• Built Environment Education:
A Curriculum Paradigm
by
Paul Langdon
Department of Curriculum and Instruction Faculty of Education McGilI University, Montreal • April, 1996
A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies in Partial FulfUlment of the Requirements of the Degree of PhD
© . Paul l.angdon, 1996
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ISBN 0-612-19738-7
Canada • Acknowledgments
1wouId Iike ta thank Dr. David Dillon for his assistance and guidance during this project. His enthusiasm and sincerity were of great support and comfort.
1would also like ta thank Professor David Farley of the department of Urban Planning for his involvement in greatly broadening my horizons in this area and to Dr. Boyd White for his thoughtful suggestions and insightful comments especially in the area of art education. 1have greatly appreciated the man)' efforts and vigourous support of Dr. Claudia Mitchell.
1would also like to acknowledge the assistance 1received from Dr. • John Wolforth, Christine Stocek and Jeanette Ritchie.
And finally, to Ruth for her immeasurable contribution and to joel for his patience and unflagging encouragement, wlthout which 1 could not have accompllshed thls thesis.
•- Il I\bstraet • The expansion of Built Emoîronment Education into art programs is a rclati\oel)' recent phenomenon but yer)' timel)'. The need to de\Oelop in students an understanding of their Ii\oing emoironment is urgent as the)' inherit a world that is experiencing the depletion of ils resources and erosion of its ecological balance.
There is a fundam~ntal need for more comprehensi\oe curriculum planning in built enyironment education. The goal of This research is to de\Oelop a curriculum paradigm that can he used to create curriculum plans and instructional designs for built environment education as part of the art c1ass in secondaI)° schools.
The built emoironment content of This curriculum paradigm is based on the active investigation of the students' internaI world with ail its different perceptions and )jyed experience and how This affects their understanding of the greater built environment. Through a more intense investigation of the greater built environment. the • students wiII then analyze the effect that This environment has on their own perceptions and living habits. By developing a more conscious understanding of the built environment. the students wiII be better equipped to make informed decisions on how ta hetter adapt to or change their environment.
A guiding principle for the curriculum paradigm was to ensure that the introduction ofa new subject area. such as built environment education. into art education curriculum involved processes ofcreativity and discovery along with self-reflective and participatory action for both the teacher and students. To he E:ffective. the content material must not only be accessible through the traditional modes ofacademic literature research but also made valid through observation. reflection and interaction with the particular built environment of the teacher and students themselves. • Hi Vigilance and active participation in the process of urban change are vital. These changes can onl)' be effective and enduring if we • acknowledge the capacity of the buiIt em"ironment to enrich our Iiws as private and communal beings.
One of the essential goals of this curriculum paradigm is to capture the excitement and potential that the built environment offers as a pervasi\"e agent for understanding and celebrating our constructed past. present and future.
•
• iv • Sommaire L'introduction des Etudes en em"ironnement construit (ou "bâti") dans les programmes d'Art est un événement relativement récent mais particulierement opportun. En effet la nécessité de développer chez les étudiants une compréhension de leur milieu de vie est d'autant plus grande qu'ils sont face à un avenir où la planète voit ses ressources s'épuiser et son équilibre écologique se détériorer.
Il existe un besoin fondamental pour un programme d'études en environnement construit plus complet. L'objet de cette recherche est de développer un paradigme curriculaire susceptible d'être utilisé pour creer des contenus de cours et des méthodologies pour cet enseignement conçu comme faisant partie du programme d'art des écoles secondaires.
Le contenu du programme d'études en environnement construit est • fondé sur une e;xploration du monde intérieur de l'élève, avec ses différentes perceptions et son expérience vécue, et comment cela affecte sa compréhension de l'environnement construit plus large. Apres avoir examiné plus en profondeur le concept d'environnement construit global, les élèves pourront analyser l'impact de ce dernier sur leurs propres perceptions et sur leurs habitudes de vie. En développant une conscience plus affinée de l'environnement construit, ils seront mieux en mesure de prendre des décisions informées sur la meilleure facon de s'adapter à l'environnement ou de le modifier.
Un des principes directeurs pour l'élaboration de ce paradigme cuTriculalre était de s'assurer que l'introduction d'une mati~re d'étude nouvelle dans le programme d'éducation en art- ici les Etudes en environnement construit- impliquait des processus de créativité et dedécouverte en même temps qu'une activité de réflexion personnelle et de participation de la part de l'élève comme
v du professeur. La matière à étudier doit répondre à deux critères pour étre pleinement efficace: elle doit être accessible dans la • littérature sm'ante pertinente. et elle doit également être validée par !'obser;ation. la réflexion et l'interaction a\'ec l'enviro:1I1ement construit propre au professeur et aux élè\'es.
Il est essentiel de faire preuve de vigilance et de prendre une part actÏ\'e dans les processus de changement urbain. Ces changements ne pourront être valables et durables que dans la mesure où nous reconnaîtrons ia capacité de l'environnement construit à enrichir notre être. dans sa vie privée comme dans sa vie communautaire.
Un des objectifs essentiels de ce paradigme curriculaire est de faire saisir le formidable potentiel de l'environnement construit à nous faire mieux comprendre et célébrer notre passé. notre présent. et notre avenir construits. •
• vi • Table of Contents
As:.knowledgment. Ü Abstract III Sc>I11I11aire \ .. Table ofContents. \·ü
Chapter One: Introduction
Orientation to the Thesis 1 Introduction 6 Field ofArt Education 8 BuHt Environment Education 13 • The Curiculum Paradigm 1ï l.ooking Al1ea.d 19
Chapter Two: The Built Environment
lntroduction. 21 Inherent Mea.nings. 24 Reading Our Built Environment 30 Perfonnance and User Engagement 47 Agents ofChange. 60 • vii • Chapter Three: The Context of the Research and the Re\"iew of Literature
The Field of Curriculum Planning ï8 Psychology and Humanism 86 Holistic Interpretation 90 Creativity and Problem SOlving 95 Heuristics 104 Instruments ofSocial Change. 1Il Critical Pedagog)· 115 Hurnan JO)· 128 Curriculum t.lodeI. 129 Art Education 133 Bullt En\'ironment Education 146 Reflective Practice 157 Gender Representation 161 • SummaI")· 164
Chapter Four: The World We Live In: Space. Place and Belonging
lntroouction 1iD Unit 1: What's Important to Me?.. 179 Unit 2: What's Important ta Us? 18ï Unit 3:What Makes That Place Unique? 195 Un,if 4: What Does It Tell Us? 200 Unit 5: Where Do We Get Together? 206 Unit 16:' HO\\' Dœs Il Get There7 21 ï Unit 7: What's Done For Safety and Security? 223 Unit 8: Do AlI the Parts Make a Whole? 229 Unit 9: Who Does What? How? and Where? 235 Unit 10: Wh.at Can We OO? 242
viii Chapter Five: Conclusion
• Goals and Ex-pe<:tations 246 Reflections 249 Implications _ 251 Conclusion 252
Bibliograph)· 253
•
ix • Prologue: Orientation This thesis is bath a research and a development project and has as its goal the creation of a unique and comprehensive curriculum model for built environment education for art education classes. The thesis is a curriculum paradigm. It represents the entire process of creation of a feasible and workable curriculum model for built environment education within art education. The cUiTiculum model for built environment education is the fusion ofa selection of rich and complex ideas and practices of architecture and the built em'ironment together with a specific and accessible curriculum approacn'for art students and teachers.
When the opportunity arose to "Tite This thesis, the seeds of the project were already weIl planted and 1!mew immediately that 1 wanted it ta he a contrtbution to built environment education. 1 wanted it to he a contrtbution that was bath practical and useful and, also. one that benefited from my unique position of worlting in aIl • three concerned areas, those of the built environment, curriculum development and art education.
My particular combination ofacademic training and professional experience began with studies in Art Education and Fine Arts that led ta an J\1A and an MFA This was followed by eighteen years of teaching painting and photography in the fine arts department and drawing and design in the architecture technology department of CEGEP Vanier. Since then 1have been member ofthe Art Education Department at Concordia University where my teaching has concentrated on curriculum development and studio inquiry. Throughout this time, 1have had an ardent interest in architecture and the bullt environment, in partlcular, as a content component for art education. This combinatlon ofacademlc choices and career opportunities, that gave me a partlcular vantage point from which to develop what 1hope "iD be a unique and effective curriculum model • for bullt environment education. 1 Through my investigation ofexisting bullt environment education • projects, 1saw the need for a curriculum plan that expressed the ideas and concepts ofarchitecture and the bullt environment in a pedagogicaI format that was not only clear and accessible but aIso socially responsible.
When 1undertaok thIs project, 1saon realized 1was drawn to ideas and theories that reinforced my own long-standing understanding and involvement with the bullt environment. Unfortunately, those ideas and theories were often tao complex to he suitable for an introductory-Ievel curriculum plan. Out of that recognition, a central objective ofthe thesis emerged, namely, to develop a curriculum plan based on teaching and leaming strategies that were common ta all three areas.ln particular,l focused on those strategies related to reflective practice, exploration, creativity and problem solving.
Keeping always in mind the art teachers' needs and recourses and • their and their students' own experiences living in a particular bullt environment,l examined a varie!)' of ideas and concepts from the field of the bullt environment. Through a process ofcondensation and elimination, 1selected four content areas, namely Inherent Meanings, Reading the BuiIt Environment, Performance and User Engagement and Agents of Change. The challenge was to express those content areas in a clear and accessible format. Thus a major process ofthe thesis became one ofreduction and precision more than ofinvestigation and elaboration. Having been in the privileged situation ofstudying and working in all three areas ofthe buiIt environment, curriculum development and art education and reflecting on my many years ofexperience as a art teacher, 1focused a major goal of the thesis on the identiflcatlon and synthesls of commonalties in these three areas, in order to make them accessible to an art educator's point ofview. Therefore, the buiIt environment content ofthls thesis emphasizes reflnement and clarity as opposed to analysis and amplification. The curriculum model is based on
2 processes that evolve from simple to complex, from the personal to • the communal and from the unique to the global. Accomplishing this goal called for a format for the thesis itself, one that could express the background ofits three underlying components, those ofart education, the built environment and curriculum planning, and that also could include the process of synthesis among these three areas. Thus a particular format evolved, one that presents both the research and developmental aspects of the thesis as weIl as one that makes the presentation transparent.
This thesis, then, is the development ofa comprehensive curriculum model for built environment education for secondary school art teachers and particularly those in Quebec and is based on the academic background and teaching experience ofan art teacher working in the areas ofarchitecture and the built environment , curriculum planning and art education. To accomplish this task necessitated a particular process that would first, access the three different components; secondly, establish common denominators of • content and practice and thirdly, synthesize the three of them into a workable, exciting and effective curriculum mode!. The thesis format reflects the process used in achieving that goal.
The thesis is structured the following way. It begins with the Introduction in which the goal is defined and the present status of built environment education is reviewed.
The next chapter, The Bullt Environment, contains elements of a literature search but its main purpose is to select ideas and concepts that would make an appropriate content base ofdesignated ideas and concepts from the field ofthe built environment for the final curriculum model. A selection ofsignificant data from these ideas is then condensed and presented ln a concise format appropriate for art education curriculum development. The theorles and concepts chosen to he investigated are identification and
3 oIientation to the built environment, environmental knowing, • environmental performance and agents ofchange. In the next chapter, The Contex,: of the Research and the Review of Uterature, a particular pedagogical approach is developed and used in the final curriculum mode!. This chapter explores ideas and practices that concentrate on child-eentered curriculum, humanistic education, creativity and problem solving, heuristics and cIitical pedagogy. It also explores existing curriculum model typologies and their components, whlle keeplng in mlnd the realities and resources of the contemporary art classroom. An examination follows ofliterature in the field and sample curriculum plans in built environment education and art education. It concludes with a section on the importance ofgender representation in bullt environment education.
Next, The World We Live In: Space, Place and Belonging Is the title of the curriculum model. This chapter begins with an introduction to the design of the curriculum model and an • explanation of the synthesizing process used to fuse the bullt environment content with a particular curriculum approach. The curriculum model is divided lnto ten units and is founded on the ideas and practices explored in the chapter, The Built Environment. Each unit begins with a chart that plots the Integration of the specific ideas and concepts from the bullt environment with a particular curriculum approach, one that engenders reflection, creativity and collaboration.
Finally, in the Conclusion there is a review of the original goals and expectations as weIl as the implications for the future of bullt environment education.
This research owes a debt to qualitative research that recognizes the value ofthe everyday practlcal knowledge ofthe practitioner. Elliot Eisner aptly expresses this value when he says:
4 By acknowIedging the imponance ofcontext, the way in which form informs understanding. • the significance of reIationships among components, and the reIevance of personaI signature in the assessment ofoutcomes, a climate is being created in which the educational value of the arts can he recognized l .
Foremost in this thesis was a preoccupation with the everyday knowIedge of art teachers and their students. It is their experience and my own that guides this thesis.
•
lEisner, E. (1993). The Emergence of New Paradigms for Educational Research. • Art Education. Vol.4G, No.G, p. 54. 5 •
Chapter One: Introduction
• A Curriculum Paradigm for • Built Environment Education
Introduction
The expansion of Built Environment Education into art programs is a relatively recent phenomenon but very timely. The need to develop in students an understanding of their living environment is critical as they inherit a world that is experiencing the depletion of its natural resources and erosion ofits ecological balance.
The long-term goal ofany Built Environment Education curriculum must be to better prepare aIl of us to play a more creative and participatory role in shaping the future ofour natural and built environment. But participation demands higher levels of awareness, interest, concern for and understanding of the whole • environment and the role the built environment has within it. The state of Built Environment Education today is still very embryonic. The main impedlment to further expansion into art education curriculum is the absence ofadequate teachlng resources for art education teacher training. The presently existlng curriculum plans are often prescriptlve in nature and lack the scope and depth needed to develop a more comprehensive understandlng of the built environment.
For example, the Quebec Mlnistl}' of Education ln its Visuai Art Curriculum Guide for secondary school recognlzes the growing importance ofArchitecture and Built Environment Education and has included teaching modules in its guide to reflect this need. It states: "the elements surrounding us, the form they take, and the way they are organized tell our stOl}'; they bear witness to our way of life and
6 our way of thinking. they reveal our origins to us, as weil as our • image of ourselves"2. Goal
How does one construct an accessible and effective curriculum plan for BuiIt Environment Education for secondaI}' schoal art educators? This question is the motivational basis for this thesis.
The goal of this thesis is to develop a curriculum paradigm from which a curriculum model is developed for Built Environment Education to be used by Quebec secondaI}' schoal art teachers. A curriculum paradigm is defined as an example or prototype ofa curriculum process and in this thesis results in the evolution ofa particular curriculum mode!. Thus, this curriculum paradigm includes the exploration and selection of ideas from the field of the built environment and the examination of the main curriculum theories that influenced humanistic education along with the process of developing a curriculum model for built environment education. The thesis features and incorporates bath investigation and development. An investigation is undertaken of the subject content, that of the built environment, and also, ofthe pedagogical process, as related to humanistic education. Development takes place in the ultimate creation ofa curriculum model and instructional designs for Built Environment Education.
We begin with a look at the field ofart education and sorne of the dynamics that led to the development ofsocial content in art education such as Built Environment Education.
2Direction generale des programmes de Quebec: Curriculum Guide SecondaI)' School Visual Art. Volume Il, p. 9. 7 The Field of Art Education • Art Education encompasses the teaching. learning and practice of art. Art education is a cross-disciplinaI")' field of study and, as such. draws upon manyexternal processes and theories, For example, art education has been directly influenced by aesthetic theories from philosophy, creativity and cognitive learning behaviour from psychology, visual histol")' from histol")', cultural practices from anthropology and artifacts of past ways of living from archeology, Similarly. for inspiration and content ideas art education draws upon many different subject areas, for example, those of biology and zoology, engineering and architecture, geography and geology and many others. Whereas art reflects and translates our rich and varied human histol")' and daily customs into expressive and meaningful creative action, art education becomes the pedagogical component of this process.
A major characteristic ofart education is its process of synthesis. Art education incorporates, integrates, adapts, combines, links and • embraces many varying theories, philosophies, themes, styles, practices and processes to create art experiences. Art education curriculum is about developing theories and practices that organize content into a pedagogical practice for the teaching ofthe many facets of art, in particular, its history, visuallanguage, aesthetics, appreciation, understanding and making.
This thesis is about this process of synthesizing the field of built environment education, curriculum planning and art education.
The success ofany curriculum depends on many givens, one of the most important being the classroom teacher, who becomes the principal agent of the "theory to action" transformation.
The Quebec Ministry ofEducation's art education curriculum guides (and many other curriculum guides, as weIl) are based on the assumption about art teachers having a wide and varied expertise in
• 8 studio practice. from painting and ceramics to video and installation art. as weIl as knowledge ofart history. aesthetics and art • appreciation. The realit)' of most art teachers' academic training is that th;~y have specialized in only two or three artistic processes (the traditional ones being drawing, painting and sculpture) and surveys of past and present artistic traditions.
Thus when art teachers are faced with the responsibility of carrl'ing out the aims and goals of the curriculum guides with their defined time and physical constraints, they soon leam to rell' heavily on their creative abilities in adapting unfamiliar subject material in order to create valid instructional design. These creative and problem-solving processes are often the same as those at the heart of their own studio practice and thus are already familiar adaptive tools for most art teachers.
A curriculum plan, that is based on new or unfamiliar content, to be successfully enacted in the art cIassroom traditionally provides the teacher with a review of targeted ideas and concepts of the particular subject content and/or initiates a discovery process that leads to active participation and understanding of the ideas and concepts of the subject content.
