather than abstract reasoning. Theyd gain their
own, hands on experience of shaping their environment as well as
recycling.
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CASE STUDIES
Steiner School Design is not a Franchise, where we can choose from
a catalogue or a book and build the same look interior and construction
over and over again. When I visited the two Steiner schools and
investigated many Waldorf centres all over the world (Germany, UK,
Edinburgh, Australia, Netherlands etc.) I found very different
visualizations and solutions to the same philosophical approach. How is
it possible? Steiner schools have many different dynamic principles to
fulfil, very few of them are carved in stone:
Reflect to the spirit of the place and time they have been built
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Indoor: There are plants in all classroom and even a fire place in
the Kindergarten. Most of the classrooms (except the oldest students
classroom) are not square shape. The Kindergarten specifically focuses
on creating hidden areas where children can play more intimate.
Modular Design: In the Kindergarten there is a main focus on make
furniture movable, and the layout of the room flexible. At the moment
they solve it with furniture but there was a huge interest in changing the
layout in a bigger scale (walls). They keep experimenting and changing
the interior layout and position of furniture to keep in interesting.
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Limitations: Even if you follow the building regulation you can still build
wrong. The materials and limitation has to work with the room! For
example we had to lower the room and building heights because of the
regulation of the distance from the site boundary. - Chief Caretaker
Our aim is to awake the consciousness of the Child. Quality materials,
beauty and colours slowly build up a moral in the child, and most
important slowly build up the feeling what quality is, which is so close to
moral quality. If youre surrounded by beauty your inner world is
responding to it - {School Director Clara Ussing}
We dont want to drag children out from the society, but we want strong
children with strong soul prepared to the outside world. So they can go
out and change things! If we show too early the bad side of the world,
and they cannot do anything about it yet, their soul will cry - {School
Director Clara Ussing}
Background Data: Strandvejen 102, rhus. Classes are spreads from preschool
to 12 classes. In addition, the school affiliated with a nursery, kindergarten,
after-school, club and special school. Most recent building was designed by
Schmidt/ Hammer/ Lassen Architects (2009). The building was semimanufactured in Germany and assembled on site in 5 month. The School
includes variety of building from variety of times (Villas from the 1850s, 1950s,
70s, 90s and the most recent one 2009).
Interviewed: Jeppe Flummer (member of the Danish Free School Association)
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Interior: The ten new class rooms (2009) are all different from each
other hence manifold colours, sizes and forms vary. The variety of angles
provides views of the sea, woods and schoolyard through the windows.
The interior design of the building is polygonal thus the classrooms are
pentagonal or hexagonal, creating spaces without square or sharp inward
corners. Instead, the angles are open and embracing in order to provide
a warm atmosphere and a sense of belonging.
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CONCLUSION
If you are not prepared to be wrong you never come up anything
original! - Sir Ken Robinson
Children has a natural ability to go out try themselves, be creative
and make mistakes. Children are not frightened to be wrong. And by the
time they became adults most children lost this ability Children who
enrols to school this year will retire by 2065. No one knows what future
they will have and what exact ecological and environmental challenges
they may face. But we mean to educate and create educational
environment for it.
Todays mainstream education believes in emphasising literacy and
academic knowledge and backing up this ideology with an environment
dominantly reinforcing these skills and abilities. The education system is
based on marking system and punishment of bad grades. Children being
stigmatized by making mistakes. What is the outcome?? People with fear
making mistakes and pushed out from their creative capacity.
BUT creative capacities, dynamic intelligence and engagement with
the natural environment are the main abilities they MUST have in their
tool-kit to face the challenges and problems of humanity and the global
environment.
Designers and Architectures have a HUGE responsibility of
balancing, improving and ameliorate Children physically healthy
environment and they MUST take it to the next level: Give them an
environment where their emotional, mental, spiritual soul becomes
strong enough to face and solve problems creatively when they grow up.
Children imagination and passion is a gift to humanity. We must see
and save the creative capacity in the richness they are and see our
children for the hope that they are and give them a SPACE where their
WHOLE BEING develop and ready to face the Future.
I would like to finish with a quote by Jonas Salk, who said, If all the
insects were to disappear from earth, within 50 years all life on Earth
would end. If all human beings disappeared from earth, within 50 years
all forms of life would flourish.- what is says to me that we must rethink
and reconstruct our mission and function on earth and the way to create
Education Environment to produce responsible, solution-oriented,
ecological thinking, creative, balanced Whole Beings.
