engleski

Architecture and Design as Tools of Transforming the Educational Process in Small Communities

The consequences of transition and urbanization processes, shifting social and economic conditions as well as deindustrialization leave legible marks on spaces of learning and education in numerous small communities. Along with negative demographic trends, the identity of these communities is fading as well. Learning spaces play an important role as mediators in nurturing and keeping local tradition and strengthening cohesion within these communities. Research of the context in which elementary education is (or was) taking place is a key prerequisite in understanding relevant circumstances and developing tools and methods in which design and architecture could be used in creating better conditions in a spatial- communicational sense as well as improving the educational and social environment. A method of solving specific problems in small schools in rural areas can be formulated after extensive case-study research. Such field research was carried out before the first ‘Learning Spaces in Transition’ workshop in which five rural schools in the Pozesko-slavonska county were analyzed. Upon obtaining data, a method approaching the problems on three levels was formulated. The first one is diagnostic and cannot be skipped in creating healthy and stimulating conditions: recognizing necessary technical interventions to meet hygienic standards, raise energy efficiency and improve infrastructure. The second level is creative and addresses specific needs derived from deficiencies noted during field research (i.e. multipurpose spaces for the school and community, articulating the open spaces of the schools, defining the threshold between school and village, reinterpreting the floor plan, designing versatile storage and room-division elements, colonizing the outer wall either from the inside or the outside etc.). The third level aims to establish short-term and long-term strategies of integrating the school with the community. Through mapping and interpreting local traditions and recourses, new projects are implemented whilst promoting collaboration between the school and local population. Engaging all stakeholders of the community increases the quality of education, but also activates the social and economic well-being and rebuilds the community’s identity. The paper presents the results of the described method which uses architecture and design as tools in long-term improvement of learning within, as well as outside of, the regular educational system.

design research method ; design and architecture as methods of solving educational problems ; design thinking ; methods of integrating the school within the community

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