Thus a guiding principle for the curriculum paradigm developecl in this thesis was to ensure that the introduction ofa new subject area, such as built environment education, involves processes of creativity and discovery along with self-reflective and participatory action for bath the teacher and students. To be effective, the content material must not only be accessible through the traditional modes of academic Uterature research but also made vaUd through observation, reflection and interaction with the particular built environment of the teacher and students themselves. • 9 The section that follows summarizes the changes that led to the establishment of built em'ironment education as a yalid content • comp Social Content and Art Educarion Up until the last twenty-five years or so art education had changed Iinle from promoting the idea of the "artist" as role model for c1assroom teaching. The traditional materials and methods of the studio process dominated. Drawing, painting, sculpture and an history were the core subject areas of the art curriculum ( and remain so in many schools today). After the social upheavals of the sixties there came a shift in emphasis to what Arthur Efland describes as "social-centredness"3 in art education curriculum development. This emphasis evolved further in the work ofJune l\IcFee, Rogena Degge4 and Vincent laniers and reflected the conviction that art in the c1assroom must also respond to social realities. McFee's and Degge's position, in particular, promotes the use ofart activities to encourage sensitivity to the physical environment • and those cues in our environment that affect behaviour. This was an important recognition for the acceptance ofarchitecture and the built environment as legltimate curriculum areas in art education in North America. Lanier in 19ï5 lent his support by declaring "Environmental design education...(as)...having its full share of these qualities which should make it a strong candidate for eminence in the hierarchy ofart education goals"6. During this same period the American Institute ofArchitects (AIA) started a campalgn to ralse public consciousness in order to 3Efland, A. D. (l9ï1). The Transition Continued: The Emergence of an Affective Revolution. Studies in Art Education, Vol.24 , p.24. 4McFee. J. and Degge, R. (l9ïï). Art. Culture and Environment. a catalyst for teaching. CA: Wadsworth Pub. 5I.anier. v. (19ï5). Objectives of Art Education: The Impact of Tirne. Peabodv Journal of Education. P. 184-5. <>Ibid. P. 186. 10 promote consumer awareness of their services. In 1980 it increased its efforts by initiating a program called "Learning by Design";" in • primai")" and secondaI)" schools. "The goal of this program is for evel)" student to develop both the ability ta live in harmony with the natural environment and the skills to design a quality human environment"8. The AJA provided informational resource materials and assisted in teacher-training programs. As weIl it established a network of regional offices as contact centres for built environment information. In England during the late sLxties the government appointed a committee to recommend ways to increase public invoIvement in urban planning. This was the incentive for the Town and Countl)' Planning Association to create an educational unit under Colin Ward and Anthony Fyson. In 1980 it was expanded with the addition of Eileen Adams from the Design Unit at the Royal College ofArt and the support of the School Council. The result was the introduction of the "Art and Built Environment" project to develop curriculum strategies for schools. Like its American counterpart, its aims were to • promote primari!y "the visual, sensory and subjective aspects to the exclusion of the social and political or economic realities which are the true determinants of the character ofour surroundings"9. In Canada, Eileen Adams, a pioneering teacher and curriculum planner in built environment education from England, gave a workshop for art teachers in British Columbia and introduced her curriculum approach to them in 1983. Graeme Chalmers ofthe University of British Columbia pursued research in this area at the same time. But to many Canadlan and American art educators, such as ïSandler. A. (1989). Learning by Design, The AlA Elementary and Secondary Education Program. Art Education, Vol. 42. P. 13. SIbid. P. 13. 9Adams, E. and Ward,. (1982). ART AND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT: A Teacher's Approach. UK: Longmans, p.13. 11 G. Chalmers. L Chapman. j. McFee. R. Degge. Group for Environmental • Education. the approach represented by the AIA and E. Adams was incomplete due to its exclusion ofsocial and political elements. Its perceh'ed inadequacy. howe\'er. encouraged development of broader curriculum goals. as noted in the following section titled Built Environment Education. that respond ta the whole phenomenon of the built environment. Hinda Avery. a major proponent ofsocially responsible environment € jucation. advocated that: Students need to understand that. unlike the fine arts. which affect only a small portion of the public (artists. art critics. art historians. and art investors). the built environment affects everyone. They should be aware that a weIl deslgned. soclally responsible environ ment contributes to people's physical and • mental well-being; the physical environment influences the ways in which people Interact with others. wlth whom they Interact. and how they experience themselves. Students should be sensitized to the implications of powerful polltical and economlc Interest in the bullt envlronment. They should be aware of the reasons surroundlng physlcal. social and economlc deprivatlon. and they should reallze the degree ofcontrol people have over thelr envlronment.lO IOAvery. H. (1989). The Potential Role of the Art Teacher. the Urban Planner. and Community Groups in BEE. Art Education. Vol. 42. P.54 • 12 Drawing from such statements. it is apparent that there is a fundamental need for more comprehensive curriculum plans in built • em"ironment education especially those emphasizing social content. Built Environment Education: the groundwork The idea for this thesis project evolved directly out ofa graduate le\"el art education course 1gave in 1990 titled "Architecture and the Built Environment" at Concordia University. As most of the students were also art teachers. many of them had curriculum demands along with their own personal interest in taking this course. Most of them had had sorne architectural styles courses in art history and thus often analyzed the built environment in relationship to historical or styIistic typologies. What was lacking. for them. was a hoIistic view of the forces and dynamics that created and continue to influence the built environment. The research process began with an investigation of existing built environment education components in art education curriculum guides and instructional designs in England and North America. In • 1991, 1made a research trip to Europe. ln Brussels 1visited the Urban Environment Unit of the Commission of the European Communities11 and was introduced to the urban environment awareness exchange programs. Though mainly for urban planners and municipal representatives. it offered many Interesting posslbillties for built environment education. such as the value of cultural and environmental comparisons, the impact ofcultural and geographical determinants and the effectiveness of local initiatives. From there, 1proceeded to England where 1made contact wlth many national and local trusts, agencles and associations havlng implications for built environment education. 1was particularly weil received by the Royal Institute ofArchltects, The Royal Town Plauners Institute, The Civic Trust, The Newcastle Architecture IlUrban Environment Unit, Commission of the European Conununities, Rue de la Loi 200, B-I049 Brussels, Beglum. 13 Workshop. Streetwise. The Building Experience Trust. Town and Country Planning Association and the Council for Environmental • Education. r-.lost of these organizations are involved with local or national initiatives with the aim of raising awareness to local em'ironmental issues or to the professional services offered by architeets and town planners. A particularly important contact was Nigel Frost of the Royal lnstitute of Architects and a chief coordinator of the International Conference for Built Environment Education that was heId in Cambridge. England in April. 1992. This was a groundbreaking conference for Built Environment Education as it brought together delegates from the United States. Canada. England. Scandinavia. Europe, Russia, Poland, japan and other countries. who were ail rommitted to built environment education. At this conference, 1was introduced to the main architecture and built environment education associations and groups ln the United States. Art teachers. architeets. town planners and municipal employees came together to formulate policy on Built Environment Education. What became obvious during • the conference was the lack of effective curriculum models in built environment education and the difficulty in finding a common ground amongst the different professional groups of teachers. architects and urban planners as to how to develop one. The architects and town planners had very specifie content they wanted to transmit. lt often involved Issues that dealt with professional practice. design or the services they offered. The art teachers felt unsure of this content and were hesitant as how to effectively translate it into valid classroom experience. From this conference it became even more evident to me that there was a need ta develop an effective curriculum model for built environment education. It aIso made me realize that the place ta begin my research was with an exploration of the domain of architecture and the built environment. From which applicable content could he selected From an art educator's point ofview. 14 • Architecture and the Built Environment From my travels and the conference, 1was introduced to many varied CUITent built environment initiatives and proj~cts. 1then began to concentrate my research on Iiterature in the field of architecture and the built environment. Having taught drawing and design ta architectural technology students for seventeen years, 1 started my research in design wh!ch led to an investigation of the impact ofdesign choices on the user and the cultural encoding that these choices reflect. It evolved into an exploration of phenomenology of place as expressed by Cristian Norbert-Shulz, the cultural and anthropological studies of Amos Rappaport and the positivistic theories ofKevin Lynch, among others. Those are investigated in the following section, Inherent Meanings. From further investigations into design theories, themes • developed involving environmental performance and user satisfaction. The work ofGeoffrey Baker, Geoffrey Broadbent, Jon Lang and Nells Prak played a dominant role in this investigation, as reviewed later in the section, Performance and User Engagement. Next, 1researched the historical influences that affected our present day urban form in Quebec. It was a fascinatlng investigation and introduced me to the works ofPeter Hall, Jane Jacobs, Spiro Kostof, William Whyte and many others. In attemptlng to illustrate sorne ofthe historical influences on our city form such as religious traditions, commercial needs, technological developments and sa on, 1 developed a section, Urban Spaces: Historical Context. 1reviewed the field of urban planning and sorne ofthe historical developments that influenced North American urban form. It became apparent that to summarize these complex historical processes would require more than a discursive investigation to fully represent the many dynamics 15 from the past that influenced the evolution of Nonh American urban form. Becat~se this section did not adequately represent the full • range ofdynamics that influenced the development of the North American city form and was probably a topic for a different research study, it was consequently put aside. SimiIarly, a section, Structures, that provided an introduction to the physicaI propenies and dynamics of structures was also deferred as it diverged from the themes finally chosen to be explored in the chapter, The Built Environment. From these investigations, the central theme for the built environment education content component began to emerge. It is commonly referred to as "environmental knowing" and focuses on the individual being able to "read" her/his buiIt environment and then decode it to reveal the underlying values that it represents. Accordingly, if such values as security, education, health, commerce, religion, leisure, efficiency of movement and so on are decoded and prioritized, they will help to develop a better understanding ofsorne of the choices thélt have been made in constructing the built • environment. These themes are explored in the later section, Reading Our BuiIt Environment. The built environment is continually changing, reflecting the specifie dominant economlc and political forces in a society at a particular time. As indivldual members of the society, we must adapt to the reality ofour built environment or change It. Understandlng sorne of the social and political forces that affect the urban form may help us make more Informed declsions about the relationshlp we are aIl forced to develop wlth our built envlronment. Many fasclnating and compelIing areas ofthe built envlronment were investlgated and offered many possible themes and issues to draw upon for the content of the curriculum mode!. But for thls thesis, the maIn themes for the built envlronment content flnaIly selected were Identification and orientation, environmental knowing (reading and evaluating), environmentaI performance and agents of 16 change, as researched from the perspective ofan art educator. This particular selection of ideas and concepts is, ofcourse, only one of • many possible approaches to he used in built environment education. These themes were ultimately chosen for their accessible and interactive nature and for their compatibility with art education curriculum. It is hoped that the resulting curriculum model and instructional designs will lead to a better understanding of the Iifelong process ofsurviving and thriving in our built environment. Parallel ta this selection process for built environment curriculum content, 1investigated curriculum approaches and specifically those that would best integrate this new content area into art education curriculum plans. Towards a Curriculum Paradigm: the groundwork This part of the research began with an investigation of the historical and contemporary approaches to curriculum development that had their roots in humanistic education philosophies, creative and problem-solving practices and emancipatory and critical pedagogy. They are examined later in the chapter, The Context of the Research and the Review of Literature. As stated earlier, the goal of this curriculum paradigm is to synthesize the built envirollment education content and a particular curriculum approach with the reality ofthe art cIassroom and to produce a viable and effective curriculum model for built environment education. The reality, though, ofa built environment curriculum component in i:lIt education is that it will only be a part of a larger curriculum. As a result, it needs to be ofa iimited and/or adaptable duration. Also it must consider the temporal and space organization ofthe art cIassroom. But a more important consideration may be the teachers' limited knowledge ofthe content and the restricted resources oftime and information that they have available to them for developing instructional design; Thus the curriculum 17 model presented at the end of the thesis relies not only on concepts and theories of the built environment but also on a process of self • reflection. self-discovery and proactive participation to develop understanding and insight into the teachers' and students' own built environment. The Curriculum Model: other criteria ln its recent publication. Exemplary Art Education CuITieula: A Guide to Guides/2• the National Art Education Association through a task force on Exemplary Art Education Curriculum Guides tried to anal)'ze the characteristics ofeffective curriculum guides. What is noteworthy in their survey is what they felt was particularly lacking in most of the curriculum guides they reviewed. The task force identifled specifie issues that nearly aIl the curriculum guides the)' reviewed failed to consider. Many of these issues dealt with the child. The child and her/his social environment, the child as having an inner and outer world and how they integrate them both, the child as a speciallearner wlth specific needs and the diversity and • ethnie mix of the children. The task force also noted the absence ofIssues that concerned the teacher and the school, such as the Importance of the special skills and training needs of the teacher. Aiso mlssing were issues that related to the financlal resources of the school, the other academlc subjects of the school and those related to the communlty and parents as potentlal teaching resources. It Is crucial to address ail these concerns and thls thesls seeks to do so by taking a new content area, that of the bullt environment, and exploring ways ofmaking a viable and dynamlc curriculum model for the secondary school art cIassroom that also reflects these issues. 12NAEA Task Force on Exemplary Art Education Curriculu Guides. (1994). EXEMPLARY ART EDUCATION CURRICULA: AGUIDE TO GUIDES. USA, National Art • Education Association. 18 Looking Ahead • This thesis refiects the process ofselecting and adapting content ideas from the field of the built environment and synthesizing it with a particular curriculum approach in order to develop a curriculum model for art education. In this first chapter, 1have tried to give a sense of this. The second chapter, even though having aspects ofa literature search, is not one in the traditional sense but is more a selection and adaptation of particular theories and practices From the field of architecture and the built environment. This selection of ideas tries to distill the essential elements researched in that field and to express them in a cIear and logical format that can be used to develop the content basis for the final curriculum mode!. The concepts ofidentification and orientation, environmental knowing and performance, user engagement and agents ofchange were identified as being more adaptable to a curriculum plan in art education. ln the third chapter, a literature revlew Is made of speclflc curriculum approaches ln the field ofeducation that favour child centered learnlng, creatlvlty and problem solvlng and actlon orlented curricula. This Is foIIowed byan examlnatlon of speclflc approaches to curriculum development ln art education. The chapter ends wlth a survey of exlstlng bulIt environment education curriculum and Instructlonal designs. This survey evaluates thelr strengths, weaknesses and effectlveness. The reallzatlon of the built environment curriculum model Is the core ofchapter four. The curriculum modells grounded ln the reallty ofan art teacher's context of teachlng in Quebec. A major objective of the curriculum modells to present the subject matter ln a cIear and accessible format that will glve direct access to sorne of the fundamentai Ideas and practices ofthe built environment and aIso 19 create an investigati'le process that leads ta further autonomous • research and action. The thesis concludes with chapter fi'le which re'liews the research and de'lelopment process of the thesis and outlines new directions and possiblities for built en'lironment education in the future. • • 20 • The Built Environment Introduction Everyone of us is born into a particular environment and nearly always it is a human-made one, constructed by our predecessors. Our formative years are spent exploring and identifying these surroundings and then adapting to them in order to survive and flourish. We cannot he passive observers of our built environment as we are obliged to engage with it continually. Because of the repetitive actions of our daily life we often reach a symbiotic level of functioning with our environment and subsequently often lose awareness of the original purposes and meanings of the built environment that surrounds us. The built environment embodies the history of our culture and the modifications to it due to naturai interventions. Thus our villages, towns and cHies bear wltness to past cconomic, technological and • social changes as weil as to natural forces such as earthquakes, volcanoes, tornadoes, fires and floods. Our inherited past has a profound influence on our daily living habits and an impact on any changes that may take place to our built environment in the future. To understand the dynamics that create the present day urban environment, we must begin with our past history. One must decipher the eXisting urban environment with lts many varied components to have insight into the original cultural values that formed it and the consequences that these values have had on today's needs and aspirations for urban planning. Recognizing the original values and their influence on present-day ones is an essential process towards the understanding ofour urban environment. The urban environment reflects a society's values for such things as family life, economic growth, political structures, spiritual and • 21 cultural Iife and communal cooperation. This in turn affects our security, safety, privacy, collaboration, efficiency, cornfort, health, • prosperity and so on. These societal values over time often change, sometimes due to technological invention and other times to new social demands. Thus a tension often develops between the existing built environment and the evolving demands for change ofour present day society. Our birth, death, marriage, physical and spiritual maintenance and Iivelihood take place in specifie human-made environments. The level of performance of our urban environment can alter our living conditions. The efficiency and pleasure in which we carry out these and other activities affects intrinsically the quality of our lives. Yet we are often unaware of the dynamics that affect our built environment and the role we can play in them. Many of our daiIy activities are habituaI, making our relationship to the built environment subliminal. Since long ago we adapted and adjusted our behaviour to automatically function within the familiari!y.of our own • built environment, this has freed us to do other decision-making tasks. We engage with the built environment by decoding and then responding to the signs and symbolic indications that communicate the purpose and expected conduct related to such a specifie environment. Over time, our actions in relationship to these environments become reflexive behaviour and we can 10se the meaning of the original purpose ofa structure or infrastructure. The Content The buiIt environment is, obviously, a highly complex phenomenon which could not possibly be described or explained fully in a thesis project. For this reason, this research limits its focus to the development ofa particular approach in understanding four key elements of the buiIt environment. They are then adapted and 22 applied to the creation ofa curriculum plan for art education. The four areas are 1) developing a theoretical perspective, 2) reading • (recording and decoding) the cultural values the built environment represents 3) investigating the dynamics of user engagement and 4) analyzing the key players or present day "agents ofchange" in our built environment. The first section, The Theoretical Context, reviews certain theoretical approaches to the investigation of inherent meanings of the built environment ofwhich architecture is the principal component. lt lays a theoretical groundwork from which a personal understanding ofour own individual built environments can be developed. The next section, Reading Our Environment, identifies and classifies the principal structural and functional features of the built environment. From an analysis of this material, the embedded social values are revealed that motivate the built environment process. This section forms the core of the interactive content of the final • curriculum model. The performance abilities ofour built environment are investigated in the next section, Performance and User Engagement. The active relationship between the physical structures and their people-users is examined with a particular concern for cultural and physical mediation. The final section, Agents of Change, reviews the key participants who are the critical "agents ofchange" in today's urban development and examines the particular role they play in forming our present and future urban landscape. These four elements of the built environment are not to be taken as exclusive of each other. Rather, they often represent a different point ofview to similar or shared material. The interconnectedness 23 and symbiotic nature of this material also reflects the pervasive • nature of the built environment in our lives. ln this chapter, these four themes are introduced from the perspective of an art educator in an attempt ta represent the ideas and theories of the built environment in a format that makes it cIear, accessible and meaningful ta art teachers. This chapter is also used as the conceptual base for the development of the final curriculum model and instructional designs. There exists a very large body of philosophical. psychological and sociological research related to the field ofarchitecture and the built environment. After an extensive review. 1selected material that would be adaptable to art education and tried to present it in a style that would be understandable to art teachers and lead to a more comprehensive overview of the built environment. Thus 1chose a few prominent theories to give an indication of the complex and omnipresent nature of the built environment and tried to extract their essential ideas and communicate them in a clear and logical • format. This section is caUed Inherent Meanings. Inherent Meanings This section probes certain ideas on the "nature" or "meaning" of what constltutes the buiIt envlronment. wlth architecture being a principal element, The built envlronment is the materlallntervention of human beings with the natural world. It origlnates from the physical necesslty to survive and from the psychological need to control the unknown. lt constitutes an Integral and fundamental component of the way we live. Amos Rapoport gives this deflnition of this phenomenon. the built environment with architecture as its principal component: • 24 Architecture can provide settings for certain activities; remind people what these activities • are; signify status. or privacy; express and support cosmological beliefs; communicate information; help establish individual or group identity; and encode value systems. It can also separate domains and differentiate between here and there, sacred and profane, men and women, front and back, private and public, habitable and inhabitable. and so on. 13 It can also be considered as the material representation ofa culture, portraying its society's identity and evolution over time. The built environment is a material response to cIimatic, geographical, psychologicaI, and cultural determinants. Local weather conditions, which govem such variables as the amount and type of precipitation and the temperature range, and local features of the terrain, whether they be mountainous or those of the desert. will • have a profound effect on the type and style of the built environment. But the built environment must aIse provide for our needs for security and affiliation as weB as reflect prevailing cultural values. lt is society-made, a conscious organization of physical elements intended to provide protection, social Integration and aesthetic pleasure. We build ta express our understanding ofourselves and our natural environment and thus, with structures, we actualize our view ofthe world and conflrm our place in il. The first huts and primitive enclosures were our ancestars' first attempts at mastering their world by aItering it to accommodate not onl)' their needs but aIse their wishes. These artificiai environments 13Rapoport, A. (19ï9). In Snyder, ]. and Catanese, A., (Eds.), INTRODUCTION TO ARCHITECTURE. USA, p. 14. • 2S helped to control the natural elements. The extreme cIimatic conditions of heat. cold and wind for example and the threat of • hostile elements such as wild animaIs. insects and evil spirits were modified or eliminated. With their physical needs taken care of they turned their energies to communication and socialization which eventually led to the development of indigenous cultures. Settlements originate from the cIustering of individual dweIIings such as houses and farms. which then expand into villages and towns. These resulting groupings gratify our needs for security and belonging. Theyalso foster in us an identity of "place". This identity reinforces a growing sense of mastery over our environment and. thus. we form a unique image of the place in which we live. From that fundamental image we evaluate aIl other environments in relationship to it. Individual settlements are Iinked by "paths" whlch establish our location or physical distance and direction from each other. We are then situated ln the physlcal world and have a point ofdeparture to • explore f'lrther afield wlthout the overwhelmlng fear of belng lost. A basic sense cfemotional security Is developed. Identification and orientation are prlmary aspects of man's being-In-the-world. Whereas Identltlcatlon is the basls for man's sense of belonglng, orientation is the functlon whlch enables him to be that homoviator. which is part of his nature. 14 As babies we do not choose the environment we are born into. but for survival we have to adapt to it. After forming a feeling of belonging and security w!th our surroundings we instinctively set off to examine the unknown, retreating only when we perceive threatening circumstances. 14Norbert-Shulz. C. (1979). GENIUS LOCI. Towards a Phenomenology of Architecture. USA. p. 22. 26 The child grows up in green, brown, or white • spaces; it walks or plays on sand, earth, stone, or moss, under a cloudy sky or serene sky; it grasps and lifts hard and soft things; it hears noises, such as the sound of the wind moving the leaves ofa particular kind of tree, and it experiences heat and cold. Thus the child gets acquainted with the environment, and develops perceptual schemata which determine aIl future e:xperiences. The schemata comprise universal structures which are inter-human, as weIl as 10caIly determined and culturaIly conditioned. 15 It is the built environment that orders our existence through structures that, in their image, reflect and reinforce the prevailing culture. • From birth we try to orientate ourselves in the environment and establish a certain order. A common order is caIled culture. The development ofculture is based on information and education and therefore depends on the existence ofcommon symbol-systems. The culture integrates the single personality into an ordered world based on meaningful interactions. 16 The built environment is a manifestation of the existing cultural order which in turn interprets the lawfulness or innate behavioral code of the initiating society. Culture can he defined as na way oflife typical ofa group; ...a system ofsymbols, meanings, and schemata 15lbid., p. 21. 16Rapoport, A. (1969). ln Jenks, C. and Baird, G., (Eds.), MEANlNG IN ARCHITECTURE. New York: Braziller, p. 220. 27 transmitted through symbolic codes: ...a set of adapth"e strategies for • sUITi\"al related to resources and ecology." 1~ Thus. through a common culture. society reinforces its conception of social orderliness and perpetuation and imposes through its written laws and moral codes a schema for social conduct. This imposition of cultural values. norms and criteria actualizes itself in such ways as how we clothe ourselves. what we eat. how we entertain ourseIves. and how we organize space and time. Habituai repetition of these acti\"ities results in identifiable and distinctive cultural traits. People think environments before they build them. Thought orders space. time. activity. status. roles and behaviour. But giving physical expression to ideas is valuable. Encoding ideas makes them useful mnemonics; ideas help behaviour by reminding people of how to act. how to behave. and what is expected of them. • It is important ta stress that aU built environments buildings, settlements, and landscapes - are one way ofordering the wor!d by making ordering systems visible. The essential step. therefore is the ordering or organizing of the environment,18 The built environment concretizes the prevailing cultural beliefs by erecting physical metaphors of the goals and doctrines of that particular society. Notions ofsocial status, power structures, political Ideologies, economic systems, community conduct, etc. are often transmitted through the built environment, liRapoport. A. (1986). ln Salle. D.