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LIST OF REFERENCE
Books, Articles, Theses
Adams, David Organic Functionalism: An Important Principle of the Visual
Arts in Waldorf School Crafts and Architecture
(http://www.waldorfresearchinstitute.org/pdf/BACraftsArchtRev.pdf)
Althouse, Rosemary, Margaret H. and Sharon T. Mitchell (2003) The
Colors of Learning- INTEGRATING THE VISUAL ARTS INTO THE EARLY
CHILDHOOD CURRICULUM (Foreword by Carol Seefeldt)
Anderson, E.N. (1996) Ecologies of the Heart- Emotions, Belief, and the
Environment
Amons, Christie (2005) at The Integrity of the Child conference.
Anthroposophy Worldwide, No. 3. (Lecture by a child psychologist)
Bramble, Cate (2003) Architects guide to Feng Shui
Ceppi, Guilio and Zini, Michele (1998) Children, Spaces, Relations
Danish Building Regulation 2010
Day, Christopher (2007) Environment and Children
Day, Christopher with Rosie Parnell (2003) Consensus Design socially
inclusive process
Dudek, Mark (2000) Architecture of Schools
Dudek, Mark (2005) Childrens spaces
Down, Reg (2012) Eurythmy room design principles and criteria (Article)
http://www.waldorflibrary.org/images/stories/articles/eroom.pdf
Fenoughty, Susan (1997) The Garden Classroom; Course booklet for
Coordinators of Environmental Education Course, Alkmaar College of
Education, The Netherlands
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http://www.lakotawaldorfschool.org/assets/en/docs/Master%20Plan/
Master%20Planning%20Doc.pdf 25.09.13
http://www.waldorftoday.com/2010/12/color-in-the-waldorf-schoolvan-james/ 15.09.2013
http://inhabitat.com/marecollege-beautiful-waldorf-school-builtwith-natural-materials-rises-in-leiden/marecollege-by-24harchitecture-06/ 01.10.2013
http://www.waldorflibrary.org/images/stories/articles/eroom.pdf
13.10.13
http://www.waldorflibrary.org/articles/911-light-filled-colortranslucent-colors-and-their-use-in-the-waldorf-school 01.10.2013
http://www.cdc.gov/healthyplaces/healthtopics/children.htm05.10.1
3 13.10.2013
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http://www.who.int/school_youth_health/media/en/physical_sch_en
vironment.pdf 15.10.2013
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Piaget 01.10.2013
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Developmental_stage_theories
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Studies_of_Waldorf_education
18.10.2013
Youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwI4aLTzkXc 19.10.2013
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCKGpcLs4ys 03.10.2013
TED Talks
http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity
.html 21.10.2013
Interviews
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http://www.interiordesign.net/article/485916School_of_Thought.php 01.10.2013
Researches
Research by Hjort, Bobo, cited in Lundahl, Gunilla (1995) Houses and
Rooms for Young Children (original title: Hus och Rum fr Sm Barn)
Research by Prescott and Jones (1967) cited in Dudek, Mark (1996)
Kindergarten Architecture
Research by Reggio Emilia preschool teachers. Ceppi, Guilio and Zini,
Michele (1998) Children, Spaces, Relations; Metaproject for an
Environment for Young Children. Reggio Children, Italy
Karl Luscher (of Luscher Test fame) Description of the Test procedure
and explanation: http://www.dandebat.dk/eng-person7.htm
Research by Tulley, Mark (2006) Something Understood. BBC Radio 4,
11 June 2006 Research in Austria, cited in Today Programme, BBC Radio
4, 29 May 2002
Research by Fanny Jiminez (2012) "Namen tanzen, fit in Mathe - Waldorf
im Vorteil"
http://www.welt.de/wissenschaft/article109484661/Namen-tanzen-fitin-Mathe-Waldorf-im-Vorteil.html
Gardner, Howard (1983) Frames of Mind The Theory of Multiple
Intelligences
Research by Jennifer Gidley (1998). Investigated the Steiner-educated
students views and visions of the future, replicating a major study with
a large cross-section of mainstream and other private school students
undertaken a few years prior. (in the 3 largest Steiner schools in AU)
Research by Prescott, Jones, & Kritchevsky (1967) cited in Dudek, Mark
(1996) Kindergarten Architecture
Colour Research: http://www.waldorftoday.com/2010/12/color-in-thewaldorf-school-van-james/
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