• (Ed.). ARCHITECTURE lN CULTURAL CHANGE. Essavs in Built Forro and Cultural Research. USA, p. 16. 18Rapoport. A. (l9ï9).ln Snyder. J. and Catanese. A.. (Eds.l.lNTRODUCTION TO ARCHITECTURE. USA, p. 8. 28 Together, buildings and the urban infrastructures (roads, parks, bridges, sewers, etc.) form a network of interrelated systems that • define the built environment as we know it and that affect virtually aIl human activity. These infrastructures are the connectors or links that make travel and communication happen between individuaI units. Kevin Lynch, is a major therorist in urban planning. His books, THE II\'1AGE OF THE CITY19 and A THEORY OF GOOD CITY FORM20, are canons in the phenomenologicalliterature on the city form. In his studies on urban development, Lynch has identified five categories ofelements that define the settlement or cityscape. They are 'paths', 'edges'. 'districts', 'nodes' and 'landmarks'21. Lynch considers that 'paths' are any transportation artel)' that allows for movement such as sidewalks, roads, corridors and canals (e.g. Amsterdam and Venice). Paths provide an essential circuit on which to move from one destination to another. • The boundaries that define the limits of the urban form are refered to by Lynch as 'edges'. ThllS an edge exists between the green belt and the urban form. Lynch sees 'districts' as unique, identifiable locations having uniform characteristics within the urban setting. Residential neighbourhoods, commercial centres, manufacturing areas are aIl districts. Conjunctures or meeting places in the urban grid where animated activity takes place, such as at the intersection ofmajor roadways, or where town squares develop are defined as 'nodes' . 19Lynch, K. (1960). THE IMAGE OF THE CITY. USA. 20Lynch, K. (1981). A THEORY OF GOOD CITY FORM. USA. 21 Ibid, p. 7. 29 Lynch interprets landmarks as being highly distinguishable and identifiable points of reference in the urban landscape which are • often found in nodes. The city offers a meeting point where we can come together to share our life experiences. Christian Norbert-Shulz describes the complexity of the dynamics of the meeting place as follows: "The city, thus, is the place where meeting takes place. Here men(women) come together to discover the world of the others... When we have a world, we dwell, in the sense ofgaining an individual identity within a complex and often contradictOl}' fellowship. Both aspects are important: fellowship means sharing in spite of diversity, identity means not to succumb to uniformity."22 The city offers us a specialized environment. one that allows different socialization networks to develop. The built environment, when viewed as a cultural construct that embodies society's evolution, values and needs, is a rich and complex organism that is in perpetuaI change and renewal. How to decipher the past and present changes of this organism is the focus of the next section, Reading our BuHt Environment. Reading Our BuHt Environment Introduction The urban form is the direct result of human action intended to provide a specific environment for such needs as safety, social interaction, trade and privacy. The first settlements grew out ofan agricultural innovation that resulted in the cultivation ofland and the domestication ofanimaIs thus providing a constant food source 22 Norben-Shulz, C. (1985). THE CONCEPT OF DWELLING. On the wav to figurative architecture. USA, p. 51. 30 '., that allowed for the creation of pennanent communities. Due to the abundant food supply sorne inhabitants were freed from agricultural • labour to develop trades and manufacturing capabiIities. As societies grew, political and theocratic structures developed that established power arrangements for economic production and moral regulations to ensure collective harmony and survival. Public and private places were built to reinforce these societal constructs. Shrines and places of worship, market places and artisan workshops, town halls and public meeting places ail emerged along with living accommodation to create the urban fonn. The present day villages, towns or cities we live in are the sum total of past economic and political forces, technological inventions and sometimes natural disasters. Our urban fonn is adynamie construct always in a state ofchange as it reacts to our interventions and sometimes nature's in the way ofearthquakes, volcanic explosions, hurricanes, tornadoes, fires and floods. Our urban fonn is made and remade by societies' wishes, needs and capabiIities. Thus to understand the urban fonn is to understand this state of perpetuaI mutation and the forces that propel il. Many questions are raised when one begins to consider the built environment as the symbolic representation ofour culture's nonns and values. Such questions can give direction to an investigation into the encoded values that underlie our built environment. Sorne questions that need to be considered are: What values and aspirations in our daily living and working customs are communicated into action and transformed into the reality ofour built environment? (See Values, infra.) What past intentions does our present built environment embody? What lessons for future intervention does our 31 built environment reveal? • What are the visual eues in our built environment that a110w us to understand our eonstrueted history? These questions give the focus to this part of the investigation into the built environment. Two important dynamics need to be considered before beginning to explore these questions. The first dynamic is conflict. Society's aspirations and goals are often in conflict with each other. Different constituents of the collective will have different needs and desires leading to conflicting priorities. Thus commercial demands may be in confliet with residential interests. The urban form is altered by the negotiated or imposed outcome of these conflicts. Today we implement building codes and zoning regulations in the hopes of supporting the interests ofspecifie groups while best protecting the safety and needs of the majority. Then specifie interest groups such as ecologists, heritagc foundations and developers will vigorously • lobby for changes that assist their particular agenda for recreational spaces, historical preservation, economical expansion and so on. Thus, over time residential areas may turn into commercial areas or abandoned areas lnto heritage sites and the urban image will change as it adapts to these new uses. The second dynamic is compromise. That is, new urban intervention must fit within the existing urban form, especially that of the infrastructure of streets, bridges, sewers, water mains and so on (unless It is a complete demolition ofail previous structures or a brand new development). This dynamlc Is reflected ln the eclectlc and varled city buildings and structures that give any partlcular city its distinct and unique character. The city image Is always in transition, wlth elements ofdecay and deterioratlon existlng alongside those ofgrowth and expansion. • 32 The Urban Environment as Viewed in Motion • ln addition, we often view the city form while in motion. We walk, ride or fIy through or by it. Our own image of the city can be affected by the efficiency by which we travel through it or by the pleasure and stimulation we receive from experiencing a new environment. We live, work and play in our urban settings existing in a kinetic and symbiotic relationship. We are forced to adapt to the city form as .it exists or we take action to reconstruct the city form to make a better fit for our needs, desires and available resources. People before Places AlI constructed places and spaces exist for the use, pleasure, convenience and support ofhuman activities. They are there because human beings created them to be used or have used them in the pasto It is the people and their relationship to a particular space or place that define its meaning and importance to that society. If it does not meet the society's needs or wishes it is changed, altered, • abandoned or destroyed. When we arrive at a new place we start by observing the people and their actions before we conslder the surrounding physical environment. We ponder about these people: who they are and what they are dolng before we consider the built environment and how it relates to their activities. We usually survey the street life and note its ambiance and atmosphere. We then refIect on our own expectations or needs before deciding either to join in the activities and further explore the environment or leave to fInd another more suitable one. Ifwe decide to stay we interact with these spaces and consider the potential or deterrents for other activities. We begin to recognize how the built environment enhances or diminishes our needs and expectations. • 33 Observing the actions and interactions ofother people in a new or unfamiliar environment is the start ofan important process in • beginning ta understanding the impact that a specific built environment may have on us. By first watching the actions and habits of other people as they work, play and live in specific environments, we begin ta understand the dynamics created between people and their built environment and the possibilities this holds for us. This usually leads ta a further analysis of the physical components of the environment and a more personal consideration of the possibilities for engaging with it or moving on. Affordance The built environment often tries ta direct, solicit, encourage and/or discourage many varying human activities. AlI spaces and places inherently aBow or dissuade particular human behaviours and uses. What activities does a particular space or place propose or invite us ta participate in and what activities does it try ta inhibit or prohibit? The physical elements or configuration of elements in a particular built environment try ta make explicit and exact the desired or required behaviour of its users. How does one decode or interpret built environments before engaging with them? Places and spaces are originally built for a specific purpose and a human use that over tlme may have changed, expanded, altered ta the extent that they may now fulfill many new and different purposes or be abandoned completely because they do not meet the needs of their users or afford an efficient or desirable environment for them. Identifying the uses and activities that particuIar spaces and places afford us or deny us can reveal thelr impact on our daily living habits and quality of life in the urban setting. 34 The activities that a specifie built environment affords the user are often a priority of the designer or architect in conceiving the • project. Trying to determine or influence behaviuur by specifie configurations of spaces and connecting arteries is often the aim of specifie designs. But the success of manipulating human behaviour by design and spatial arrangement is highly controversial as human dynamics and user needs and wishes constantly change. Persona] Attitudes and the Perception ofSpace Most of us are aware and have experienced spaces and places that have changed or altered our feelings, whether the uneasiness is produced from being inside a dark abandoned warehouse or from the expectation and sense of pleasure of the reading room at your locallibrary. But what must also be recognized is how our feelings can also change our perception of these spaces and places. Our impressions of these spaces and places change according to our own changing feelings and needs. Thus the congestion ofa commuter train station in the evening after a tiring day's work can seem more overwhelming than in the moming after a good night's rest. One is often irritated by crowded places when one feels the need to be alone but these same crowded places can offer many possibilities when one is feeling the need for sociaIization. Therefore, it is not only important to recognize the effects spaces and places have on our attitudes but also how our own attitudes often affect our perception of these same spaces and places. Thus how you feel about a certain space or place may have as much to do with how you are presently feeling and your personaI needs of that moment as the place itself. How to "Read" the BuHt Environment What do we see when we become engaged in our buHt environment? And do we understand what it tells us? The built environment is a vast panorama of visual and sensuaI stimulii. The combinations ofsights, smells and sensations are aIl indications of 35 how the built environment was formed and why and for whom it • continues to exist. The city form tells us about our past and contains indications for our future. Our daily living habits often become unconscious acts. When we wait for stop Iights or other types of urban signs and indicators we are often lost in other thoughts and rarely stop to question the usefulness or effectiveness of these urban indicators. It is very important to be aware of these eues and indicators in our built environment as they are often the keys to a better understanding of its present and past evolution. The vast network of stimuli in the built environment contains the eues that influence our individual and communal actions and it also reflects the underlying cultural values of our society. The first step to building a better understanding of our built environment is to become aware of the way in which we view and experience the urban environment. Thus, effective ways of seeing and experiencing are essential. A systematic method ofviewing and • recording one's built environment allows for a process of reflection and decoding of the physical elements in order to better understand the dynamics that resulted in their being. Kevin Lynch caUs this the reading of place, as he states: Everyone is trained to read a place, just as everyone is trained to read a book. Reading a place means coming to understand what is happening there, what has happened or might happen, what it means, how one should behave there. and how it 1s connected to other places....History is marked out as it occurs. Present trends and future possibilities are dis played. Time ofday and season are dramatized, and so are the important social events and pervasive rhythms of human activity. The 36 environment is a celebration of place and time • and process. 23 As we filter the visual stimuli produced from a particular built environment, a pattern forms from which we extract meaning. At first reading, we decode these stimuli from which we, first, establish our well-being and, second, orientate ourselves. The needs for safety and knowing where we are have to be initially satisfied before we begin to engage further with a particular environment. From familiar or similar cIues we assume an intrinsic understanding of the nature ofa particular place and the purpose or services it may provide that informs our decision to remain or move on. From foreign and unusual cIues we may find the environment inaccessible and hostile or we may be intrigued and remain to explore and discover new possibilities. ln travel we often fluctuate from the feelings of fascination and intrigue of new places to those oflonging for the cornfort and security provided by similar familiar environments. Allan B. Jacobs in his book LOOKING AT CITIES24 formulates an • approach for urban designers and professionaI planners of how to look at and interpret urban phenomena. He encourages professionals in the city planning field to analyze the visual eues presented in a specifie environment and look for the indications of the dominant forces involved. He states: Public informatl'. il signs and notices advise of many things beyond their literaI messages: how active a community is, who is looking for what, who the residents are, and whether the area is oriented to local residents or to a larger community. 23Lynch, K. A (1985). THEORY OF GooD CITY FORM. USA, p.313. 24jacobs, A. B. (1985). LOOKlNG AT CITŒS. U.S.A. 37 Graffiti usually signify the presence of teen agers. They may Iiterally express sorne issues • that concern those who did the writing. who often do not fed that they are part of the mainstream of the community.25 If you were asked to describe the (ommunity you live in. you would probably first mention where you Iived. where you worked and possibly where you shopped. Then you might also include the religious institutions, the educational facilities (such as schools and Iibraries). leisure areas and facilities (such as parks, swimming pools. cinemas and theatres), financial and public institutions (such as banks, city hall, fire hall and police station) and health care facilities. If you were to represent these elements of your built environment by drawing a map you would then be forced to consider them in a holistic assemblage and not as individual units. Most of us would find this difficult as the relationship ofone place to another is measured not only in street lengths and distances but in man)' other visual stimuli that constitute the built environment. How many times when you give directions do you abandon street names for significant or • prominent \'isual elements in the landscape? We know where we live and how to find it but is our conceptual plan accurate in the cartographer's way? It is more likely to be a personal accumulation ofvisual and emotlonal cues that relate to our Identlty and orientation wlthln a partlcular environment. This Is referred to as "cognitive mapplng". An important mental tool, cognitive mapplng, develops wlthin us to help decode and navlgate the urban envlronment. Even though distances and spatial relations are often distorted by our memory, we devise an overall plan of urban landmarks and routes from whlch we assess our "way findlng"26. Stephen Kaplan's explanatlon of his four types of knowledge can also be applled to cognitive mapping. 2SIbid. p. 59. 26Passini. R. (1992), WAYFINDING IN ARCHITECTURE. USA. 38 the recognition of where one is, the prediction of what may happen next, the e\'aluation of • whether this is good or bad, and knowing what actions might be taken. Recognition fulfills the human need for making sense of the environment; prediction, the need ta have an intelligent basis for subsequent decisions; evaluation, the need to reduce the discomfort resulting From ambivalence; and action, the need for perception of the consequences of the next action.2ï Cognitive mapping differs From person to person but usually people from the same or similar cultures will recognize the significance of specifie landmarks, urban eues and cultural behaviour roles. Thus a cognitive map is a visual conception that mixes geographicallocation with personal environmental perceptions. What do these personal perceptions of our own environment refiect about • our abilities and skills to live within it? Kevin Lynch says: The urban environment is a medium of communication, displaying both explicit and implicit symbols: fiags, lawns, crosses signboards, picture windows, orange roofs, spires, columns, gates, rustic fences. These signs inform us about ownership, status, group affiliation, hidden functions, goods and services, proper behavior, and many other things which we find it useful or interesting to know. 2ïLang, J. (1979) Crt'ating Archtectural Theory. The Role of the Behavioral Sciences in Environrnnetal Design. NY: Van Nostram Reinhold. P. 136. 39 ...But there is a deeper level of connection, one much more difficult to specify and • measure, which we might calI the express ive or symbolic significance ofa place. To what degree, in the minds of its users, is the form ofany settlement a complex s:ymbol of basic values, life processes. historic events, fundamental social structure, or the nature of the universel This is the holistic meaning ofa city, as opposed to the series of mean ings conveyed by its separate symbolic elements. ...So 1risk a general proposition: a good place is one which, in sorne way appropriate to the person and her culture, makes her aware of her community, her past, the web of life, and and the universe of time and space in which those are contained,28 • J\luch of the language we use ta describe our urban environment is borrowed from geography, archeology, mathematics and architecture. It is difficult to precisely describe spatial concepts with words alone. It is done more accurately with graphlc representatlons. Thus architecturaI, topographlcal and urban planning projects are communlcated ln wrltten, vlsual and mathematlcal schema. Conslder agaln the description of your own nelghbourhood. Most descriptions are based on the actlvltles people are engaged in and the places they carry out these actlvitles. We sleep ln our houses, we play ln our parks, we walk on our sldewalks, we drive on our freeways. These actlvltles and places are either ln permanent locations or locations that facllltate perpetuaI movement. In other words we know that a thoroughfare (i.e. flow system) ls deflned by 28Lynch, K. (1983). A THEORY OF GOOD CITY FORM. USA, pp.139-142. 40 the type and amount of movement it facilitates. whereas a cinema (Le. a designated structure) is defined by the specific activity that it • contains. Allan Jacobs writes about the urban details such as trafflc signs and the larger story that they can tell: Signs for drivers. such as child safety or parking-hour signs. can tell something about the neighborhood and its issues. Stop signs at every intersection may mean there have been trafflc problems. Or. if there is very !ittle trafflc they may just mean very effective neighborhood association has been concerned about cars speeding through. Tow-away signs, one way signs. detour signs. -they ail tell about nature of the trafflc and how the com munit)' is dealing with il. Public information signs and notices advise of many things beyond their literai messages: how active a community is, who is looking for what. who the residents are, and whether the area is oriented to local residents or to a larger community.29 A Record Identifying the type ofstructures and their original and contemporary use is the starting point for developing a record of your particular neighbourhood. Followtng this with an inventory of what people are doing there, for example, the activities and events 29Ibid. p. 59. 41 that take place in this particular neighbourhood, will complete the picture. This record should contain documentation ofsensoI)' and • written information such as detailed written accounts, surveys, sketches, photographs, audio tapes. video tapes and sa on. ( Please see BuiIt Environment Instructional Design.) From this data one should be able to prioritize the importance of certain aetivities and places in respect to others. This is the first step in revealing the societal values that underlie this particular buiIt environment. Values A number of questions are raised when we first encounter a new urban setting. We tI)' tv decipher the sometimes overwhelming stimuli to tI)' and make "sense" of the place. Sorne questions that might be asked are: • \Vhat do we see when we pass through our m\U tO\\Us and cities? What do we see when we pass through other peoples' tm\Us and cities? Are we initially affected by the similarities or the differences? Are we comforted by what we see or confused? Is the strangeness that is presented exciting or frustrating? As one begins to analyze one's feelings and reactions ta a particular built environment one is confronted with one's beliefs and values about what a good urban environment is for oneself, It is • 42 from one's own feelings about the built environment that one begins to form an understanding of it From feelings ofcomfort or • discomfort, mobility or restriction, well-being or physical threat, association or isolation, accessibility or exclusion, community or privacy, freedom or control and so on, one forms connections between the built environmem and one's sense of well-being within this environment. The urban form is not just an isolat:d arrangement of physical constructions but a dynamic arena fur human action where people engage in economic, social personal and spiritual pursuits. The urban form not only provides the place for these human activities to happen but also creates a spatial system for the movement of people, commodities, water and wastes, energy sources and information. The urban environment is an interwoven network ofform and process and at its best, should also provide an aesthetic ambiance that supports and promotes this network. ft i.s the congruence or compatibility between form and process that affects our feelings about the urban form. What are sorne of the basic qualities we expect from an urban environment? Probably those ofclean air, safety, efficient mobility, vitality, aesthetic pleasure and so on. What characteristlcs of the urban environment do we find disturbing and frustrating? Crime, traffic congestion, pollution, abandoned buildings, vandalism and so on would probably be on our list. From what beliefs we have about the way we should live does our image ofan Ideal urban environment come? How have these beliefs changed over time in our society? Are sorne of these beliefs realistic given the limitations of the urban environment's ability to fulfill them? 43 Many lists ofcultural values have been devised that affect urban planning and they often reflect different analytic viewpoints. The • most common vaiues cited are concerned with health and safety in shelter. work and travel; environmental qualities such as pollution and light; mobility and transport; cultural facilities such as schools. performance spaces. museums; leisure facilities such as parks and recreational spaces; potential for econvmic growth; operating expense; choice in social associations and labour productivity. Kevin Lynch has formulated an extensive list ofvalues representing the goals and aims ofsociety. He uses such terms as "strong". "wishful". "weak". "hidden" and "neglected"30 to categorize these values. ln doing so Lynch gives us an understanding of society's aspirations and how they affect the ultimate shape ofour urban form. Lynch refers to "strong" values as those dealing with the city form that are derived from specificallyltated urban policy which can usually be effectively accomplished and if not their reasons for • fallure are clearly evident. These urban policies deal with such matters as fulfilling the demand for services. infrastructure and housing, providing space and resources for new development and controlling pollution. Other priorities are increaslTl2, access and transportation routes. implementing propet;':yand tax values, improving safety and security, reducing crime and preservlng environmental quality, character or status. The values represented by these governing policies ensure the smooth function ofthe urban mechanics. These policles are related to an exact vision of the urban form as a rational and controllable entity. They are important values but are often narrow in scope. "Wishful" values as formulated by Lynch are those values often cited by politicians and bureaucrats as attainable and priority goals for improving the city form but which are not often fulflUed. These 30Ibid. pp. 54-56. • 44 goals include such societal values as supporting the farnily unit and the upbringing ofchildren. preserving the ecological balance and • protecting sources ofenergy and natural materials. Also included in wishful values are those ofa more concrete nature such as preserving or improving equity investment or expanding arnenities and services. Lynch considers those values as "weak" whose reliance or connection to the city form is less obvious or direct and whose manifestation may be due to other reasons. In using the term "weak" Lynch dOE:s not mean to imply that they are any less important but. rather. that their inclusion in urban policies is often just hopeful decoration. Unfortunately, most of the current values in the urban policies of today fall within this category. Among this group ofvalues are those for improving mental health, increasing social stability, . reducing crime and other societal pathologies, malntaining quality life styles and supporting social Integration to create strong communities. Other values included relate to increasing choice and diversity, protecting and reinforcing the city centre or a particular deteriorating area, increasing flexibiIity in the urban form for future changes and keeping a politIcai balance between the original urban core and its metropolitan areas. The values that Lynch has termed as "hidden" are those as crucial and influential as the flrst group but less often expressed as primary concems. But they are usuauy very present and considered ultimately achievable. These values are often the ones at the root of the original development of the urban policies themseJves. These values reflect such things as maintalning politIcai control and prestige, the domination ofa region or group, the removal or ! isolation of undesirable groups or actIvitIes, ensuring ftnancial gain and the simplification ofplanning and municipal manag':!ment for <:' lobbying groups. Finally there is a group ofvalues that Lynch designates as "negative" which are those that are often seen as neglected or 45 overstepped and which are viewed as either having little connection or not important enough to he acted upon. They are often viewed as • remote, ambiguous or impractical. Values that fall into this group vary from the belief in the supernatural powers ofcity patterns to the abiIity of the built environment to respond to human biological and physiological demands. Other "negative" values are concerned with the city form and its role in symbolic and sensory experiences for its inhabitants and the degree ofcontrol they have over its future developmenl. Lynch gives us an exampl€Jfone W?y oforganizing and interpreting the cultural values represented by our urban form. Ey doing so he expresses his understanding ofsociety's aspirations and the priorit)' that these aspirations often take in the final urban form. These values are, ofcourse, directly linked to many political and economical forces that also need ta he analyzed to understand the greater picture of urban development. In conclusion, It Is not the purpose of this Investigation ta follow • any one system or vlewpoint for evaluatlng the bullt envlronment but to Inltlate an academlc structure, uslng the specifie tools of knowledge acquisition ofart education, ta reach a hlgher understanding of the meanlng ofour built envlronment and our role ln il. This structure will he based on, first, the Importance of "readlng" or decodlng the elements that make up our bullt environment; second, evaluatlng the cultural values that have influenced the urban form; thlrd, revlewing user compatlbl1lty; and, fourth, determinlng the agents ofchange that will affect the future ofour bullt environment. Though few people disagree wlth the beneflts ofclean air, green spaces and security, these benefits are often in confllct with . . economic expansion and Industrial growth. Sorne compromis".·.··•... sorne alternative approaches ta future growth need ta be 46 investigated from many points ofview and probably, as before, power, influence and sometimes compromise will determine future • urban form and, when it is in place, it also will then be subject to the man)' pressures for change and mutation that have affected the urban form throughout its history. 1hope that the resulting curriculum approach will offer another way of understanding this phenomenon and provide different tools to students to help them develop insight into their urban environment and also to build the informed judgment necessaI}' to make effective change in the future. The next section, Performance and User Engagement, considers the active relationship between the physical structures and its people-users and with particular concem with the cultural and physical determinants. • Performance and User Engagement Introduction Considering that human belngs have biological, psychologlcal, social and cultural needs and consldering that economic fortunes, cultural taste, and technology are continually changlng, how can the built environment best respond to these dynamics? The ultimate object ofdesign is to create form that satisfies b~havior. The rightness of à.f~:·rm depends on the degree to which it fits its behavioral, social, and cultural context.31 31Lang J. (1979). Creating Architectura! Theorv. The Role of the Behaviora1 Scipnces in Environmnetal Design. NY: Van Nostram Reinhold. P. 22. 47 Fred Steele identifies six basic functions ofarchitecture that relate to user engagement: "shelter, security, social contact, task • instrumentality, symbolic identification and aesthetic pleasure")2 Abraham l'vIaslow adds further, "the built environment, if properly configured, can meet aspects of human needs for survival, security, affiliation. esteem, leaming, and aesthetics")3 Therefore design choices have to he made to provide environments that will attend to our physiological needs. offer emotional support and, one hopes, give aesthetic pleasure. These choices must also refIect the existing cultural order and climatic conditions. The way such activities as sleeping, cooking, and eating are carried out varies culturally. ln sorne cultures, men eat first; in others the family eats together. In sorne cultures people sit on the fIoor; in others they sit on chairs at tables. This affects such design concerns as • window-sill height, space requirements, and location ofdoors. The behavior-setting 'bed room' Is not a universal type. In warm climates men, in particular, may sleep outdoors)4 Lynch recognized and defined seven basic dimensic',Ds that affect the performance aspect of the bullt environment. They are "vitality", "sense", "fIt", "access", "control", "efflciency" and "justice"35. The way the urban environment supports the human race, Lynch refers to as "vltalit)'''. The systems that a1d in sustaining our biologicaI requirements and furthering our potential for progress as 32Ibid., p. 23. 33Ibid.. p. 23. 34Ibid., p. 122. 35Supra• p. 48 human beings are aIl vital to the species' long-term survival and • ability ta thrive. The term "sense" is used to denote the specifie characteristics or arrangement of these characteristics that define a given buiIt environment and differentiate it from others. It also refers to the degree to which these charateristics accurately reflect the cultural values and norms of the specifie society. It is the compatability or match between the environment, the sensory capabilities needed to perceive the environment and the cultural construct that it represents. The way the urban form functions in providing spaces and materials for our activities and actions along with the necessary connecting channels between them, Lynch refers to as "fit". Thus the ability of the urban form to provide adequately equipped spaces that meet our needs and demands for the present and the future is essentiaI. Along with "fit" another Important aspect of performance Is "access". This is the abillty of the urban form to provlde communication routes, emergency services, deslgnated actlvlty zones, Information and resources. The effectiveness wlth whlch this Is accompllshed Is, ofcourse, very Important. In addition to "access" there Is also "control". This relates to those who determine access to partlcular spaces and facilltles, those who create them, those who maintain them and the control these groups have on the users and locallnhabltants. The "efficlency" by whlch our bullt envlronment performs greatly affects our quality of IIfe. Lynch refers to "efficiency" as the relatlonship between the cost and the deslre to develop and maintain a flourishing bullt envlronment. 49 The built environment exists for the benefit ofeveryone and therefore its costs should be shared equally. Lynch caUs this "justice". • Il is guided by principles such as equity and recognition ofother contributions. It is also shaped by the exercise of power and by the demonstration of need or financial means. How the buiIt environment concretely tries to meet our needs and demands is the focus of the foUowing sections, Anthropometrics and Ergonomics, Proxemies and Health and Safety. Anthropometries and Ergonomics Two important areas ofstudy in relationship to physiognomy and user engagement are anthropometrics and ergonomics. Anthropometries is the study of the human body, its eapabilities and limitations, in relationship to the built environment. Ergonomies is the stL'dy of the interaction of the human form with objeets and • machines in their environmental setting. Many variables have to be considered in designing a user-frieudly environment. Human Dimension Since we are aU different sizes and since we aIso change size in our growth period, different user-populations will demand a particular space size and organization. Thus eountertop and eIectrieal switch Ievels for ehiIdren and wheelchair users should demonstrate ergonomie effieieney and he ofan aceommodating helght. Personal streng~h and energy levels also vary wlth age and physleal condition. Thus, for example, ease ofopenlng doors and windows ean be an essential requlrement for the elderly or the Infirm. People's body actions, posture, and movement patterns must he taken Into consideration at the planning stage ln order to ensure thelr safety and provlde optimal comfort. Therefore such declslons as direction of • 50 door openings. height (jf railings and placement ofcorridor • intersections are crucial. Illumination Lighting levels can be bath utilitarian and symbalic. For example, in the work place or the kitchen. where fine motor control is needed to complete detailed tasks, adequate and direct illumination is essential. But for reception rooms. where a relaxed and social atmosphere is desired, low and indirect illumination will contribute to this effect. Naturallight is more desirable psychologically but artificial light is constant and controllable. Perception and Use ofColour: Colour can be used to accentuate formai elements such as depth, symmetry and texture. It also can be used to dlfferentiate or integrate architectural detalls from their background. for example, handles and knobs. è: "'Ctrical switches, ;;afety equipment. and primaI)' entries and exits fram secondary ones. Colour can be used to suggest intimacy or formality. Strong vivid colours can be eye-catching and stimulating but ta many people they are confusing and fatiguing. Acoustics and Sound: Because sound or noise levels directly affect the efflciency ofa workplace andalso Ils comfort, the acoustic quality ofmaterials is an important factor ta consider. Constant noise can he fatiguing and disruptive. leading ta physical and emotional stress. High acoustic standards are paramount for cinemas and concert hall. Proxemics Proxemics is relateèt ta user engagement. It is the study of the spatial distance needed for comfortable social interaction between people and it is determined by cultural standards ofprivacy and • 51 social conduct. Proxemics is often divided into the categories of personal space. territoriality. privacy. density. and crowding and • small-group ecology. Personal Space This is the physical space or distance people maintain between each other in face-to-face contact and usually varies from one-and a-half to four feet. Distances of less than eighteen inches are for intimate contact with close friends. loyers. relatives and/or children. North Americans. in general. prefer a larger separation of space between themselves than do people in other cultures. They also avoid when possible personal contact with strangers. This can affect design decisions for seating in public places such as airports or parks. where seating will often be avolded if one's "personal space" is not providcd for as well as the public space. For public Interaction, the distances maintained are usually from four to twelve feet. For example, people working in an office are • placed four to seven feet apart which still allows for ease of speech and communication. The larger distances. from seven to twelve feet, are for more formai situations, such as between an employee and their superior or new clients. The range between twelve and twenty-five feet is where ilon involvement starts and greetlngs or contact is usually not expected. Thus corridors and entrance ways of more than twelve feet in wldth are often deslgned to provlde thls type ofautonomy ln large public spaces,36 Territoriality 36Deasy. C. M. \Vith Lasswell, T. E. (198S). DESIGNING PLACES FOR PEOPLE. USA• p.23 • S2 Territoriality is behaviour which demonstrates ownership or exclusive possession ofa specifie space, either temporarily or • permanently. lt encompasses individuals and their attitudes to personal property and to dominant cultural groups and issues of national boundaries. ft is often expressed through psychological identification and personal transformation of the space. Thus a blanket spread in a park for a picnie will elicit territorial behaviour which in extreme threatening conditions will become a defensible space. The obvious examples relate to our personal property and possessions and the territorial behaviour which manifests itself early in our childhood as we vigorously defend our toys and playing space. Thus in home and property ownership, cIear title and boundaries are essential in establishing society's rights and obligations to personal and public territorial space. PrÏ\"acy, Density and Crowding These three conditions, if not adequately controlled, will cause stress and malfunction especially in urban environments. Therefore much effort is put Into planning and designlng by architects and urban designers to accommodate or to avold the potential problems Inherent in these conditions. These conditions arise out ofour needs for personal autonomy, on one hand, and social involvement, on the other. Small-Group Ecology SmaU-group ecology is the study of the environmental-behaviour dynamlcs that affect smaU-group gatherings. Variables that might affect a particular activity IncIude slze, shape and the lllumination levels of the space. Thus the design ofseminar rooms, conference and other meeting spaces and informai areas, such as lounges and recreation raoms, will consider room shape, location ofentry points, llghting and acoustics and their effect on group interaction. 53 • Social Interaction Affecting the dynamics of social interactions by a specifie configuration or intervention of the built environment is another major design consideration for architects that relates to user engagement. Sociopetal and Sociofugal Different organization of spaces either brings people together (sociopetal) or forces them apart (sociofugal). These are important dynamics to consider in planning such buildings as stadiums where it is necessary to break up large crowds of spectators to seat them correctly and quickly and also to disperse them without creating tie ups. This problem was addressed by the Romans when they designed their amphitheaters and arenas and the basic principle of parallel exits and corridors is still used today. AIso in restaurants, where space may be at a premium. back-to-back booths are used to create optimum privacy in a restricted space. Special user Groups How can the built environment best respond to the particular requirements of the elderly, differently abled. children and other special needs groups? The Elderly The aging process brings with it physiological change and a stronger reliance on an adaptive living environment. For example, the illumination level needed for someone over sixty to function normally is found to be twice that needed for a twenty-year-old. At the same time, sensitivity te glare increases with age requiring the use of more indirect lighting. AIso for the elderly, lighting controls and futures (for changing light bulbs) should be located for easy S4 access. There is also a greater demand for environmental aids such as handrails. ramps. slip-resistant f100r surfaces. remote-controlled door • openings and so on. As weil. there is an increased need for services and access to services such as shopping and medical care and increased protection against crime. Often the elderly. because of their decreased physical capabiIities. become isolated from the social involvement they need. Therefore it is important to consider community and socializing spaces and their accessibility. Specially Abled At usually one period in our Iife ail of us experience a physical condition. from pregnancy to a sprained foot. that makes us appreciate and understand the need for barrier-free environments. This involves such design initiatives as access ramps. doorway and cubicle widths. doorknob heights and shape. Barrier-free or universal-access environments are essential for wheelchair users and thus the location and height ofdesks. counters. water fountains, public telephones. sinks, sanitary and condom dispensers. hand drying equipment. mirrors and so on are very important. There are many design issues to be considered in arder that universal access be complete, from the installation ofsound indicators for the hearing impaired to embossed elevator control buttons for the visually impaired. Children The effect of the built environment on children has been the focus of many studies. The followlng Is a sampling ofGary T. Moore's f1ndlngs: 1) In comparison wlth other children, and with other variables belng held constant, seven-year olds from crowded homes have been found to be nine months behlnd in readlng age, and auditory 55 discrimination and reading ability have been found to be lower for children living on low floors near • expressway noise. 2) When famHies moved from crowded housing to less crowded public housing. children and parents experienced a decrease in interpersonal tensions. the number of iIInesses dropped. and the children were more regular in school attendance. but there were no changes in long-term int«:>rpersonal relations or scores on intellectual and achievement tests. 3) With regard ta high-rise versus low-rise of the same density. many studies in several countries have found that considerably fewer children from high-rises play outside or even play in hallways and baIconies. ln high-rise buildings. the most frequent users ofoutdoor space are those children living on • the lowest three or four floors; children living on higher floors are often not permitted to go outdoors except with strict supervision. 4) Though it has been caIculated that children are the greater users of public outdoor space. playground and parks do not provide fo. most of their needs; one study found that children spend less than an average of flfteen minutes in a playground during a period ofseveral hours spent outdoors. On the other hand, children do use courts, sidewalks, baIconies, porches, lanes, streets. leftover spaces between buildings, and amblguous spaces ln and around natural features much more than they do created, sculptural playgrounds (with the exception ofadventure playgrounds). Designers and planners should provide safe, connected play spaces linking • 56 several house clusters, paths, natural areas, and left • over places.3ï Planning and designing environmental spaces for the needs of children. specifically, must first consider health and safety factors that might primarily affect them. Thus, such things as placement of electrical outlets, the space between railings or the height of window openings become important design considerations. The toxicity levels of materials, the sharpness ofedges, the presence of floor obstructions (the level differences between flooring materials such as carpeting and tile) hold potential dangers for children, especially youngones. Of course, the most obvious buildings where considerations for children's needs should be a priority are schools. Much has been written on effective school design and normally it is influenced by the teaching philosophy and prosperity of the school boards involved. They must make such design choices as to have an open plan concept or the traditionally separated teaching classrooms. Design problems often arise when adequate consultation doesn't take place between the professionalc; and the students and teachers involved. Consultation is a complex process as It is often difflcult for lay people to express and translate their needs Into workable design concepts. But this type ofconsultation Is an important and essentiai procedure and one that must continue to be addressed and developed by the professlonals involved. '--". Health and Safety Health 3iMoore. G. (1979). hl Snyder, J. and Catanese, A.,(Eds.), INTRODUCTION TO ARCHITECTURE. USA, p. 64. 57 One of the main health conr:erns nf winc1ow-sealed high rise buildings is the' sick building s)'11drome")8 This syndrome was first • identified in the] 970s because of the many health complaints workers reported when first coming ta work in such buildings. Because of the superior insulation, there was Jess air infiltratic,n and replacement, allowing airborne toxins and pollens to thrive, especially in damp and stagnant cquipment. The most publicized case was the fatal "Legionnaire's disease" that broke out at a Legionnaire's convention in Philadelphia in the nineteen seventies. The toxicity levels of materials, such as plastics, adhesives, <;ynthetic carpeting, paint and ceiling tiles have to be examined and tested for their possibie harmful effect on humans. This has become a major concern in the wake of the controversy over the widespread use ofasbestos materials, mainl)' as a fire retarding and insulating materi"i, and is though t to be the major cause ofasbestosis. Another important health concern is the presence and effect of "Radon39", Radon Is the by-product of uranium, which ln the natural erosion process breaks down and releases radioactive gases that can • cause permanent lung damage. Preventlng radon from entering the house by sealing cracks in the basement concrete floor and wall joints, pipe entries, drainage pipes and so on, Is practical and easy to de. Aiso ensuring proper ventilation in basements and crawl spaces will help prevent radon bulldup. Safery Pro\'isions There are man)' Important elements to conslder ln ensuring a safe envlronment. For example, doors must not open into stalrwells, raiIlngs and banlsters must be a certain height (and higher on exterlor baIconles), flooring materials must be tested agalnst slippage. In large buildings, trafflc flow must be weIl defined to 38Gordon, D. E. and Stubbs, S. (199J). IjOW ARCHITECTURE WORKS. USA, p. 142. 39Ibid.• p. 146. 58 avoid collision (into other people, columns, doors. windows) and the materials must be extra sturdy to withstand use by large numbel's of • people. The toxicity levels of matenals (e.g.. lead and mercury content) and their emissions have to be examined and tested for human contact, as noted above under Health. Fire Safety and Protection "When people die in fires, the most architecturally significant factor is that the building did not provide for their escape."40 Thus buildings must ensure alternative escape routes when the principal one becomes blocked by fire. At the same time, developing methods ofcontaining the flames and, mo!'e important, smoke and fumes, by compartmentalizing parts of the building with fire and smoke resisting doùrs is essentiaL The use of fire resistant materials to help prevent structural collapse from fire is also critical. Emergency escape routes and exits should be well-indicated and lit with an emergency lighting system. Immediate fire detection and a loud alarm can save critical time for a successful escape. Alarms should be • prominently and frequently placed throughout the building. Fire fighting aids consist of portable extinguishers and/or internaI sprinkler systems activated by smoke and heat detectors. VehicuJar Access and Parking As reliance on automobile transportation grows, vehicular access and parking have become an important and necessary design component for bath resIdentiai and commercial buildings. Zoning Iaws often determine the slze, number and location of parking or garage spaces. ,Larger buildings normally have separate service and truck loadlng bays. Clear and direct access for fire trucks and ambulances ',. 40Reid, E. (1984). UNDERSTANDlNG BUIlDINGS, a Multidisciplinary Approach. USA. p.178. 59 is critical as weIl as convenient entry for wheekhairs. In planning car access and parking, one has ta also be aware of the pedestrian • entries and pathways and allow for their safe integration. The following section explores the practÏCe and decision-making pracess ofsorne of the players or agents ofchange that influence urban development toda}'. It poses the question: Who are the "people" responsible for changes in our urban form? Agents of Change Introduction Two of the obvious key participants are the city planner and the architect, professionals who cany out specific raIes in actualizing change in the urban form. Other key flgures are the developer, whose primaI')' raIe is financial by bringing the investor and user client together, and the municipal government who contraIs development with its building code and zoning laws. But besides the • obvious ones there are many other individuals and groups that influence directly or indirectly the built enviranment. Kevin Lynch gives his overview of the network ofactive participants that affect our enviranment: Cities are built and maintalned bya hast ofagents: familles, industrial firms, city bureaus, developers, investors, regulatol')' and subsldizing agencies, utlUty companles, and the llke. Each has its own interests, and the pracess ofdecision is fragmented, plural, and marked by bargalning. Sorne of these agents are dominant, leading; others will folluw those leaders. In thls country (USA) the leading agents tend to be the great 60 financial institutions, which establish the conditions for investment; the major • corporations, whose decisions as to the location and nature of productive investment set the rate and quality of city growth; and the large developers, who create extensive pieces of the city itself. On the public side, we must add the major federal agencies, whose policies of taxation, subsidy, and reg ulation merge with the actions of private finance to set the investment conditions, and the large, single-purpose, state or regional agencies which are charged with creating highways, ports, water and disposaI systems, large reservations, and similar major chunks ofcity infrastructure. The basic patterns set by these form givers (ta appropriate an ego tistical term from architecture) are filled in by the actions of many others, in particular the location decisions ofindividual families and of firms ofmodest size, the preparatory activites of real estate speculators, small developers, and builders, and the regulatory and supporting functions oflocal government. The latter agencies, although unable to control the main currents, do much to set the quality ofa settlement, through their fire, building, and zoning codes, by the way they service development with schools and roads and open spaces, and by the quality of those services: educatlon,Pülicing, and sanitatlon.41 In thls descriptlon ofthe various groups that effect change in our built environmenc, Lynch captures the complex dynamic that 41 Lynch. K. (1983). A THEORY OF GOOD CITY FORM. USA, pp. 40-41. 61 particular agendas and mandates create for the built environment. Urban development is not influenced by one domInant group or • groups, but it is affected by their individual interests and agendas, such as making a financial gain, maintaining the infrastructure, ensuring investment values, promoting quality living conditions or developing a reliable tax system. 1 hose particular agendas are often not directly linked to the shaping of the city forro but they ultimately affect il. Though their influence is limiteà, it is only the local planning agencies that are concerned with the overall urban form and its well-being. Because of the many diverse agendas and interests, the city-building process is complex and pluralistic and often the result of conflic t, bargaining and multiple interests. The product is often partisan or unwanted and seemingly not controlled. Yet it is controlled if only by the uncoordinated efforts of the groups mentioned earlier. In addition public interest can have a surprising impact though it may go unheeded. Lynch sees two main forces in urban development today. ln the private sector, there are the land developers backed by large financial institutions and servicing our major corporations in a • capitalist politlcal system whose primary reward is financial gain. And, representing the public sector, there are the city planning office that oversees the expansion and maintenance of the urban infrastructure and the municipal government that ensures adequate revenues and incentives for development and investment. ln addition ta these main players is a host ofother private and public agencies that in turn influence and affect the outcome of the urban form. What becomes cIear, in Lynch's analysis, is the lack of overall vision for future development in the present process. Most of the players have specifie agendas and represent different and often conflicting constituencies. The result is the present-day polyvalent and pluralistic urban forro. He also notes that public intervention takes place usually in, crisis situations responding to threats to existing urban elements in which specifie citlzen's groups are likely • 62 to demand the maintenance of the status quo, as in heritage site preservation. This form of public action can often be effective but • tends to be very limited as it usually does not have an ongoing and consistent plan ofaction that works within a long-term theoretical framework or comprehensive urban scheme. The conclusion to be drawn from Lynch's articulate appraisal is that there is a great need for public awareness and vigilance in the drama played out in the evolution ofour urban form. K. Lynch has developed a theoretical framework in which a specifie approach is taken to analyze the dyn<,.mics affecting our built environment. A key element in Lynch's work is his conviction that the more insight we have about our own personal relationship with the built environment and the more skills and tools we can develop to give us a comprehensive view of the process of urban development. the better collective judgments can be made for preserving our past history and creating future history. It is with the belief that the urban form can improve only with the informed participation ofeach of us, no matter the differing individual agendas or those ofour constituencies, and also the belief that the practice ofart and art education contain unique potentials for promoting understanding and more effective interaction with the bullt environment that this project was conceived. The Players Planning and designing the built environment is about making derisions, decisions that will only be realized in the future. They can be made by an architect, engineer, city pIanner, developer and so on. The most recognized professional is probabIy the architect who often coordinates a larger team that as a whole actualizes structural "building" projects. This team can aIso include the client, the associated professions, the regulatory agencies and the construction • 63 industry. The following is a brief summal}' of sorne of the activities and responsiblitles of these main players who help realize our urban • form. Sorne of the data and information stated is common knowledge but is none the less given to develop a comprehensive overview of these agents of change and how they interrelate. Urban Planners Understanding urban planning requires knowledge of the whole urban development phenomenon. The concerns of urban planners range from issues '1f the individual architectural element to the entire infrastructure that services the whole community. The responsibilities and powers of the urban planner vary dramatically according to the area of the private or public sector they work in. Sorne of the more common associations are with: 1) ArchirecturaJ Finns: If the office is large enough...viII engage the services of an urban planner to aid in such things as complying l'Vith the local regulatoI)' agencies or maybe consulting on the most effective and creative use of land division. 2) Plamling Companies: For large private and public projects specialized planning companies are often engaged. 3) Municipal Offices: Many urban planners work for municipal offices. working for such departments as roads and bridges. airports. pedestrian traffic. sewers and ..vater mains. and so on. They are responsible for city investment in such things as new street lights. refurbishing parks. traffic regulation. repairing and resurfacing streets and so on. 4) Planning Offices: Usually part of the munic- • 64 ipal government offices. they organize and coordinate the image and workabilily • aspects of the city's projects. They take a more prescriptive role in the revie\\ing and changing of policy affecting long-range planning and the causes and effects of urban transfonnation. 5) Go\"ernmenr Agencies: Local. provincial and federal governments engage urban planners to conduct such things as user SUlyeys. help develop public policy and strategic planning. 6) Ministry ofDefence: Uses urban planners for physical planning of military bases and installations. ïl i:nl"ironmenral Agencies and Groups: Urban planners are used for such things as environmental assessment and planning. Urban planners are typically consulted on projects that affect the urban infrastructure such as roads, bridges, electrical and water systems, communication networks. pedestrian travel and safe!)' and soon. Thus, for example, a proposed shopping complex. in desiring to provide easy access and parking, will endeavor to integrate into existing patterns of trafflc circulation. Urban planners study the effects of population density and the resulting trafflc flow. They will analyze existlng pedestrian walkways, availability of recreational spaces, such as park land or playgrounds, and existing safety and health standards to help insure the welfare of people in the urban environment. 6S Consultation with ail concerned user-groups is particularly important when a new project must fit into an existing established • urban area. The placement of people entry points or vehicular access ramps are crucial and are onl)" decided on after appropriate research on local pedestrian and vehicular trafflc patterns has been conducted. Urban planners are also relied on when land development and suburban housing projens must maximize land use and at the same time reflect the appropriate marketing image of their developers. The Archicecr The architect is usuall)" engaged in the designing and construction of a specific building project that integrates into an existing urban form or ne\\' development. The role ofarchitects is to translate the needs and wishes of their client into a working design concept and then to oversee the • completion of this concept. This process has many stages that caH for both conceptual and physical skills. The following is a briefoutline of sorne of these design stages. 1) Inspiration: After receiving the mandate from the cUent. the architect evaluates the proposed use of the building. the financlal resources. the building site and the client's design preferences. before proceding with the design process. With these parameters in place. the architect begins the most creative part of her/his job by transforming the conceptual ideas into a working sketch. The thought process and cognitive skilis necessary ,0 do this have been the subject of numerous psychological and physiological inquiries. Creativity seems ta rely on divergent ways of thinking in which random and intuitive thought patterns dominate (see section on creativity in Curriculum chapter). Thus. courses in design • 66 principles and drawing techniques form an integral part of the • training ofarchitecture students. The resulting working sketches are rough approximations of the final design. representing only the overail design concept of the project. These sketches often become the signature mark of architects and. even when the projects are not realized. are sold as collector pieces and museum artifacts. 2) Preliminary Working Drawings: At this stage, a more formai design is prepared, adding structural detaiIs and space organization but the drawings still remain fairly undetaiIed. These drawings will aid the client in understanding the design ideas and direction of the project but allow for major adjustments or changes to take place. Norrr.ally, at this point the client will accept or reject the overall design concept the architect proposes. 3) Working Drawings (ln Progress): A more complete picture unfolds as structural detaiIs and a precise spatial organization are • developed. Many of the design features that before were vague or unspecified are defined and expressed explicitly in the design. At this point a better costing estimate can be obtained and any resulting revisions can be included before the final drawings are begun. 4) Working Drawings (Final): At this point, the design stage is completed and the drawings finished. They are accompanied by a written list of specifications and are ready to go out to contractors for tender. 5) Construction Stage; After the successful bid is accepted a contractor is engaged. The archit(;ct and/or her/his team will usually develop a set of shop drawings which interpret and elaborate construction procedures for the project. • 67 Full construction then begins. and until its completion. ongoing consultation between the contractar and the architectural design • team continues. The client can be a single individual or a representative group such as the government or a business corporation. The clients establish the financial resources available. This often involves a financiallending institution like a bank or insurance company. They will lend money for a short term or a long term. through a legal instrument commonly known as a mortgage. The mortgage is "secured" by the property itself or other assets and thus if there is a default on the repayment of the mortgage the lender will be given title of these assets. The lender will sometimes buy a share in the ownership of the property and this is called acquiring "equity". Clients will also outline their expectations or mandate for the project. Their chief concern is ta represent the interests of the user population. whether it be for themselves. for a residential project. for a special interest group, such as a religious congregation, or for • shoppers in a commercial complex. For example, a school board will try ta transmit the needs of its students and teachers, at the same time setting budgetal')' limits. Unfortunately. it often happens that user groups are not consulted in research studies nor are they a part of the design and decision-making process. Rarely are clients expert in architectural planning and they are often unable ta translate their ideas or requirements into architectural or structural concepts. Therefore it is essential that the archltect facilitate the communication process ta ensure a comprehensive understanding of the clients' and user groups' needs and wishes. Associated Professions The architect often consults or shares the designing and planning process with other professionals working with the built environment. The following is a list of the associated professions most frequently used by an architect. • 68 1) Surveyors: The last procedure before beginning the • construction stage is to have the land surveyed. This means to define by exact measure the size, shape and contour of the building site. Surveyors will refer to the existing municipal city plan and land registration archives to determine the precise location of the land and its relationship to the neighbouring land. Once land tiUe is confirmed. the surveyor will mark out the exact position where the excavation for the proposed structure will take place. The surveyors will identify the location or entry or evacuation points for the public water main and the sewage drainage system. They will also confirm the direction and angle or "grade" of the land which is important in determining water run-off or SGiI erosion patterns. 2) Engineers: This is a ver)' important resource for the architect. Their expertise, whether civil, structural, mechanical or electrical, will determine the specifie area of the project they will be working • on. Civil and structural engineers involve themselves with the structural elements of the building. Thus the "load-bearing" qualities of the structure become important considerations and research into soil and foundation conditions. strength and tensillty of materials and corrosion and durability of materials become essential tasks. Civil and structural engineers are also concerned with questions Involving thermal insulation and acoustical insonorization. Mechanlcal engineers are malnly concerned with the Installation and operation of the large mechanical systems such as heating, ventilation, and elevators. They also deal wlth the planning of the more compIicated water and drainage systems. Electrical engineers develop electrlcal networks that service the large mechanical systems as weIl as the lighting and small electrical 69 equipment requirements of the building. They also oversee the design and installation of the communication and electronic systems • for fire alarms. telecommunications and computer hardware and data processing networks. 3) Computer Specialists: Architectural offices, especially larger ones, rely more and more on computer assisted drafting and design (CADD)-I2. With superior abilities ta do such tasks as overlays and three-dimensional simulations. CADD has become an essential time and labour-saving option. though the l'ost and operation ofsuch sophisticated equipment l'an be quite an expensive capital outlay. 4) Interior Designers: lnterior designers are often consulted when spec.:ialized environments need ta he created, such as food service areas or health club facilities. Also, when a building is to contain multiple uses and many different tenants, designers may be called upon to create a varied atmosphere in order to reflect the different images of their clients. • 5) Landscape Architects: Landscape architects have the task of integrating the building into the surrounding environment while at the same time enhancing the architectural design of the structure. Depending upon the setting and the space available, a variet)' of options l'an be utilized, The landscape design might contain such details as sculptures. fountains and special effect lighting or natural elements such as trees, shrubbery and flower beds in trying to create park-Iike settings. Naturallight exposure, traffic flow and maintenance costs become important factors in planning the appropriate or desired landscape effect. Regulatory Agencies -12 Jones, F. H. (1986). COMPtrrER AlDED ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN. USA. p. 2. 70 Municipal or local governments have by-Iaws that regulate the • type and use of buildings and also establish the construction standards for their particular area of jurisdiction. 1) Zoning Ordinances: Zoning ordinances will dictate whether a particular area will b~ zoned agricultural, residential, historical, multiple housing, institutional, commercial or industrial or any combin:.uJOn of these. Zoning ordinances try to ensure that neighbouring land use is harmonious and complementary. They will also establish size and height limitations as weil as strueture-size to land-size ratios. They will also control minimum lot size and the setback distance of the building from the road. Zoning ordinances also regulate parking availability and try to ensure adequate pedestrian and sufficient vehicular routes for projected new construction. They may also impose aesthetic standards especially in older • heritage areas in order to promote the continuity of the prevailing architectural style. 2) Building Codes: Building codes set the construction standards. They need ta he complied with in order to receive a building permit and, thus, be able to start construction. Building codes regulate such matters as health and fire safety, wheel chair accessibility, structural design, mechanical equipment, electrical and plumbing systems, interior and exterior finishes and elevator installation. Local building officiaIs inspect and approve the architect's design and thereafter periodically visit the construction site ta ensure complii:mce with the building code. 3) Building Permit: A building permit or license must be obtained from the local government office before construction can begin. With 71 .". the application, drawings and specifications must he submitted as • weil as an estimated cost of the value of construction. If the architect's plans do not comply with the zoning ordinances the architect can apply in most cases to a zoning appeals board for a "variance" or an exception for noncomforming use. The architeet can also usually apply for a zoning change or permanent modification of the zoning map, which may not only need the endorsement ofan appeals board but also ratification bya locallegislative body. Construction Industry The constructit>i':. industry is a vast and complex web of interrelated businesses and manufacturers. It incIudes such varied industries as cement companies, glass manufacturers, brick and metallurgical companies, for a fewexamples. Once the architect has finalized the design she/he will "tender • bids" or ask for construction cost submissions from contractors. The "bid" is a statement of the materials to be used, construction costs. and expected completion date that the contractors are willing to contractually commit themselves to. The architect then normally chooses the most appropriate submission in meeting the expectations of priee. quality and construction timetable. The architect and contractor will then work very closely to fulfill their respective obligations during the entire construction process. The contractor. before submltting her/his bld. will engage an estimator. An estimator searches out materials and technologies needed for the construction project and costs them for the contractor. This is crucial Information in the highly competitive "bidding" system. An estlmator will also often be called upon by the architect ln the design phase to help clarify the financial feaslbility ofcertain design choiees. 72 The .::rtuai construction. after the land has been surveyed. begins with the excavation of the foundation. Depending on the size and • height of the building and the soil conditions, the excavation will be carried out by heavy machine!}' or, in the case of bedrock, by dynamiting. After a drainage system has been rut in place, the foundation is ready to be laid. The most common foundations are of poured concrete into pre-made forms. As described in earlier sections, it is the type of building and construction technique that determines the building process. But it is the contractor who orchestrates the different construction stages in fulfilling the requirements of the architects' plans. Contracting companies vary in size from one-person operations to large multiproject corporations. They may specialize in residential, lo\\'- and high-rise, commercial, industrial, health-care, religious, educational, recreational buildings and/or in renovations and preservation. Public and Private Support Groups Every one of us is affected every day by our built environment. We carry out activities such as work, play and sleep with the support ofshelters and specialized built environments. The bullt environment is a pervasive force in our lives and, as a result, one needs a conscious awareness and a strong civic duty in order to be an active participant in its future evolution. Many interested individuals and groups contribute their time and resources to develop, protect and safeguard their communities. Sorne of these organizations are govemment-sponsored and others are formed by concemed and committed CitizCllS. The issues They engage in vary from heritage and preservation to zoning and 73 dc\'elapment and range from local cammunity interests ta problems affccting the larger urban form. Often these groups ofconcerned • citizcns rally when a particular zoning law or specifie development is proposed that results in a change ta the condition of their built environment. These groups respond to crisis situations and often àistnnd when the dispute is resolved, no matter in whose favour. There are also many groups that take on as their mandate the preservation and protection of their cultural sites. In Montreal alone we have groups such as Heritage Montreal, Association québécoise d'interprétation du patrimoine, Société immobiiière du patrimoine architectural de Montréal, Conseil des to.'1onuments et Sites du Québec and many others. These groups have a very important agenda to fuIfiIl in safcguarding the balance between development and preservation. There are also groups whose concerns center on the quaIity of their living conditions and who lobby for the protection and maintenance of their parklands and ecological systems, transportation service and routes, quaIity ofair and so on. Sauvons • Montréal and Ville de Montréal, Service de l'habitation et du développment urbain, are such interested groups. In addition to those groups with their particular agendas and mandates there are others that foc us on housing and social issues. These other groups vary from housing cooperatives to shelters for the homeless. Action Montreal, Comite logements de Rosemont and the Association des residentes et residents du Vieux -Longueuil are examples of socially-committed groups. Summary The previous four sections. Inherent Meanings, Reading Our Environment, Perfomance and User Engagement and Agents of Change, form the content basis for the final curriculum model for • 74 built environment education. They represent a distillation ofa selection of ideas and concepts from the field of architecture and the • built environment for art education curriculum. There are, ofcourse. many other theories and ideas to be investigated and several. such as structures and historical typologies. were eventually put aside for further development. The ideas and concepts represented in the first three sections ail have in common the theme ofenvironmental knowing or understanding. By "reading" and evaluating the built em"ironment around us we will begin to develop a better awareness of the cultural values and societal needs that underlie H. The fourth section explores the people and professions directly involved with change in the built environment. These basic concepts of the built environment. however, in order to be meaningful and applicable for teachers and students, must he reshaped into a "curriculum mode!". Thus. the following chapter investigates different curriculum ideas and models that Influence the • final curriculum model. • 7S • Chapter Three: The Context of the Research and Review of Literature • • The Context of the Research • and the Review of Literature Curriculum Planning This thesis represents the professional and personal synthesis ofa passion for architecture and the built environment, a personal artistic practice and a rich teaching career. As mentioned in the prologue, for eighteen years 1was a tear:her and coordinator cfa fine arts, cinema, drama and photography department at a co:nmunity college in Quebec. Part of my teaching assignment was to teach drawing and design to Architecture Technology students. In developing these courses 1worked closely with the overaii curriculum of the Architecture Technology program. This exposure to the broader issues ofarchitecture and the built environment led to a more extensive understanding of both its' theories and practices. For the past five years 1have been teaching at Concordia University in the Art Education Department. In my first year at Concordia, 1taught Studio Inquiry, Art Performance as Teaching and Architecture and BuiIt Environment Education to graduate students who aIl had previous teaching or related experience. Fortunately, those courses represented the central areas ofmy academic and personal concerns and the preparation for these courses forced me to reflect on and to communicate my understanding ofart making, the built environment and teaching. The goal of the research and development undertaken in this thesis was to create a curriculum approach to architecture and the built environment for seconc1aJy school art teachers. The idea arose out ofmy university course on Architecture and the Built Environment and out ofmy earlier experience in teaching Architectural Technology students. As a consequence of my 76 university course. 1had many requests from teachers who were either personally interested in the subject area or had curricular • demands to teach it. These teachers came to the course with enthusiasm for the subjeet matter and usuaUy sorne histarical background in architecture but no real overview of the issues central to the built environment. After discussing their professional demands and their backgrounds il') this area. 1rf>cognized a need for a conceptual framework and a perspective thac would help art teachers to gain access to this varied and comple'\: discipline and ta make it meaningful and relevant to their point of view. The initial task as set out in the previous chapter. was ta develop an overview of the body of knowledge that constitutes the built environment as dcveloped in the previous chapter. The principal goal was to express the fundamental nature of the built environment as a cultural phenomenon. As my research developed. ! :::.1;;0 wanted to express the human motivations behind certain design and living choires. As the research continued to evolve. it became important to amplify other theories such as the social. economic and political • forres that influenced those design and living choices. A specific viewpoint began to emerge. that of environmental knowing. This became the basis for the subject content of the final curriculum model and instructional design. An additional challenge was to transform into a workable and viable curriculum this large body of information about the built environment. The next part of the thesis ls about the development ofa particular curriculum approach that would best transform the deslgnated bulIt envlronment subject content lnto an effective art education curriculum. The followlng ls an identification of those theorles and curriculum approaches in the field ofcurriculum study that contrlbuted and ï7 shaped the final curriculum model developed for built environment • education. The Field of Curriculum Planning The first sections of this chapter explore the varying theorle: ",'Id literature in the fields of educational psychology, curriculum development and art education that ultimately Influenced the final form of the curriculum model that 1developed. Beglnning wlth the seminal work of]. H. PestalozzI and J. Dewey, whose theories are based on the primacy of the chHd's experlence and the Inceptlon of the field ofcurriculum as a distinct discipline, thls section concludes with the development ofcurriculum typologies. The next section explores the Influence of humanlstlc psychology on education and revlews the speclflc theories ofA. Maslow and C. Rogers. This Is extended to an examlnatlon of the hollstlc vlew of • phenomena. The role ofcreatlvity and problem solving as ways of thlnklng and Informlng dlscovery and exploration are the topic of the ensulng section. Examples are glven ofstrategies or tools for developlng creative thinking and problem solvlng. In the section "Heuristics". The chapter then focuses on cUITlculum plannIng as an instrument ofsocial change and revlews the theories ofcritlcal pedagogy and post-modernlsm. Subsequently in the section tltled "Curriculum Model", a model is developed that integrates or synthesizes the theories and ideas of the previous sections. The chapter concludes with a review of Iiterature and curriculum theories in Art Education and Built Environment Education. 7R The Q.uestion of Curriculum • !\s someone who has spent most of his Iife as a student or teacher (and often both). it seemed ta me that ta define curriculum as 1 experienced it and as an established field of study would be fairly straightfon\'ard. But. as 1was to discover. many people before me had also grappled with the same task. What l'an probably be stated with sorne com'iction is that curriculum is not a singular concept or activity but. rather. a cultural construet that organizes diverse elements into an educational experience. What these elements and their relative values are and the type and breadth of the experience expected have been the direct concerns ofcurriculum planners and educationalists since institutional education began. The formation ofa curric ulum inherently reflects the theoretical. philosophical and cultural concerns of its originators. • Allan Ornstein and Francis Hunkins·B have gathered the following Iist of fundamental questions on curriculum that address many of these basic concerns. This extensive IIst of questions is asked in relationship to a typology d curriculum planning that represents a tradltional and standard approach to curriculum inquiry. Such a IIst is often seen as a useful practitioner's tool and reflects an analytic and methodological approach for constructing a curriculum plan (see later Tyler and Taba). lt also introduces the standardized language often used in curriculum. Goals. aims, objectives. content, subject matter, evaluation, accountabllity, learning activitles. teachlng strategies, instructional design, etc.. are sorne of the key language indicators of curriculum activity. 430rnSlein. A. and Hunkins. F. (1988). CURRICULUM: FOUNDATIONS. PRINCIPLES • AND ISSUES. USA. • 1) Ho\\' is curriculum defined? 2) What philosophies and theories are we L'ommunicating. intentionally or not, in our curriculum? 3) What social and political forces influence curriculum? 4) How does learning take place? What learning activities are most suitable for meeting the needs of our learners? How can these activities best be organized? 5) What are the de' ,nains ofcurriculum knowledge? What types of curriculum knowledge are essential? 6) What are the essential parts of curriculum? ï) Why do changes in curriculum take place? How does change affect the curriculum? 8) What are the roles and responsibilities of the curriculum speclaIist? 9) How is curriculum best organized? 10) What are the raies and responslbilitIes of the teacher and student ln organlzlng curriculum? Il) What are our alms and goals? How do we translate them into objectives? Rn 12) How do we define our educational needs? Whose needs? How do we prioritize these • needs? 13) What subject matter or content is mQst worthwhiIe? What are the best forms of content? How do we organize them? 14) How do we measure or verify what we are trying to achieve? Who is accountable. for what and to whom? 15) What is the appropriate relationship between curriculum and instruction? Curriculum and supervision? Curriculum and evaluation?-I-I. Inherent in these questions is a certain approach to curriculum construction that emphasizes the finding of correct solutions to • identified areas of specifie concern. ln my view. this approach compartmentalizes issues and deters the holistic overview that these questions imply and the interconnectedness of these specifie concerns. Historical Context PesttaJozzi ln tracing the roots of the curriculum approach tü be used in this chapter. one must begin with the work ofJohann Heinrich Pestalozzi (1 ï46-182ï). The influence of this great Swiss educator on the modern day educational syscem has been weil documented-l5• His -I-IIbid.. p.iS. -I5de Guimps. R. (1889). PESTALOZZI. HIS AIM AND WûRK. USA. Rl belief that most learning emanates from the child's sensory experiences. and not rote learning. was a fundamental breakthrough • in attitudes towards education at that time. His advocacy of the importance of teachers ta provide an emotionally secure and nurturing environment for children as weIl as the need ta engage aIl the visual and auditaI}' senses in learning activities was revolutionaI}' in his day. The impact of his ideas is still felt today in man)' contemporaI}' educational theories. Pestalozzi was one of the first pedagogues to recognize the importance of the chiId's own life experience as the major link ta skills and knowledge acquisition. He believed that power was in knowledge and skill was in learning and that it was the chiId's intuition or knowing that should be the basis of instruction. He distinguished between the process of learning and that ofjudgment and criticism. Learning should follow simple ta complex ideas and be done at the chiId's own rhythm of learning. He stressed that teaching should emphasize the child's development and not the memorizing of information or data. He strongly believed that the teacherlstudent r('Jationship must be founded on respect and caring. Pestalozzi directly confronted the power structure in learning situations. shifting the emphasis away from the autocratic control of the teacher to the initiation ofa supportive learning envlronment that values the chlld's world as the link to greater understandlng and the development of personaI intelligence. The seeds of posltivlsm and pragmatlsm are clearly rooted in hls belief that learning should take place in an open and non-judgmental atmosphere. Pestalozzi's work was to have a direct effect on the Amerlcan educatlonalists Horace Mann, Francis Parker and Lester Ward ln the early twentleth century. Thelr work in curriculum started the progressive educationaI movement of whlch John Dewey was aIso a major figure. • R7 • John Dewey (1859-1952). in his book DEMOCRACY AND EDUCATION.J6. published 1916. outlined his philosophy which expands the importance of the child's living experience ta include that of society. The responsibility ofan educational curriculum is to refleet the values and goals of any given society. Dewey believed that democracy as a social process should be an essential element ofa school curriculum. He believed strongly in the democratic process of public debate. discussion and collaborative decision making as the foundation of the democratic system. He viewed the school as a microcosm of this process where cooperative interaction bet",een teachers and students would create a strong learning em"ironment. If children. who then become adults. were more aware of the worldngs of the democratic political system. the potenti;;;l for positive social change would multiply. Dewey felt that a good education was one that led to positive growth in the future. Educational experiences \Vere only successful when they led to positive change for the learner and her/his society. His philosophy was labeled educational • pragmatism. Dewey strongly believed that intelligence was developed through the interaction of the student with his or her social envlronment through creative and cooperative problem solving. an important harbinger for later inquiry or discovery approaches to curriculum development. Dewey evolved five steps to problem solving; in the first step. one confronted the problem and its variables: in the second step. one defined the problem in your own terms; in the third step. one analyzed the problem and if necessary broke it down into components; in the fourth step. one developed an hypothesis or several hypotheses and judged their merits; and in the fifth step. one chose the most appropriate hypothesis and applied it ( if the hypothesis did not work one returned to the problem and tried an alternative). Dewey was again ahead of his time as the field of • .J6Dewey. J. (1916). DEMOCRACY AND EDUCATION. USA. psychology and education would later de\"elop many theories and practices on creati\"ity and problem sol\"ing (see later i.his chapter • under. Creati\"ity and Problem Solving and Heuristics). But Dewey's major concern was the socialization process of students in a positive interaction with the prevailing political system of their society. which ofcourse was democracy in the United States and Canada. Dewey in a pamphlet J\IY PEDAGOGIC CREED, published in 189ï. expressed his philosophy on the interconnection between education and the sûcial (political) realit)". He stated in Article V-The School and Social Progress: 1BeIie\"e that -education is the fundamental method of social progress and reform. -...education is a regulation of the process ofcoming to share in the social conscious • ness; and that the adjustment of individual acti\'it)' on the basis of this social con sciousness is the only sure method ofsocial reconstruction. -...in the ideal school we have the reconcil iation of the individualistic and institutional ideals. -...it is the business of every one interested in education to insist upon the school as the primary and most effective interest in social progress and reform in order that society may be awakened to realize what the school stands for, and aroused to the necessity ofendowing the educator with sufficient equipment properly to perform his task. R4 -...the art of thus gi\'ing shape to human powers • and adapting them to social sel"';ice is the supreme art; one calling into its sel"';ice the best ofartists; that no insight. sympathy. tact. e.xecutiye power, is too great for such seryice. -... the teacher is engaged. not simply in the training of indiYiduals. but in the formation of the proper sociallife.-!;'" Expressed in the language of that period. Dewey's credo has a strong eyangelistic tone but it was to be a strong influence on many future curriculum designs. Indeed. Dewey's work might be seen as precursor te the recent work in critical pedagogy by Apple, Giroux and others. which is discussed in a later section of this chapter. Critical Pedagogy. Curricula as a specialized field ofstudy came into being when researchers began to inyestigate the planning and designing aspects • of curricula and not only its subject content. Franklin Bobbitt and Werrett Charters developed curriculum plans based on the Ideas of efficiency that were current in business management at that time. Bobbitt's book THE CURRICULUM-!8 of 1918 was one of the first comprehensive plans for curriculum design. ln the 1920s. interest developed in the developmentallearning stages ofchildren and curriculum plans began to reflect thls Interest. The classic THE CHILD-CENTERED SCHOOL,49 written by Anne Shumaker and Harold Rugg, stressed the Importance ofstudent Input ln curriculum planning. In the field ofart education Victor Lowenfeld 4ïDewey. J. (189ï), MY PEDAGOGIC CRFFP. USA. p. 10-11. 48Bobbitt. F. (1918). THE CURRICULUM. USA. • 49Rugg, H. and Shurnaker. A. (1928). THE CHILD-CENTERED SCHOOL USA. was a major ad\'ocate of child-centered curriculum and researched • the mnneetion between child de\'elopment and \'isual image making. Ralph Tyler and Hilda Taba, who worked toge~her. wrote comprehensiye books on curriculum deyelopment. Tyler. who was inf1uenced by the social theories of Dewey and the curriculum theories of Bobbin, wrote the BASIC PRINCIPLES Of CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION50 in 1949, which has been a classic guidebook for curriculum planning ever since. Taba later published her CURRICULUM DEVELOPl\IENTsl expanding the original steps of curriculum planing ofTyler and herself. Today their work is often used as a basic introduction to curriculum planning but it can appear prescriptive and rigid. But their approach introduced a standard typology to the field ofcurriculum and many subsequent curriculum approaches haye references to this model as e.xemplified by the list ofquestions posed by Ornstein and Hunkins earlier in the chapter. Elliot EisnerS2 and Laura ChapmanS3 haye continued the investigation into curriculum planning specifically for art education. • Their curriculum ideas and influence will be discussed later in this chapter under the section, Art Education, Psychologyand Humanism The field ofeducation and curriculum planning has always been intertwined with that of psychology, From Piaget to Foucault, the investigation into knowledge acquisition, human behaviour, developmental processes, creatiVity and problem solving, and 50 on, has had a strong influence on educational research and vice-versa. Since the values of humanistic education have strongly influenced 50Tyler. R. W. (1949). BASIC PRlliCIPLES OF CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION. USA. 51Taba. H. (1962). CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT. USA. 52Eisner. E. (1985). THE EDUCATIONAL IMAGINATION. USA. • 53Chapman, L (19ï8). APPROACHES TO ART IN EDUCATION. USA, my own teaching practice. this im"estigation led me to the theories of humanistic psychology and their influence on education and • curriculum planning. Humanislic Psych%gy Humanistic psychology developed in the late 1950s. Its principal proponents were the psychologists. Abraham t-Iaslow ( .....ho originated the term "humanistic psychology") and Carl Rogers. names weil known in many disciplines for their phenomenological work in human behaviour. Maslow's major them"y has to do \Vith prioritizing human needs anà the meeting of these needs so that one becomes fully self aetualized as a physical and emotional being. He summarized human needs as: 1) Physiological needs. Those elements needed to sustain Iife such as waler and food. warmth. sleep. • sex. and so on. 2) Safety needs. Conditions that ensure security. protection. freedom from fear and anxiet)' and create stability for daily existence. 3) Love and belonging needs. When the first two sets of needs are satisfied a person will seek affiliation and affection from thelr family and communal grouping. 4) Esteem needs. The need for recognition and appreclation as a slgnificant and contrlbuting member of society. 5) Self-actualization needs. The state of satis • faction when a person develops her/hls fullest R7 potential.5-l • h) Transcendence needs. The need ta organize and understand phenomena and relationships in a holistic conception.55 Maslow's them}" translates inro an educational approach that centres on the persanal experience of each student as the primaI}' foundation for learning. It also strec;:;es the human capacity for choice. creativity, moral judgmer.t and self-actualization. Carl Rogers based his theories on the belief that people had their mm unique concept of reality 'rom which they structured and organized their Iife. It was this personal "perceptual map"56 that formed the basis l'rom wh:ch lE',arning took place. Rogers also belie\'ed that the personal atmosphere in which learning was ta take place was crucial ta its effectiveness. A supportive, open and collaborative atmosphere would positivel)' alter learning behaviour. l'eachers should be non-directive facilitators for students in a personal discovery process involving new ideas, techniques, personal relationships, societal responsibilities and sa on. He stated that: ... individuals have within themselves vast resources for self-understanding, and for altering their self-concepts, basic attitudes, and self-directed behavior; these sources can be tapped if a definable climate of facultative attitudes (ofgenuineness, regard, and empathy) can be provided.Sï 54!'laslow. A. (1970). MOTIVATION AND PERSONALIn'. USA, p. 39-46. 55Maslow. A. (1971). THE FARTHER REACHES OF HUM<\N NATURE. USA. p. 279. S6Rogers, C. (1951). CLIENT-CENTERED THERAPY. USA, p. 485. 5ïRogers, C. (1980). A WAY OF BEING. USA, p. 115. RR The den~lopment of self-concept in the student would make for a self-moti\"ated and self-actualized person who would trust her/his • own experiencing. Rogers also emphasized the importance of personal freedom and the potential of personal choice as a psychologically fulfilIing experience. Freedom was an essential clement of effective learning beha\"iour and would create meaningful opportunities that prescribed. preplanned and imposed learning acti\"ities would not. 58 Humanistic education developed out of the late 1960s as a reaction ta wilat was seen as artificially segregated academic disciplines which ignored the inherent needs of the child. From I\laslow's theories that focused on the development of positive self concept and Rogers' that focused on building interpersonal skills. humanistic designs for curriculum evolved. j. P. Miller and W. Seller59 reflect on the assumptions and psychological roots that humanistic education is based on. They feel that human beings, given the proper supportive conditions, will • achieve their emotional and intellectual potential that will subsequently enhance their living skills. Everybody has the capacity to control and develop their own growth. As young children we may need certain guidance. but as we mature we can develop the ability to learn autonomously. They believe that personal and cultural values have an important effect on learning. A person needs to have a strong and coherent set of values that provide inner meaning and direction to their lives. From these values a strong self-image can grow which is an essential requirement for learning and actualization. Thus it is important to provide the students with a learning atmosphere that supports the development of their positive self-image. S8Rogers. C. (1983). FREEDQM Ta LEARN FOR THE 1980·S. USA. 59MilIerJ. P•• and Seller. W. (1990). CURRICULUM PERSPECTIVES AND PRACTICE. • Canada. p. 148. Il is also important te notc that cognitÏ\'c, affeetiYc and pyschomotor Icarning arc reliant on each othcr and that the students' • cognitiYc lcarning skiIls must match those IcycIs of their affectÏ\'c and psychomotor dc\'e!opmcnt. Tcachcrs arc principally animators of the learning em'ironment, Though they mOlY Olt times haye ta bc directiye, their main dutYis ta crcatc a c1assroom em'ironment that is conducÏ\'e to maximizing the students' leaming potentiaI. It is out of the students' own concems and priorities that curriculum content is developed and even though thc tcacher mOlY not be able to meet aIl the students' concerns, Olt least thc tcacher can create an atmosphere within which these concems can be aired and considered. Self-evaluation and refleetion arc central processes ta humanistic education, Humanistic education acknowledges the importance of the students' social and emotional requirements as weil as those of their cogniti\'e de\'elopment. Education should benefit the whole person \\'ith their cognitive. physical. psycholagical and spiritual ncros and • ambitions, Holistic Interpretation Ho\\' we perceive the structuring of the physical world will affect the way we interact with it. The sciences often Yiew phenomena as a formation of isolated building blacks and autonomous components to be dissected and investigated in order to master material matter in a belief that controlling our environment is progress which provides economic and technological growth. We position ourselves in competition with the natural world for our survival. In contrast. the social sciences often view the world as an interconnecting network of fluctuating states which constitute the whole. AlI matter belongs to and functions within an eco-system. Living in harmony with our • natura! environment helps preserve both us and il. CJO The I1rst \"iewpoint has dominated much of the scientil1c thinking and research of the twentieth century. It has led to amazing • technological and medical discoveries. We have also invented the nuclear bomb and nuclear power. increased pollution to alarming le\"els. depleted our natural resources. and so on. Sorne still believe that these problems will I1nd their solutions in scientil1c advancement. The holistic viewpoint. while not adverse to scientific discovel}", situates itself as being a strong interdependent dynamic within the whole eco-structure, l\/iller and Seller refer to this world view as perennial philosophy and summarize its main principles as: -The interconnectedness of realit)' and the fundamental unity of the universe -The intimate connection bet\\'een the individ ual's inner or higher self and this unit)' • -The cultivation of intuition and insight through contemplation and meditation in order to "see" this unity more clearly - The realization of this unit)' among human beings leads to social action designed to counter injustice and human sufferingGO The interconnectedness of reaIit)' and the fundamental unit)' of universe is not a new debate. But recentiy Gerald Edelman. the American Nobel Prize winner. has shaken the medical establishment with his views on how we conduct research on the brain. He believes it is wrong to compare the workings of the brain to the computer. Such comparisons do not explain the more irrational predilections of GOlbid..p 118. C)1 the human being, such as why sorne of us Iike the colour pink or • desire Chinese cuisine. Edelman states: Unlike computers, we understand ourselves and our world in individual, creath'e, dyn amie and unpredictable ways. We create our outer and inner worlds in a context of unceasing novelt)· and change. Computer codes simply can't encompass the Infinite range of human language, imagination and metaphor; our ability to hold intelligent cOll\'ersation and create works of art; our abilit)·, indeed. to make compüters that l'un on tape. Nor can they explain our sense of being individuals, of having self-consL'ious ness.61 Edelman strongly disputes the scientific community's view of the brain and its functions as a system of linear neuro-chemical • reactions. He finds this view restrictive and feels that scientific research has to look at the brain as an organic network, a network that mimics the biological body it functions within and the physical oll\'ironment this body and brain harmonizes with to survive. Edelman's theory implies the need for a new understanding between the balance of nature and nurture. He believes that teaching strategies should emphasize discovery and trial-and-error learning to encourage the connection of life events with the child's own aptitudes and world perceptions. This viewpoint strongly relnforces that of humanistic education. He maintains that the scientific community would benefit in its investigations by beginning with the holistic view of the 61 Cornwel1. ]. (1993). What we think we are? The Magazine. The Sunday Times. • ]u)y. p. 43. c)7 interdependency and mterconneetedness of our mental funetions \\'ith our body and our body \\ith other bodies and ail bodies \\'ith • the physÎlal enyironment. !\Iark Satin in his book. NEW AGE POLITICS62. tried to translate the holistic yie\\'point into ethical principles and \'alues of conduet in enyisioning a new social order based on inc1usÎ\'e and pluralistic ideals of conduct. He identifies four ethics as being important for the planet's sUf\'iyal. those of self-development. ecology. self reliance cooperation and nom'iolence63. ln the ethic of self-development. Satin sees the need for people to reorient their Energies away from material acquisition and to\\'ards a personal search for spiritual. religious and mysticalleyels of consciousness. One must be in tune with one's inner self in arder to achie\'e meaningfulle\'els of communication with others. The ecology ethic demands awareness and respect for the interdependence and organic connectedness ofail natt:ral and human • systems and the \'aluing and honouring of alllife forms of this planet and the eco-system that sustains them. These two ethics rel)' on two accompanying ethics. those of self reliance and cooperation. on the one hand. and nonviolence, on the other. The goal is to be individually self-sufficient and at the same time partake in a collective sharing of responsibilities in a nonviolent and noncoercive environment. Satin elabarates on these ethics by explaining: 1'0 maximize the self-development ethic we need maximization of social and economic well-being. We need maximization ofsucial 62Satin. ~1. (19ï9). NEW AGE POLITIes. liSA. • 63Ibid. P. 83-8-1. and political justice -pre\"ention of genocide: elimination of colonial regimes: elimination of • torture and cruelt.y: equality of treatment for people of ail ages. races. sexes. religions.... And we need maximization of cultural. intelleet ual and spiritual freedom. Ta maximize the ecology ethic we need maximization of environmental quality -includ ing maximization of the well-being of ail creatures. Ta maximize the selfreliance-coopemtion ethic we need maximization of self-reliance of communities. regions. and nation-states. and maximization of the coope:-.lti\'e potential of communities. regions and states.... '1'0 maximize the nom'iolence ethic we need minimization of violence between individuals. • 64 groups and governments. Satin also expands these ethiraI positions into social values that refleet a reordering ofexisting social interaction. most of them prc\'iously and presently expressed by our religious and cultural codes. in il more holistic and pluralistic framework. Satin labels these social values as enoughness. stewardship. autonomy and commlllnity. diversity and many-sidedness, desireless love and reverence for lire, species modesty. quality and be kind to yourself.65 64lbid. P.85-86. • 65lbld. P. 86-88. Satin believes that while nurturing and caring for the earth's em"ironment we should determine what is necessary for our needs • and not what is possible ta exploit. We should live with a balance between our personal ambitions and those of the community and develop a collective framework that will benefit bath. The recognition of differences in people will lead to a greater understanding between them and the potentiai of their uniqueness in a pluralistic society. AIso the personai recognition and acceptance ofone's own different emotional and rational forces within each person is important. One should develop cmotional connections that are not made out of personal need and gratification but out of the fuifillment that cornes from sharing and recognlzing our place and dependency in the larger eco-system. Quality in Iife contributes more to personai and collective growth than does quantity. What counts is the art of living as opposed to the • acquiring of more of life's chanels. The humanistic roots ofSatin's list ofethics and values are obvious and will have many implications for a later investigation into critical pedagogy. The basis ofSatin's list ofethics lies in respecting oneself and others while collectivel)' living in harmony and understanding for the survival ofail on the planet. He expresses this message with urgency and a certain amount of fundamentalist fen"our which tends to sometimes obscure the pluraiistic beliefs these ethics are based on. Creativity and Problem Solving lntrinsic to humanistic psychologicai and phiiosophicai theory is the use of higher levels of thinkl.iJ.g, seif-analysis and reflection. One needs ta contemplate her/his persona! view of reality and her/his • relationship to the world in order to develop, first, personai qC; judgment and. then. self-confidence in using this judgment. Great interest has deyeloped in exploring modes of thinking and • struCluring learning situations that de\'elop creatiye thinking and problem solying" Research on creatiyity generally focuses on two areas: the formaticn of the creatiye personality and the nature of creatiye thinking" The research on creatÏ\"e people giyes us insight into the attitudes and common personality traits required ta an cre Gui/fard It was the seminal work of psychologist J. P. Guilford in the 1950s that led ta the present-day interest in research on creativity. Guilford's model of the "structure of inteUect"66 posed the hypothesis for creati\"e thinking processes and set the path for researchers ta • investigate creativity as a definable personalit)' characteristic. Guilford's concept of creative thinking is strongly associated with dÏ\"ergent thinking patterns. Divergent thinking is used when there is no one right or presupposed answer but a range of possible solutions, as opposed ta convergent thinking where the correct answer can be deduced from the givens. According to Guilford divergent thinking is fostered by fluenc)', flexibility, originality. intuition, evaluation, elabüration and system building. Subsequent researchers have explored ways of testing and measuring creativity, ta describe the characteristics of the creative personalityand ta investigate the development of creative learning practices. 66Guilford, J. P. (196i). THE NATURE OF HlIMAN INTEWGENCE. USA. Many investigations have tried to define the core personality traits of the creative personality. Personality inventories reveal that • traits most in common are: lack ofconventionality, integration and intellectuality, aesthetic taste and imagination, decisional skill and flexibility, perspicacity and drive for accomplishment and recognition6ï• Most surveys on creative personalities describe rather than explain and they often change with domain specificity (e.g. what is considered creative behaviour in physics as compared to dance). These traits are not exclusive to creative functions but can also be found in other intellectual processes. Tardiff and Sternberg in 1988 reviewed available research on the subject of creative personality characteristics that applied to cross domain creativity and identified the most common as: Originalit)' Articulate and verbally fluent High intelligence Good imagination Creative in a particular domain Thinks metaphorically Uses wide categories and images Flexible and skilled decision maker Makes independent judgments Copes weIl with novelty Thinks logically Escapes perceptual set and entrenchment Bullds new structures Finds order in chaos Asks "Why?" Questions norms and assumptions Alert to novelty and gaps in knowledge Uses existing knowledge as base for new ideas 6ïStemberg • R. (1985). Implicit theories of intelligence, creativity and social psychology. lournal of Personality and Social Psychology. Vol. 49. Pp.607-62ï. 'li Prefers nonverbal communication • (reates internai visualizations 68 Tardiff and Sternberg conclude that most thinking skiIls associated \Vith creativity have ta do \Vith originality, idea generation, fluency, manipulation, elaboration, problem finding and sol\'ing, analogical thinking, flexibility, intuition, risk taking and so on. Robert Bruce69 summarizes the main components ofcreativity as being: Originality. The essence ofcreativity is originality -the capacity ta produce either new things or new and surprising applic ations or juxtapositions ofold ones....Origin ality may involve expressive spontaneity... and it certalnly Incorporates a lack of conventionality....While ail aspects of creat ivity...have originallty as a criterion, boundary breaking or paradigm shifting cali for the greatest application of this quallty. Integrated proflclency....The creative person must be at least conceptually proficient... Further. he or she must integrate and refine that skill and knowledge....This includes experimentation and refinement...integration and intellectuality ...boundary pushing and Inventing...One must know what one knows or does in orcier to use it purposefully. Ability to see possibilities....This component 68Sternberg, R. (Ed.). (1988). THE NATURE OF CREATMTY. USA, P. 434. 69Bruce, R. (1989). Creativity and Instrllctional Technology: Great Potential Imperfectly Studied. In Edwards. A., (Ed.). CONTEMPORARY EDUCATIONAL • PSYCHOLOGY. Vol. 14. Academic Press: San Diego. may represent the vital intermediate step between originality and the existing repertoire • of skills and knowledge. It involves juxta positions, analogy, extrapolation, and analysis. ~Iore than skill is involved; a certain restlessness is called for. Risk taking. Making and proposing something new involves risk. Whether willingness to risk results from a drive for accomplishment, from recognition, from the joyous security of a well-Ioved child, from the secure competence ofa trained professional, or from the desper ation of the driven artist, it is an essential Ingredient of the phenomenon Aesthetic taste...must be regarded as an essent ial component ofcreativity. The creator must know, after aIl, when the creation is worthy of • release. Evaluation. The possession ofjudgmental criteria is essential to evaluation, and so is the capacity to operatlonalize those criteria in a given situation. There must also be sufficlent technlcal expertise to be able to Identify cause and effect -to know what went wrong and why, and how to correct or Improve upon It70• Recent research by Hennessey and Amabile also stresses the importance of the physlcal and emotlonal environment in fostering 70lbid.• pp. 246·7. • 'l'l conditions for creative action.'l They underline that most people are creath-e when they are motivated by personal interest. enjoyment. • satisfaction and sense ofadventure and not by exterior forces and pressures. Hennessey and Amabile began with the ideas of Carl Rogers on the conditions for developing creativity in which Rogers emphasizes the importance of a psychologically safe and free environment de\'oid of external e\'aluation. Hennessey and AmabiIe refer to that delicate balance that many creative people express between the desire for attention, admiration and support from friends and colleagues and at the same time keeping an emotional detachment so as not ta be m-erly influenced by these same people.ï2 l'hus a creative environment must be a fluid one, open to change and adaptation. It often relies on the process of establishing, experiencing and evaluating a specifie creative environment, then mo\'ing on to construct new ones. • J. Getzels and M. Csikszentmihalyi in a study on the artistic development of 1ï9 art students at the Art Institute ofChicago identified the process of problem finding or the way problems are em'isioned, posed, formulated and created before they are resolved. l'hus, they stated that for an artist: The crucial step...is how a situation where there is no problem to be solved gets trans formed into a situation where a problem ready for solution exists. What needs ta be e.xamined is not only how artists solve problems they are already working on, but how they envisage and then formulate such ilHennessey, B. A. and Arnabile, T. M. (1988). In Sternberg, R. (ed.). THE NATURE OF CREATIVITY. USA, pp. 11-38. 72Ibid. P. 12. 100 problems in the first place. For the formulat ion of a creative problem is the forerunner of • a creative solution.'3 They also identify components of problem-finding behaviour to he those ofopenness, exploration and incorporation ofchanges in perspeeth'e. E. Eisner74• the noted art education theorist, suggests there are four types ofcreativity. The first is boundary pushing and occurs when a new element is added. The second is called inventing and this marks the addition ofa ne\\' class ofelements. The third. boundary breaking, is the addition of a ne\\' scheme or set ofclasses and the fourth, aesthetic organizing is the harmonious ordering ofwhat is known. The question is, can creativity and problem solving be taught? The idea that students can learn to he more creative or better problem solvers is of fundamental concern and interest for al! teachers. Regardless of the subject domain, educators have searched for curriculum approaches and Instructional designs that will develop these Intellectual activlties. Several educators are convinced that creativityand problem solvlng can be taught and have Instructional plans ta promote thls. but there Is no consensus or confirmation of the effectiveness of these approaches. For example, R. Mayer75 has outlined seven conditions for creative teaching and creative learnlng. First, for creative teachlng to take place, the material to be taught must be potential!y meaningful to the student and the student must 73GetzelsJ. W.• and Csikszentrnihalyi, M. (197G). THE CREATIVE VISION: A LONGITUDINAl STUDY OF PROBLEM FINDING IN ART. Wiley, NY.• pA 74Eisner. E. (1965). A Typology of Creativity in the Visual Arts. ln L.W. Brittain (Ed.). CreativiD' and art education. Washington, D.C.: National Art Education Association. pp. 127-138. 75Mayer. R. (1987). Cognitive Views of Creativity. Contemoorarv Educational Psychology. Vol. 14, San Diego. CA: Academie Press, pp. 20S-20G. 101 he motivated to learn. The instructional methodology must stimulate active learning in the learner and the e\'aluation of the learning • outcomes must also measure creativity. Secondly, for cre<:.' ive learning ta take place, one must reach many small component skills instead of large single generalities. lt is important to concentrate on the process and not the product in problem solving. Creative learning skills should be taught within the subject matter they are intended for and not as learning skills by themselves. Even though I\layers ideas can be disputed. especially on domain specificity grounds. they represent sorne of the cognitive issues in educational research on creativity. ln another study. H. Leff and A. Nevin i6 approach creative learning from a behavioural and attitudinal viewpoint. They identify personality blacks or barriers to teaching and learning creative thinking and meta-thinking and develop solutions or meta-thinking • strategies to break down these barriers. They explain their concept of meta-thinking as follows: Our experience with hundreds of education students and inservice teachers gives us confidence that creative thinking can indeed be facilitated and nurtured. Students can also learn to reflect on how they think and to consciously explore other alternative perspect ives. These processes of "meta-thinking" can facilitate academic learning and creative ap plication ofsubject matter77• ï6Leff, H. L. and Nevin, A. (1990). Dissolvlng Barriers to Teachlng Creative Thinking (and Meta-thinking). Teacher Education and Special Education, VQI 13. • ï7 Ibid., p.36. 1()7 This notion of "meta-thinking" acknowledges the mind's ability ta soh"e or carry through on specific ideas and decisions and then • review their combined result as an interconnected part of a whole. It next retlects on the process used in order to develop a gestalt understanding of the completed whole formed by its individual parts. It puts individual processes and actions into a larger context from which funher creative thinking and action can proceed. ...We rely on two central conceptual tools: the notions of awareness plans and proactive meta-thinking. Awareness plans are simply one's mental procedures for selecting inform ation ( such as sensory data from the environ ment or items from memory). Everyday exam pIes of awareness plans are "anticipating the movement of cars when crossing a street," "judging the degre0 of correctness of test answers when grading," and "thinking up • humorous replies in an argument." A major key to developing and expanding one's creative thinking is to explore and pract ice new awareness plans, especially ways of thinking that help one to break assumptions and form new mental connections. This form of meta-cognition -involving the deliberate selection or creation ofspecifie ways of think ing in the service of personally defined goals or purposes -we calI "proactive meta-thinking." It entails assessing what mental states or goals one wants to achieve, considering or creating alternative awareness plans, and learning from the resultsï8• ~8 1 Ib"dl 0t p.3-/. The use of "awareness plans" is fundamental to later developing "meta-thinking". One has ta be aware of one's daily thinking process • such as association. deduction, induction, intuition and so on. From an awareness and use of these individual thinking process one can construct a "meta-thinking" or a way of thinking that uses the "awareness plans" in a combined unity. Summary The understanding ofcreative thinking and the development of the creative personality are two important areas of research that have a profound effect on art education. Creativity and problem solving are at the core ofartistic expression. The development in students of imagination, originality, risk taking, intuition, idea generation and so on, is a fundamental goal for aIl art teachers. How this translates huo art education curriculum and instructional design and how the art educator sets up an environment where creative thinking and problem solving can flourish is the concern of research • and Iiterature in art education and is discussed later in this chapter under the section, .'-\rt Education. To help foster creative thinking and problem solving in the c1assroom, a range ofeducational strategies and curriculum tools have been developed, They are known as heuristics and are discussed in the foIlowing section. Heuristics Heuristics are inteIlectual activities developed to encourage alternative thinking modes. Examples of heurlstics include metaphorical and analogous thinking. brainstorming, systems analysis. techniques for exploration and so on. Heuristics have long been the underlylng motivation of many art educational actlvlties and instructional designs. 104 • 5yncetics An important and much used heuristic aetivity is called "Syneetics" which is from the Greek word synectikos which when translated means "bringing forth together". Syneetics are the bringing ofautonomous elements into a unified connection. William J. j. Gordon79, an authorit)' on synectic thinking, notes that syneetic them'y is based on the interrelationship of right and left brain funetioning. The right hemisphere of the brain is thought to control mental functions such as perception, holistic associations, creatÏ\"e e'\pression, emotions, divergent thinking, and so on. The left hemisphere is thought ta control rational behaviour, analytic thought, language skills, convergent thinking, musculo-skeletal operations, computational thinking and so on. The synectic process is the tapping of the right side of the brain for inspiration and then using the rational structuring of the left side of the brain to bring these • inspirations to fruition. Gordon developed what he refers to as synectic trigger mechanisms as tools for creative thinking and action in art practice. They are a Iist of ideas, activities and approaches to foster artistic creatÏ\'ity. They are intended to be a catalyst and to lead ta further insights, options and creative action. Many curriculum designs in art education have been directly influenced by synectic thought and activities and their effect is examined at the end of this section, but first an introduction to Gordon's synectic trigger mechanism. The following is an extensive Iist of possibilities for artistic creative action. Many art teachers find it an invaluable curriculum 79Gordon. W. j. (1961). SYNECTICS. New York, Harper and Row. tool as it offers options and alternatives that help offset the Iimits of • a,"aiIable art supplies, working space and/or time alIotment. The danger in applying a specifie heuristic approach in art classes is the prescriptÎ\e quality that it begins to take on if there is not a deeper understanding of its origins and a connection to the other creative processes in the curriculum. The process then becomes a single project of restrictive purpose and effect. Lists of this nature, in general, are considered of Iimited use because of their tendency to isolate or concentrate on only specifie aspects of the creative process. Creating a piece ofart work relies on many intellectual functions and disassociating certain ones from others may underline their importance but aIso tends to imbalance or distort the conceptualization of the whole process. The following is a Iist of "ways of thinking" or synectic trigger mechanisms: • Subtrac!. Simplify. Omit, remove certain parts or elements. Take something away from your subject. Cornpress it or make it smaller. Think: What can be eliminated, reduced, disposed of? What rules can you break? How can you simplify, abstract, stylize or abbreviate? Repeat. Repeat a shape, color, form, image or idea. Reiterate, echo, restate or duplicate your reference subject in sorne way. Think: How can you control the factors ofoccurrence, r~percussion, sequence, and progression? Combine, Bring things together. Connect, • arrange, Iink, unif)', mix, merge, wed, rear- 1Or, range. Combine ideas. Combine ideas. mater ials and techniques. Bring together dissimilar • things to produce synergistic integration. Ask: What else can you conneet to your subject? What kind of connections can you make from different sensory modes, frames of reference or subject disciplines? Add. Extend, expand, or othenvise develop your reference subject. Augment it, supplement, advance or annex it. Magnify il: Make it bigger. Think: What else can be added ta your idea, image, object, or material? This last group of synectics concentrates on the manipulation of the design qualities of the image. lt acknowleges the image making process as a continully evolving one, not a statie one. The following trigger mechanisms continue the foc us on design qualities but • explores them in more complex arrangements. Transfer. Move your subject into a new situation, environment or context. Adapt, transpose, relocate, dislocate. Adapt the subject ta a new and different frame of reference. Move the subject out of its normal environment; transpose it to a different historical, social, geographical, or politlcal setting or Ume. Look at it from a different point ofview....Think: How can your subject be converted, translated, or transfigured? Superimpose. Overlap, place over, coyer, overlay: Superimpose dissimilar images or • ideas. Overlay elements to produce new 107 images. ideas or meanings. Superimpose different elements From different perspect • ives. disciplines or time periods on your subject. Combine sensory perceptions ( sound/color. etc). Think syncronistieally: What elements or images From different frames of reference ean be combined in a single view? rhange Seale. Make your subjeet bigger or smaller. Change proportion, relative size, ratio, dimensions or normal graduated series. Substitute. Exehange, switeh or replace: Think: What other idea, image, material or ingredient ean you substitute for ail or part of your subjeet? What alternate or supplementary plan ean be employed? • Fragment. Separate, divide, split: Take )'our subjeet or idea apart. Disseet it. Chop it up or othen\'ise disassemble it. What devices ean you use to divide it into smaller inerements -or to make it appear diseont inuous? Isolate. Separate, set apart, erap, detaeh: Use onl)' a part ofyour subjeet. In eomposing a pieture, use a viewfinder to erap the image or visual field selectivel)'. "Crop" your ideas, tao, with a "mental" viewfinder. Think: What element can you detach or focus on? Distort. Twist your subject out of it true shape, proportion or meaning. ThinI<: What kind of • imagined or actual distortions can you effect? lOR How can you misshape it? ....Can you melt it . bum it. l'rush it. spill something on it. bury it. • crack H. tear it ....? The following synectic trigger mechanisms build upon the formaI design qualities by adding a psychological dimension. The introduction ofan emotional context to the designing process enriches the possiblities for other applications. Empathize. Sympathize. Relate to your subject: put yourself in its "shoes". If the subject is inorganic or inanimate. think of it as having human qualities. How can you relate to it emotionally or subjectively? Animate. Mobilize visual and psychol ogical tensions in a painting or design. Control the pictorial movements and forces in a picture. Apply factors of repetition. • progression. serialization. or narration. Disguise. Camouflage. conceal. deceive or encrypt: How can you hide. mask. or "implant" your subject into another frame or reference? ...Think about subliminal imageI)': How can you create a latent image that will communicate subconsciously. below the threshold of conscious awareness? Contradict. Contradict the subject's original function. Contravene, disaffirm, deny. reverse: Many great works ofart ...may contain opposite, antipodal, antithetical or converse elements... Think: How can you visualize your subject in connection with the reversaI of laws of nature, gravit)'. magnetic fields, growth cycles, proport- ions, mechanical and human funetions. procedures. • gamcs. rituals or social com'entions? Parody. Ridicule. mimir. mock. burlesque or caricature: t-Iake fun of your subjeet...[xploit the humor faetor...Create a \'isual m:ymoron or conundrum. Prc\'aricate. [quÎ\'ocate. Fietionalize. "bend" the truth. falsify. fantasize. Although teIling fibs is not ronsidered acceptable social l'onduet. it is the stuff that legends and myths are made of. Think: How l'an you use your subjeet as a theme to present ersatz information? The remaining synectic trigger mechanisms are de\'eloped From Iiterary-inspired illusions. They aid in fictionalizing the context of the design process and explore the possibilites of the narrati\'e element • within the design image. Analogize. Compare. Draw associations: Seek similarities between things that are different. l\lake comparisons of your subject ta elements From different domains. disciplines. and realms of thought. Think: What l'an 1compare m)' sub ject to? What Iogical and iIIogical associations l'an 1make? Hybridize. Cross-fertiIize: Wed )'our subject with an important mate. Think: "What would you get ifyou crossed a with a ?" Creative thinking is a form of "mental hybrid ization" in that ideas are produced by cross· • Iinking subjects from different realms. 110 Metamorphose. Transform, convert. transmutate: Depict your subject in astate • of change. It can be a simple transformation ( an object changing its color, for e.xample) or a more radical change in which the subject changes its configuration. Symbolize. How can your subject be imbued with symbolic qualities? Mythologize. Build a myth around your subject. Fantasize. Fantasize your subject. Use it to trigger surreal, preposterous, outlandish, outrageous, bizarre thoughts. Topple mental and sensory expectations. How far out can you extend your imagination? Think: "What-if' thoughts: What if automobiles were made of • brick? What if alligators played pool? .,. Many art teachers have found Gordon's synetic Iist, even with its limitations. a great teaching asset due to the imaginative way ln which he presents his materlal. Relying heavily on synonymous language and metaphorical examples, his ideas for synectlcs contain many standardized and traditional approaches to dlscovery learnlng. What hls book demonstrates is the effectiveness ofa well-expressed and well-presented personal vision for developing discovery learning and creative thlnking. Instruments ofSocial Change: Another Dimension The previous sections have dealt with a particular constructed concept of the learner: the learner as an emotional and rational belng; the learner as a unique Indivldual who is also a member ofa 111 particular society and the greater world; the learner as having • creative ar·.d problem-solving capabilities. ln the previous sections 1referred to the personal framework in which 1developed this concept of the learner and the educationaI experience. Imperative to this concept is the belief that knowIedge can only affect behaviour as a result of its being directly connected to the emotional and personal interests of the learner, ideas originating from the work ofDewey. This concept is the foundation of the next stage of this chapter which now begins to define curriculum as ultimately being a fundamental instrument for social change. As stated before, curriculum is v!ewed as a societal construction that provides for an educational experience. This educational experience embodies knowledge, reasoning and action. An educational experience is about effecting a personal change in the learner which she or he can transform into awareness and ultimately action. Whether its intention is to access a technology or manifest cultural norms, the educational experience, if successful, changes the lever ofconscious awareness of the learner in order to better inform their actions in the real world. The learner is thus "empowered" to emotionally and physically succeed and flourish in her or his en\"Îronmental reality. A curriculum construction gives a framework for this educational experience to occur. A curriculum reflects and incorporates societal values and at its best will challenge these values as part of the human process of survival and enIightenment. It is both a mirror of the society and an instrument of change for the society. Ornstein and Hunkins express the twentieth-century pressures that an educational system must respond to by commenting: Today we live in a highly technical, automated, and bureaucratie society; we are faced with pressing social and economic problems- aging 117 cities, the effects ofcenturies of racial and sexual discrimination, and aging population, • unemployment and a displaced work force, exhaustion of our natural resources, the pollution of the physical environment, and the threat of nuc1ear devastation, These forces and trends are highly interrelated; they mutual1y reinforce each other, and they are accelerating. In an era of space technology, telecommunications, computers, and robots, schools cannot continue to teach the skills that were appropriate for the Industrial Revolution. Whether we al10w the times to engulf us or whether we can cope with our new environ ment, will depend to a large e:xtent on what kinds of skills are taught in our school today...80 The challenge for schools to stay in the forefront of societal evolution has always been an unresolved dilemma in the history of education. Sometimes educational institutions take up this challenge, with its inherent risks, reflecting the confident, creative and tolerant societies they represent. Other times, due to limited resources and restrictive outlooks, they become institutions that protect and propagate the status quo for the social stability they feel will result from this approach. Curriculum plans as agents of social change are not new and are often a reflection of political realities or perspectives. Miller and Sellers81 identify many of the assumptions that this social- change orientation to curriculum is based on. They note that many social change theorists contend that schools often reinforce apathy and passivity and that the hidden curriculum ofschools is inclined to promote conformity that hinders the development ofcitizenship skills. The democratic process is recognized as the heart ofa school's 80rbid. p. 141. 81 Miller, J.. and Seller, W. Ibid. ,pp. 158-9. lB philosophyand beliefs and therefore should promote collaboration among students and teachers in establishing an environment that • promotes autonomy. The participation of both teachers and students in promoting social change reduces apathy and frustration. Direct action gives them a sense of efficacy and empowerment in the ability to affect their social environment. Citizen participation is essential for the well-being and survival of the democratic process. If widespread involvement does not take place, the political process becomes vulnerable to the manipulation of special interest groups. Social-change education extensively promotes committed participation to insure the safeguarding of the democratic proress. Social-change theory concentrates on changing the structures. roles. values and norms that dominate the society and not the individuals associated with them. For effective change to take place • these structures, roles. values and norms have to be reassessed and e\"entuallyaltered. The inùividual must be aware of both her/his needs and how they may affect the greater community. As weil though. the community must allow for individual growth and expression and nurture the sense that each individual can effect change. Asocial-change curriculum orientation depends upon the critical inquiry skills of the teacher and the students. The ability to analyze and decode the particular political and cultural dynamics is essential information needed in order to develop a curricular action. The teacher and students must be aware of the existing power structures in order to understand and evaluate their role within these structures. • 114 Critical Pedagogy • Ho\\" this critical inquiry into society's structures, raies, values and norms should take place and what form this inquiry should have was a fundamental concern of the Brazilian educationaIist Paulo Freire82. Freire developed literacy programs in Brazil. His approach went far beyond the traditional methodology of the time. He felt the existing educational curriculum for teaching Iiteracy regarded the student as a receptacIe for the content that the system designated. Evaluation was based on the acquiescence of the students in accepting this content and on the amount they retained. The content was chosen by the system and reinforced the prevailing poIitical and economic power structures. Its hidden agenda was to maintain the existing cIass structure and the Inherent exploitation within il. Freire developed a curriculum appraach based on the active • participation of the learner in concert with the teacher. He beIieved that the educational experience had to be meaningful to the learner's reality and at the same time critically examine the existing structures and educational pracess. The teacher and learner work together to create their knowledge base from which action can be determined instead of the teacher passi!1g ownership ofa knowledge content on to the students. Freire expressed this belief by stating: Liberating education consists in acts ofcognition. not transferals of information. It is a learning situation in which the cognizable object ( far from being the end of the cognitive act ) intermediates the cognitive actors -teachers on the one hand 82Freire. P. (19ï2). PEDAGOGY OF THE OPPRESSED. USA. 11" and students on the other.... The teacher is no longer merely the-one-who-teaches, but is him • self taught in dialogue with the students, who in their turn, while being taught also teach.... Men teach each other, mediated by the world, by the cognizable objects which in banking education are 'owned' by the teacher83. Freire developed a curriculum whose goal was to raise the social consciousness of the learner in arder that the learner would then be able to change the injustices of the dominant political system. He outlined three stages for developing social consciousness. The first is the "magical conforming stage"84 in which the learner is unaware of her/his oppressed condition and acts passively to the educational experience. The next phase is the "naive reforming stage" in which the individuallearner assumes that problems can be solved in isolation without consideration of the iarger social construct. ln the last "critical transformlng stage'\the group of learners begin analyzing the social construction of thelr culture and become actively involved as a community jn changing their own raie and society through social action. Freire developed the idea of 'critical pedagogy'. Critical pedagogy locates the educational experience ln the ideological struggle of oppressive living conditions. Both the teacher and the students are engaged through dialogue and negotiation in defining the injustices and creating solutions together that address the problems of their existence and relationship towards society. ln critical pedagogy students are challenged to investigate their position in the world and with the world. As their involvement increases and their consciousness of the whole interrelated reality of 83Ibid. p.6ï 84Ibid. p.ï 1. • ll(, their lives develops they become less alienated by the system and become more confident in being able to effect change for themselves • and others. Freire's critical pedagogy places the formation and utilization of knowledge in the hands of the learner thus taking the control of the educational experience from the dominant class. Freire caBs this form of pedagogical action "praxis"85. It involves reflection and action based on theory and practice. It is an accumulative experience since action is a result of reflection on prior action that will ultimately lead to new action. Action is not in the form ofan inteBectual response but is an intervention in the real world. As weB, praxis takes place in a cultural context and is a form of social interaction. Praxis develops out of the experience of the learner's life and is then expanded, through a method ofdiscovery which uses dialogue and negotiation, into the forum of the greater cultural context. • The students are informed by their own experience through an investigative process shared by the teacher and the students to construct action plans that will affect their position in the dominant power structure. Though Frelre's concept of pedagogy Is based on oppressive conditions resulting from extreme poverty and subsistent living conditions ln the particular political and cultural situation ofBrazlI, It has dlrectly influenced a group of American educationallsts whose source is Marxist or neo-Marxist ideology. Radical Pedagogy CriticaI theorists in the Marxlst mode, such as Michael Apple and Henry Giroux, question the dynamics of power, control and influence 85ibid p.90. 117 in society and specifically in the educationul system. They question who contrais the type of knowledge disseminated in schools. Who • determines what is 'success' and who has access ta it? How does the system reinforce the values of the economic elite? How can people organize to change existing oppressive cultural structures? Apple and King express their point of view by stating: ...just as there is a relatively unequal distribution ofeconomic capital in society, so, tao, is there a similar system of distribution surrounding cultural capital. In advanced industrial societies, schools become particularly important as distributors of this cultural capital and play a critical role in giving legitimacy to certain categories and forms of knowledge.86 Apple contends that the dominant culture is so invasive in our lives that our collective unconscious sta,te is 'saturated' with the meanings, values and traditions of the dominant c1ass. Thus when we • act out of 'commonsense', we are actualizing these same meanings, \'alues and traditions without reflection or being conscious of thelr origin. Giroux and Purpel exemplify thls state ofcultural hegemony by referrlng to the classroom as a mlcrocosm of the social habits of the dominant culture. They state: . Viewed from the student's perspective, the class room becomes a miniature workplace in which time, space, content, and structure are fixed by others. Rewards are e: 86Apple, M. w., and King, N. R. (197ï). What Do Schools Teach? In Weiler, R. H. (ed.), Humanistic Education. Berkley, CA: McCutchan, p. 30. 118 by hierarchically organized structures. The under Iying message leamed in this context points less • to schools helping students to think critically about the world in which they live than it does to schools acting as agents ofsocial contral.Sï ln this system knowledge is considered an objective and defined commodityand is subject to the same traditions and contraIs of the greater economic system. ...knowledge is objective. 'bounded'. and 'out there'. Classroom knowledge is often treated as an extemal body of information. the prod uction ofwhich appears to be independent of human beings. Fram this perspective. human knowledge is viewed as being independent of time and place; it becomes universalized ahistorical knowledge. Moreover it is express ed in a language which is basically technical • and allegedly value free.... Knowledge then becomes not only countable and measurable. it also becomes impersonal. Teaching in this pedagogical paradigm is usually discipline based and treats subject matter in a cornpart mentalized and atomized fashion. 88 Thus. this sanitization of knowledge from the human experience and its enshrinement in our culture as the sanctioned 'truth' favours the interests of the power elite in furthering their agenda as the unassailable given. Even though in this democraCj everyone has the right to be edurated. this manipulation becomes an accepted norm 8ïGiroux. H•• and Purpel. D. (1983). J'HE HIDDEN CURRICULUM. Berkeley. CA: McCutcharn. p. 111. 88GirOu.x. H. (1981)•• IDEOLOGY. CULTURE AND THE PROCESS OF SCHOOLING. Barcombe. Falmer Press. p. 52-3. and challenging it is often interpreted as radical and anti • establishment. Girou:\ in his book BORDER CROSSINGS sounds the alarm at what he sees as a return to extreme conservatism in American attitudes and politics. He laments: ... the right-wing educational and cultural agenda, with its emphasis on heritage rather than liber ating memory, literacy rather than literacies, censorship rather than artistic e.xpression, moral regulation rather than self and social empower ment, and testing rather than learning, is mobil ized by a vision of the arts, culture, and schooling that presupposes and legitimates particular forms of histOI}', community, and authority....What is being valorized in the dominant language of the culture industry is an elitist view of self and social development based on a celebration ofcultural homogeneity, an undemocratic approach to social authority, and a politically regressive move to reconstruct American life within the script of Eurocentrism, racism, and patriarchy. Similarly, within these discourses, the cali to define civilizat ion as synonymous with selected aspects of Western tradition is being matched bya fervent attempt to reduce pedagogy to the old transmission model of teaching and learning.89 The alarming rise in racist activlty and the conflicting social reaction to issues ofabortion, gender, sexual orientation, aboriginal rights, ethnicity and so on are serious symptoms ofa society changing its values on tolerance and plurallty. 89Giroux. H. (1992). BORDER CROSSINGS. CULTURAl WORKERS AND THE POLITICS OF EDUCATION. USA, pp. 230-231. 170 Giroux feels the state of cultural production. and the educational • system in particular. is under siege and that a new awareness must be de\'eloped and acted upon among the people involved ta rejuvenate democratic vah.ès in our society: ...the public schools along with other cultural sites. do not simply provide students with the knowledge and skills they wiII need to secure employment and positions of privilege or enhance their character through an exposure to "the best that has been thought and known in the world"....These institutions harbor in their histories, modes of scholarship, and disc iplinary and pedagogical practices specifie representations and practices regarding what it means ta be a knowledgeable and informed citizen, how one might view the relationship between social identity and political agency, and how one responds to prevailing forros of • cultural authority.90 Cultural Workers Giroux describes people involved with cultural production, such as teachers, artists and writers, as cultural workers. The responsibiIlty of a cultural worker is ta assess the dominant culture with its manifest and inferred biases and expose and ultimately correct the misrepresentatlon and prejudices that are destructive to democratic principles ofindividual and collective freedoms. Cultural workers, inside and outside the classroom, need to construct a pedagogical structure that valorizes diverse forros of 90Ibid.. p. 232. 171 knowledge and culture and that promotes self-freedom and • collective freedom: ...cultural workers need to reclaim and reassert the importance ofa discourse and politics of location that recognizes how power, history. and ethics are inextricably intertwined so as to position. enable. and Iimit their work within shifting relations of power... Cultural workers dedicated ta reforming ail spheres of education as part ofa wider revit alization of public Iife also need ta raise important questions regarding the relationship among knowledge and power, learning and possibility, social criticism and human dignity, and how these might be understood in relation to rather than in isolation from those practices of domination, prlvilege, and reslstance at work • in wider social and political formations. 91 The adversarial positioning of their ideas against the dominant power structure in the name of democratic process may contain contradictions. The acknm....ledgment and correction of the abuses of the democratic process are central themes in critical pedagogy but they also go further in suggesting that the democratic system itself needs restructuring as it leads to a dominant c1ass with privileges gained from oppressed classes. Many of the insights and strategies of critical pedagogy are fundamental components for an effective pedagogical practice. Revitalizing the principles ofdemocracy to ensure individual and collective rights is hard to argue against. How to build this process ofcritical evaluation and social action into a workable curriculum approach has been the work of Shirley Grundy. 91 Ibid. p. 242 177 Emanciparory Curriculum • Grundy in her book. CURRICULUM: PRODUCT OR PRAXIS92 uses the theories of the German philosopher Jurgen Habermas as the basis for deyeloping an emancipatory pedagogy. She describes this pedagogy as: ...a fundamental interest in emancipation and empowerment to engage in autonomous action arising out ofauthentic. critical insights into the social constructions of human society.... Thus, an emancipatory curriculum will work towards freedom on a number of levels. First of all, at the level of consciousness. the subjects panicipating in the educational experience will come to know theoretically and in terms of their own existence when propositions represent distoned views of the world (views which serve interest in domination) and when they represent • invariant regularities ofexistence. At the level of practice, the emancipatory curriculum will involve the participants in the educational encounter, both teacher and pupil. in action which attempts to change the structures within which learning occurs and which constrain freedom in often unrecognized ways. An emancipatory curriculum entails a reciprocal relationship between self-reflection and action.93 Grundy developed her concept ofan emanclpatory curriculum from Habermas' theory of cognitive interests which defines three ways of knowing as emplrical-analytic. historical-hermeneutlc and 92Grundy, S. (l98ï). CURRICULUM: PRODUCT OR PRAXIS. Great Britain: The Falmer Press. • 93Ibid.. p. 19. lTiticalll-l. Shc cmphasizcs that knowledge is not cnough for our sUITÎ\"aI and that il must be combined with action ta ensure progress • and sun"Î\"al of the species. She has de\"eloped the idea of criticaI pedagogy as praxis. Grundy outlines the main components of praxis and an emancipatory curriculum as being action and reflection. A curriculum is not a set of plans just to be carried out but a vital process of planning, teaching and e\"aluating that is interrelated and integrated inta the teaching/learning dynamic. Praxis happens in the real world and not in the hypothetical or theoretical one. If curriculum is a social construct and not a preconceived product. then il must take place within reallearning situations and with actual students. Praxis operates in the social dynamics of society and learning must be recognized as part of this dynamic. Thus the environment in which learning takes place is not simply physical but also emotional and social. • Praxis is the personal construction of knowledge from which students de\'elop understanding and meaning and then make decisions for future action. Students become active participants in the construction of their own knowledge and teachers must engage in critical reflection upon this knowledge and make distinctions between knowledge based on the natural world and knowledge derÎ\"ed from cultural constructs. Students build persona! meaning about their natural and cultural environment. Developing persona! and communa! meaning and interpreting this meaning are basic to knowledge acquisition. Because it is a socia! construct, the curriculum process cannot help but be affected by the political forces it is situated in. Thus, those who hold political power have a great influence over the meanings 94Ibid.. p. 10. 174 that become transferred into the social arena. If teachers and students challenge these transferred meanings and choose to develop • curriculum that determines meaning for themselves. this also becomes a political act. Grundy's concern is for the teacher and the reclaiming of ownership of the curriculum domain as an interactive. autonomous responsibiIity of the practitioner and not as a dictate from higher authorities. She envisions the practitioners themselves finding in curriculum action a revitalization that wiII lead to a more rewarding sense of participation in the direction of their and their students' lives. The freedom of a teacher and his or her students to make judgments and take action from informed and shared investigation for the individual and collective good is an e.xciting and fulfiIIing ambition. Postmodern Citizenship Near the end of his book BORDER CROSSINGS. CULTURA!. WORKERS AND THE POLITICS OF EDUCATION95. Giroux calls for the creation ofa cornmon critical language among cultural workers: Writers. teachers. and artists need both a shared language that in part provides the foundation for a democratic politics as weIl as a postmodern view of citizenship that acknowledges the multiple, particular. and and heterogeneQus as constitutive of the public lIfe....cultural workers must explore the complexity ofculture within power relationships that bath enable and silence students from diverse traditions. They must also address issues ofequality as they are structured within racial, gender, and cIass 95Supra. relations and recognize the limitations of the politics of separatism in waging collective • struggles against various relations of oppress ion in their complexity and inter relatedness. At the same time, it is imperative for cultural workers to provide in their work and actions the basis for a language of solidarity and a project of possibility as part ofa new vision and attempt to rethink the meaning of demo cratic citizenship in the postmodern age. 96 Representation and reality are interdependent concepts and can be interpreted or manipulated to distort the actual situation. Through history dominant groups have interpreted reality and in doing so perpetuated fabricated histories of race, age, clas!'> and sexual orientation. Cultural workers must tI}' to decode these historical representations or misrepresentations and reconstruet histoI}' that acknowledges ail ways of being and not just those of the dominant • c1ass. Giroux condudes his book with a cali for radical change to protect the original meaning ofdemocratic Iife. He extols: Finally cultural workers need a language of imagination, one that both insists and enables them to consider the structure, movement, and possibilities in the cont emporaI}' order of things as well as how they might act to prevent the barbarie and develop those aspects of public life that point to its best and yet unrealized possibilities. This is a language of demo cratic possibUities that rejects the enact ment ofcultural difference structured • 96Ibid., p. 246. in hierarchy and dominance; it is a lang uage that rejects culture, social, and • spatial borders as shorelines ofviolence and terrorism. In opposition to this view, the concepts ofdemocracy, border, border lands, and difference must he rewritten so that diverse identities and cultures can intersect as sites ofcreative cultural prod uction, multiple resources, and experiment ation for expanding those human capacities and social forms necessary for a radical democracy to emerge in this country.97 This last statement reflects a concept ofcitizenship that is constantly reviewing and questioning its basic ideology. It Is a view that, to succeed, needs commitment and involvement from every member of the community. Cultural workers are glven an evangelistic role as anlmators of this particular poIitical Interpretation and as such have the potentlal to evolve into another power base. If democracy, based on a capitalist economy, Is conceived ofas a polltlcal system ofchecks and balances, then thls vlewpolnt can be seen as a reaIignment ofvalues. If the present system is vlewed as an abuse aild corruption ofdemocratic ideals then this point ofvlew calls for revolutlon. At this time, 1feel the greater problem falls somewhere between these two points ofview. The present system has succeeded, by certain standards ofadvancement, especially in areas of technology, science and medicine. These advancements have, however, had sorne negative consequences for the environment and for society. The growing problems of nuclear pollution, nuclear armament, atmospheric destruction, global warming, depletion of natural 97Ibid., p. 248. 127 resources, and the pollution ofour water and air are new realities • that must be addressed for our future survivaI. The particular problems that have recently escalated in North American and western European societies are the disenfranchisement and unemployment of our youth, abuse of drugs and alcohol, vandalism and increased crime, street and domestic violence, homelessness and the manifest intolerance against ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation. Added ta these are the global problems offamine, population explosion, religious fundamentalism and national chauvinism. Even though this is just a short summary of the issues facing us today, it is an overwhelming list of conflicts, tensions and critical problems that our youth are going to inherit. For sorne of these problems a course ofaction has been charted and political agendas been formed. Concern for the environment is becoming an urgent issue even if collective action is slow to follow. • But for many issues a consensus of public awareness has yet to pronounce itself. The stage of reflection and acknowledgment of ownership and responsibility of these problems in sorne cases has not yet started and, in others, it is in the process ofdeveloping. Realizing the urgency and importance of these issues is obvious. Translating this realization or consciousness into action has been the concern of this research, in particular, the search for an effective curriculum approach that would reflect a personal and social commitment to the resolution of these problems. Humanjoy The next statements are made neither to undermine nor trlvialize the seriousness of the previously stated issues but, rather, to balance the weight of human deflciencies with that of the joy ofsharing 12R human pleasures. In f1nding solutions to the threatening problems to the enviranment and the tensions and stresses of living in a global • community one has the tendency to lose sight of the value of life's intrinsic pleasures; a child's smiIe, a shared laugh, the discovery of a new interest, the scent of a flower, a leisurely walk and so on. It is not my intention to remind everyone of the beneflts of being alive but to illustrate the concern 1have that a curriculum plan should also try to celebrate the possibilities that the natural and built environment have to offer and the joy of partaking in personal and shared experiences. These statements are intended in this context to reafflrm my belief in the potential of the educational process as an agent of positive change and recognize it as the principal component of the curriculum plan. This curriculum plan, ln its essence, tries to reflect the spirit of human belngs ln thelr ability to create, share, respect • and take pleasure from their natural and constructed envlronments. Curriculum Model This section develops a curriculum model that Incorporates the philosophies, theories and practices prevlously revlewed in this chapter. Curriculum models are many and varled. To break them down Into categories Is not easy and often misleadlng. Most models, though, will have as thelr central focus, one or more of the following: the content or subject, the learner-teacher raIe, and the Inqulry or problem-solvlng pracess. Often curriculum models will contaln ail three elements but will concentrate on one. In most schools today, a curriculum favourlng the tradltlonal subject/content Is still the dominant design, due to its long history in education and the established Institutional structures that support il. 12C) A. Ornstein and F. Hunkins in their book CURRICULUM. FOUNDATIONS, PRINCIPLES AND ISSUES categorize the three basic • curriculum model types as (1) subject-centered designs, (2) learner centered designs and (3) problem-centered designs,98 Subjeet-Centered Designs Subject-centered designs, still the most popular and often practiced. retlect the majority ofschoolïng's academic goals and their academic rationalism in content organization. Due to its prominent position in curriculum design, more research and instructional designs have been produced for subject-centered designs than the other two. Subject-centered designs are also broken down into: separate-subject design, discipline design and broad-fields design. Separate-subject design is the oldest curriculum design and the one most known to us aIl. The intellect is developed by the transfer of knowledge in academically structured units of separate-subject content. The success of this curriculum design is based on high levels • of literacy skill and disciplined !earning habits relying on memorization, The main subject areas are language, mathematics, sciences, history and foreign languages. This type ofcurriculum design emphasizes chronologlcal arder, as weIl as, simple ta complex, whole ta part, deductlve reasonlng. Discipline design began after the Second World War and evolved from separate-subject design. It also Is focused on a specific organization ofcontent but ln this case It is based on the established academic disciplines. Students study the disciplines in the manner that scholars researched and developed them. This approach is designed to allow students an understanding of the process as weIl as the content material, thus revealing ta them the basic logic and structure of the discipline. 98Ibid.. p. 171. no Broad-fields design came into being to try to broaden the limitations caused by the compartmentalizat!on and fragmentation • inherent in the separate-subject design. Thus, for example, in elementary school, geography, history, sociology, anthropology, political science and economics became social studie:s and biology, chemistry and physics became general science studies. This step was a way of breaking down the isolationism of the separate-subject design but of still maintaining the structural organization of the academic disciplines. Learner-Centered Designs Concentration on the learner, not the subject content is the main emphasis of these designs. This category has been divided into four sub-categories: child-centered designs, experience-centered designs, romantic (radical) designs and humanistic designs. Child-centered designs place the interests and needs of the child as the focus of the curriculum design. As stated early in this chapter, • the first theorists to articulate this were the Europeans, Heinrich Pestalozzi and Friedrich Froebel (the originator of the kindergarten). This trend was later developed in North America by Francis Parker and John Dewey as noted in an earlier section. Called progressive education, It championed the self-realization of the child through social participation. Experience-centered designs developed from child-centered designs wlth the difference being that experience-centered designs could not be preplanned but had to grow out of the students' needs and Interests of that partlcular day. This design relies heavlly on personal teachlng resources ln responding to each child's cognitive, affective and emotional needs. Romantic (radical) designs have their roots ln the phllosophy of Jean Jacques Rousseau and posit that the chlld should be allowed to have her/his inner nature unfoldat her/his rhythm. The curriculum Bl design does not exist as a structure but as a range of possibilities, partaken of only when the child wants or wishes to. A. S. Neil and his • Summerhill project is a prototype for this type of curriculum design. Humanistic design is concerned with the educational environment and the emotional and nurturing support that takes place in this environment. Humanistic education is the marnage of the affective domain (or emotions, values and attitudes) with the cognitive domain (or rational and intellectual skills). Another basic belief of the humanistic design belief is that the child will succeed better if she/he has a strong self-concept and interpersonal skills. The underlying theories come from the psychological investigations of l\laslow and Rogers as discussed in the earlier section, Psychology and Humanism. ProbJem-Centered Designs Problem-centered designs are a mix of subject-centered and learner-centered approaches in a reallife, problem solving environment. The sub-categories are life-situation design, core design and social problems (reconstructionist) design. Life-situation design can be traced back to Herbert Spencer's and John Dewey's concept of educational development in concert with social action. This approach wldens the arena of the classroom to include field trips and external site visits in order to valldate theory with experlence. Process and content are equally Important ln thls type of curriculum design. Core design is a structured curriculum design dealing with social issues or social functior:. It takes the ideas of the IIfe-situation design and fits them into a more standard discipllne-centered school system using blocked time and themes such as Areas of Living or Life Studies. • Social problems and reconstruetionist designs address contemporary social problems and action-oriented problem solving. • ln this approach. curriculum planning should effect social change for a fairer and more just society for all. The critical pedagogue of today carries on this tradition that evolved from the Great Depression in the early 1930s. ( Please see section. Critical Pedagogy). Though not a comprehensive list. the preceding curriculum designs are typical of the prominent designs that have developed in this century in North America. Most existing curriculum models are usually composites or variants of these designs as they must meet the demands of specifie school board guidelines or government agencies policies and/or resource restrictions. Curriculum Planning and Art Education ln most school systems, art is taught as one of many disciplines. within the same scheduling system and most often using the same evaluation process. In curriculum planning, art education has followed most of the major developments and themes as in the other subject domains. Thus for example, Victor Lowenfeld's work in child . development and child-centered curriculum paraUeled work by Harold Rugg and Anne Shumaker. The concern ofJune McFee and Vincent Lanier for social relevance echoed strongly the earlier ideas ofJohn Dewey and Herbert Spencer. As in the other disciplines, no one approach at present dominates the field and current curriculum planning often reflects the integration ofseveral recognized theories with the reality of the particular institutional structure. In recent years there has been a return ofinterest in what is termed "discipline based art education" or DBAE. The Getty Center for Education's energetic promotion of DBAE studies has resulted in a lively debate in art education curriculum planning. lB Discipline Based Art Education • DBAE believes the study of art education should be based on the four disciplines ofart studio, art history. art criticism and aesthetics. The idea ofdisciplines as structures of knowledge was adopted from Jerome Bruner whose book THE PROCESS Of EDUCATION99 was a reaction to the National Defense Education Act of 1958 in the United States. (That act was strongly influenced by the scientific community's competition with the Russians for outer space superiority.) In art education. Manuel Barkin in his address ta the landmark Penn State Seminar of 1965 introduced the notion of discipline based art education to a larger audience. Harry Broudy and Dwaine Greer continued the development of aesthetic education as one of the disciplines. The Geny Center for Education in the Arts in its efforts to improve art education in the United States set up the Getty Center for Education in the Arts believing that the education system needed to be improved with quality art education that contained substantive • content and rigorous methodology. The Geuy Center commlssioned the Rand Corporation to study model programs reflectlng discipline based art education prlnciples. The Rand Corporation's study recommended structured sequencing oflearning activltles and/or prescriptive curricula. teacher's networks for exchange of information, support for alileveis of the educatlonal system and consultation on theoretical and long-term goals. It also acknowledged that the success ofart programs depends upon the e.:l(pertise and political astuteness of its professlonals and also the avallabllity of outside resources. The considerable financial and academic resources of the Getty lnstitute for Education in the Arts has given it a dominant position ln curriculum development in the 1980s. Its influence has prompted • 99Bruner, J. (1960). THE PROCESS OF EDUCATION. USA. discussion around àiscipline based art education whose critics • complain of its rigidity and lack of social and ideological content. Art Education Curriculum Laura Chapman There have been many art educators who have investigated curriculum development as it relates ta the particular nature of art. Laura Chapman is one of the most pr.:>lific writers ofcurriculum texts in art education. There are very few art teachers or art education students who have not studied her seminal text in art education curriculum. APPROACHES TO ART IN EDUCATION. 100 Her later works are standard texts for students and teachers in curriculum planning. Chapman has evolved over the years a comprehensive scheme for • structuring curriculum design that tries ta meet the demands facing art teachers and students in schools but that also tries ta integrate art into the larger. usually discipline-based, educational system. Chapman is very aware of the challenges that art teachers face in schools today and is also aware of the present trends in education in North America for accountability and evaluation. Content and Conduct Chapman feels that a curriculum design transmits information concerning a specifie content and also a specifie conduct or behaviour in relationship to this content. • lOOChapman. L H. (1978). APPROACHES TOART IN EDUCATION. USA. About content she writes: • Categories of content offer a structure for transmitting knowledge; the receptive aspect of education. They're the point of departure for transforming knowledge; the creative expressive aspect ofeducation. For meaningful communication about art. these transdisciplinary concepts about art must be taught: media. art forms, subjects or themes. visual structure, styles. functions. cultures and periods. These same categories ofcontent are also powerful tools for designing curricula. They're powerful because they're common to ail meaningful discourse about art and widel)' used. in various combinations. as instruments of thought. The Iist ofcategories l've offered isnft exhaustive, or static, but neither do the entries in each category go on forever. What's nearly unlimlted are: (a) the combinations among categories. concepts assoclated with them and (b) visual referents for these. I01 Chapman's content categories derlve from many of the traditional categories that have evolved ln art education over Its hlstoI}'. Here Is a brlef description of her content divisions. Medium. Medium refers to the physlcal characteristics such as the materlals, tools, processes and techniques and to the cultural characteristics in the symbolic, emotional, spiritual and historical qualities attached to them. IOIChapman. L. H. (1994). TRANSDISCIPUNARY CONCEPTS AND THEIR UTIUTY IN CUURICULUM PLANNING. Prsentation: National Art Education Association. Baltimore. Art Forms. This is a major categOI)' containing the • traditional forms of drawing. painting. printmaking. sculpture. architecture and sa on. New art forms.such as fiber art. earth art. performance art. installation art. and sa on. are often offshoots or combinations of these tradional forms . Subjects and Themes. Another major category for curriculum content. subjects and themes can be based on the concrete such as landscapes. stilllife and portraits or on the subjective such as life. death. oppression. They are often used in elementary curriculum as a motivational exercise. for example. animals. animaIs in art. animaIs in literature and sa on. Design. Design is often referred ta as visual structure and most times taught as the elements and principles of design. It is such a commonly used convention that fewart • teachers are aware of Its past roots ln formalist aesthetlc theories and gestalt psychology. Style. These terms are Invented to summarlze and judge "like" qualities ln art works and are often culturally exclusive. For example. In western art we are very aware of the terms Impresslonlsm. expresslonlsm. hyper-reallsm. pop art and the Images they are linked wlth. Cultures and Perlods. This category often Intersects with style. but Is actually defined by geographic regions. boundaries. eras. religious beliefs. language and so on. Function. The function or purpose ofan artifact or process is usually culturally defined. For example. religious iconography. bourgeois portraIture. and porcelaln and silver tableware. all originally fulftlled a purpose in society. B7 These content categories can be a useful framework for concei\-ing a curriculum design but in doing so they imply a specifie • direction that reflects certain cultural attitudes not only about art but also about education. Curriculum conduct, in Chapman's view, is the kind of behaviour required to transform the content into an educational or learning experience. It is implicit in the curriculum design and adds another layer of meaning to curriculum planning. Chapman explains: What most curriculum developers face taday is a far more complex view ofappropriate art content and a variety of other categories that refer ta conduct -these derived from a variety of pedagogical schemes caUed behavioraJ object ives, intended outcomes for learning and the Iike. A familiar example is the Bloom Taxonomies of educational objectives, which identify haU marks ofa rational, critical thinker, and more • recently, adaptations of Howard Gardner's them}' of multiple intelligences, a variant of what my generation called the J.P. Guilford model of creative intelligence. 102 What Chapman states here are not particularly new insights into curriculum designs, but they are a restatement of the need for teachers to be mindful of the underlying expected behaviour or conduct ofexisting curriculum designs and to ensure that these designs complement those of the teacher's own curriculum intent. Most curriculum conduct schemes such as those mentioned by Bloom and Gardner are systematic and rational plans intended ta nurture creative behaviour in normative situations,(Please see section on Creativity.) But as Chapman warns, they may only muddy the waters 102Ibid•• p. 2. for teach\.'rs if they are appHe:û to coiitent categories that require • other organizcitb!lal or conceptual approaches. A curriculum design cannot help but reflect the values and cultural attitudes of its designers. Awareness and understanding on the part of the users of these hidden cultural values will result in a more effective application ofa curriculum design. Chapman states: The categories of content ~:G:;~ commonly used in curriculum development are value-Iaden. They're shaped by the historical-cultural context in which we live. They have led us to "curricularlze" conceptions of art. A curricular conception ofart imposes a formaI order on human endeavor that existed long before public schools and other form alized avenues for discourse about art. We are heirs to a legacy of thought about art and education which at once seeks to define It as a subject for study and also allows us to question whether or • when somethlng Is art, and whether U's e.xcellent. ...In general, our ablllt)' to Identlfy and analyze categories ofcontent and conduct exceeds our ablllty to select, Interrelate and organlze them; especlally ln ways that affirm the values of freedom ln expression, approprlate respect for cultural dlverslty and that measure ofcultural cohesion requlred for clvillzed lIfe. 103 Chapman's last statement cornes very close to the beliefs of the crltical pedagoglsts that awareness of the values and cultural dynamlcs ofa curriculum design wllllead to more effective action and ultimately strengthen the society ofwhich U Is a procluct. 103Ib'd1 ., p. 6 . Chapman in her book, A WORLD OF IMAGES, 104 develops a curriculum design for middle school students. In her teacher • resource binder, Chapman outlines her "conduct" in the use of this teaching resource. Chapman tries to incIude the widest array of options to make her curriculum design as accessible to the largest number of teachers. For example, she introduces her book as having three aims; those of 1) creating art, 2) looking at art and 3) l!ving with art. These aims later evolve into creation ofart, art criticism, aesthetics and art history; the four disciplines of DBAE. Chapman then concludes with a warning about limitations of discipline based education by stating: Recent advocacy of discipline-based art education (DBAE) often leads teachers ta think that each art concept, idea or activity can be pigeonholed into one of the four types of inquiry listed previously. The discipline way of thilking about art is cornmon in universities, but it can result • in a neglect of teaching the most basic and general concepts about art. Basic concepts are used in almost aIl facets of art. Because they are general ( no' used in Op.!~· :.;ae discipline ofart), they are also among the most important concepts in preparing students for lifelong study and interest in art. lOS Chapman has taken a very diplomatie approach in using the four categories of DBAE for those teachers who are required to follow them but at the same time giving consent to go around or beyond these categories to teachers who have more liberty ln selecting thelr curriculum design. I04Chapman, L. H. (1994). A WORLD OF IMAGES. USA. lOSChapm,m, L. H.11994).!'. WORLD OF IMAGES. Teacher ResQurce BinÔ€r. USA, pA. 140 Chapman recommends the traditional use ofstudent sketchbooks, journals, portfolios. She also emphasizes the importance of safety • procedures and the correct use of hazardous materials. She stresses the responsibility that rests with the teacher to ensure the proper use of materials and the application of safety regulations in the cIassroom. At the same time she cautions against copying, tracing or imitating other art images or the use of stereotypical art as it could cause students to depend on external images instead ofdeveloping their own. She also feels that exhibitions and competitions should be engaged in .:autiously and only if they reinforce the curriculum and educationall~xperienceand do not create a competitive, judgmental learning environment. Chapman strongly encourages the use of reading and writing projects to reinforce the connection between art and the other disciplines. She believes in the systematic development ofan art vocabulary to be used in building critical thinking and expression. Chapman also makes an interesting distinction between curriculum development and course planning. Curriculum • development, for her, is the process of studying what you are teaching: the why, howand how weIl. Usually, curriculum development cornes from educationalleaders, curriculum agencies, government bodies, school boards and so on and the teacher must then respond to these initiatives. Course planning is a more specifie operation in that the teacher must create a schedule for instruction lasting throughout the course. The teacher must adapt the curriculum plan to the typical 50-60 minute art period thus having to consider the organlzation and the pacing of the instructional material for the duration of the course. Chapman provides many falrly traditional suggestions and charts on course planning. Chapman's teacher resource binder, reveals how she expertly tries to maneuver between a teacher's imposed curriculum plan and the teacher's own educational and creative initiatives. Her 141 suggestions for teachers are always practical and sensible. She tries to present the positive possibilities of a situation and does not openly • provoke the status quo. She concludes the teacher resource binder with an almost evangelistic cali to promote the role of art and the art teacher. She writes: Educate teachers. administrators, counselors, parents and community group!> about your program. Prepare information on how they can assist your efforts. Organize a parent or business groLjJ to give ~pecial support by volunteering -arranging field trips, collecting recyclable materials or sponsor ing special events. Develop a teacher-student newsletter. lt might include samples of line drawings, aesthetic observations, special requests for the ?rt program, invitations to see exhibits and the like. Dlstribute it within the school • and to your support groups. ... Participate in art education and art assoc iations. They are the most valuable paths to professional growth, renewal and awareness ofdeve!opments that might help your in your work. 1DG Promoting awareness and action seems to be a constant underlying theme of Chapman's curriculum designs. The conviction and enthusiasm for the teaching ofart are ever present in her books. The possibilities and potential for stimulating and fulfiIIing engagement in art practice, criticism, history and aesthetics are always strongly promoted in Chapman's writings. • IOGlb"d1 ., p. s~/. 147. Her curriculum designs themselves are thorough and imaginatively presented. Chapman feels that the presentation format • of her books is a very important aspect of her curriculum design as she believes that strong visuals and accessible text are a way of immediately engaging students with the content materiaI. But the overall effect becomes somewhat prescriptive as sorne of the ideas posed are often complex and interrelated but treated in the same simplified way as the others. The books contain many excellent instructional designs which are developed in a c1ear and concise Iinear format. It is an excellent resource book rich in visuals, historical background and art-making processes. EJ1iot Eisner and Howard Gardner Elliot Eisner and Howard Gardner are long established researchers in art education and are also probably the most noted art educators in the larger field ofeducation. Elliot Eisner is best known for his book, THE EDUCATIONAL IMAGINATION107 which is a classic text in curriculum design. Eisner identifled five curriculum approaches in the book, CONFUCTING CONCEPTS OF CURRICULUM lOS which he described as 1) curriculum as technology, 2) academic rationalism, 3) development ofcognitive processes, 4) self-actualization and 5) social reconstruction. Eisner expl~!!!s "technology as curriculum" as curriculum that relies on an efficl'ent organizat!onal structure of subje;;:tar~asand that tries to meet goals of behavioural objectives, competency-based teaching and accountability. Its roots are ln the scientiflc and \07Eisner, E. (1985). THE EDUCATIONAL IMAGINATION. USA. \OSEisner, E. and Vallance, E. (Eds.). (1974). CONFLICTING CONCEPTIONS OF CURRICULUM. USA. 14~ business management methodologles and it is a major influence on today's discipline based education. ln "academic rationalism", the emphasis is on the subject content, whereby intellectual growth starts \Vith the study of the basic disciplines that establish intellectual rigour for the future investigation ofother major concepts and human issues. This is a training ground for later participation in the professions and the development of common attitudes used to resolve social and political issues. The development of the students' intellectual abiIities by emphasizing the learning process and intelleetual skills involved is the essence of Elliot's "development of cognitive processes". Problem solving is accomplished not by the use of memorization of content but by the development of inductive and deductive mental activities. Personal fulfillment is the prime motivator for learning in the "self-actualization orientation" in which the emphasis is on students, • developing their own particular talents and identities. Learning is more relevant and effective when it is generated from within the personalityand not imposed on the student from external sources. "Social reconstruction" or social adaptation emphasizes the primacy ofdeveloping critical social consciousness withln and among the students. The future ofour society depends on informed crltical judgment that motivates future change. Eisner sees most current curriculum design as a mlx or hybrid of various of these orientations, as partlcular instltutlonal settlngs demand combinations of malnstream and nonmainstream approaches to curriculum to fit their specifie needs. Howard Gardner, a psyehologist by training, has long been involved in researeh that focuses on the learning and teaching of the arts. Gardner is known for his investigations hita creativity and the 144 gifted learner or progeny. His research centres on the effect the environment has on the creative process and the particular • personality traits that seem to develop in progeny. His work with Project Zero at Harvard University has produced many landmark studies in arts education. Gardner is recognized for his theOl-Y of multiple intelligences. He was particularly concerned with the discrepancy between the poor results of intelligence test scores an.d the abiIities of many taIented artistic students. With the support of the Rockefeller Foundation he investigated the limitations of these standard intelligence tests, which measured only a narrow range of thinking processes or intelligences, to measure artistic abilities. The result of this research was Gardner's "Multiple Intelligences" \09 that recognized seven different ways of human thinking and categorized them as linguistic, mathematical, musical, spatial, body-kinesthetic, interpersonal and intrapersonaI. Everyone has the potential to develop in aIl seven areas but usually excel in only a few. Success in certain of these seven intelligences does not guarantee success in them aIl. Thus most • of us succeed in language or in mathematics or music and so on, but not usually in aIl categories. His research aIso concentrated on the particular intelligences or ways of thinking that lead to potential success in the arts. Thus students whose strengths lie in symbolic and vlsual manipulation could be evaluated for these Intelligences and recognized on the same level as students showlng strength in lIngulstic or mathematical abiIity. Gardner strongly advocates the recognition ofaIl seven ways of thlnking as the basls for school curriculum. This Is particuIarly Important for the arts as art, music, dance and drama are not as 109Gardner, H. (1983). FRAMES OF MIND: THE THEORY OF MULTIPLE • INTELLIGENCES. N.Y.: Basic Books. 14<; highly valued in North American culture and are the first subject • areas ta be affected by budget restraints. Gardner's position in relation ta discipline-based art education is unique. He strongly feels that the "art making" process is central to the art experience. He feels that the ways of thinking that underlie historical. aesthetic or social issues in the arts reinforce the existing and dominant linguistic and disciplinary approach to curriculum development. He advocates an approach to art education that includes these areas of knowledge (historical, aesthetic and social) but is fundamentally grounded in the students' experience based on production. perception and reflection l JO. Through their own experience ofart making the students develop skills and processes on which they reflect ta gain insight and objectivity that will consequently inform their future actions. It is the students' own experience that becomes the jumping off point to an investigation and understanding of histarical, aesthetic or social issues in art education. ln this regard, Gardner echoes the principles of progressive education promoted by Dewey as surveyed earlier in this • chapter. Through his work, Gardner has been a major influence in education in validating and promoting the importance of the arts and specific curriculum approaches to the arts in school programs. Curriculum Planning and Built Environment Education Art education has integrated built environment education as a component of its curriculum. This section explores curriculum planning and instructional designs that specifically concentrate on built environment education. IIOBrandt, R. and Gardner. H. (1987). On Assessment in the Arts: A Conversation with Howard Gardener. ASSOCtATiON FOR SUPERVISION ANQ CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT. USA. • 14f, BuHt environment education (BEE) or built environment studies (BES) is a fairly recent phenomenon. It came to prominence in the • 1970s with the pioneering work ofJune McFee, in the United States, and Eileen Adams, in Great Britain. In North America, BEE is part of the art education curriculum. In Great Britain BES is often shared between art and design, geography and environmental studies. Eileen Adams ln the 1970s, Eileen Adams was co-director, with Colin Ward, of the Schools CounciI's curriculum development project, ART AND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENTlll, whose main aims were to develop environmental perception through art-based approaches to study and to develop discriminatory and critical skills in relation to environmental appraisaL Adams noted the resistance ofschool teachers to built environmental studies whe,., .'l'te states: 1was surprised to find that many teachers • did not see the built environment as a mar vellous resource, inexhaustible and ever present, a source ofstimulus and excitement to be explored and understood through the eyes ofartists, crities and designers... Many felt negatively about the man-made envir onment, preferring, it seemed, the romantic escapism of tree roots and sheep skulls. ...For many art teaehers the experience of their own training -many of them as painters -had a profound effect on their praetice, and the challenge ofextending this into unfamiliar territory threatened their role identity.1l2 111Adams, E., and Ward, C. (1982). ART AND THE BlHLT ENVIRONMENT. Great Britain. 112Adarns, E. (1990). Teachers and Architects: Collaboration in Education. In • Thistlewood, D. IEd.). ISSUES IN DESIGN EDUCATION. Great Britain. pp. 110-114. 147 Adams sa\\' one of the main problems facing BES as teacher • resistance to a ne\\' curriculum content. 50 one of her goals \\'as ta try to build personal and professional confidence in handling built environment content. One \\'ay, she feH, to accomplish this goal \\'as to organize architect and teacher collaboration in developing curriculum design for BEE. But Adams \\'arned: However, architect-teacher collaboration must be established carefuIl)' and constructivel)'. It is no good exhorting schools and teachers to recognize the importance or necessity of built environment studies in schools, attempting to add something else to an already overloaded timetable and imposing an increasing list of demands on the school curriculum. There is nothing to be gained from making teachers feel inadequate, threatening their subject identity, or presenting architecture as a dif • ficult and mysterious area of understanding. The need is to change public attitudes to the built environment, and towards change, through de-mystification and positive action -to create relationshlps, systems and strategies to influence attitudes and practices within education. 113 To sorne extent, this has been accomplished by the resurgence on the social and political scene ofthe ecologlcal and green movement which has greaUy increased public awareness towards our natural and built environments. Recent curriculum guidelines regularly contain sections on the built environment that go well beyond the traditional review of historical architectural styles. 113Ibid.. p. 120. 14R Adams strongly believes in the power ofgood design to uplift the human condition and, consequently, her curriculum design of 1982. • ART AND THE BUlLT ENVIRONMENT refIects a strong concern for the design and aesthetic issues of BES. Her curriculum design tends ta favour the sensOIY and visual components of the built environment and exdude the social and cultural ones. Her rationale for this is not that she feels that the social aspects ofart are not important, and indeed fundamental, but that in the limitations ofan art class, emphasis should be primarily on the design and visual components. This stance has caused criticism from teachers, archltects and town planners who daim that this approach gives a superficial and incomplete view of the built environment as a cultural process and product. Ultimately, Adam's curriculum design, though an admirable first effort into BES, presents an artificial and unbalanced view of the built environment process. The resulting instructional design feels very ùisconnected and ends up being a series ofactivities dealing with only isolated aspects of the built environment. If this aspect of her curriculum design is weak, the language and visual skIlls are weIl developed wlth such instructional tools as mental maps, sensoI}/ walks, townscape notations, townscape assessments, sensing cards, streetometer and so on. These or variations of them have become standard exercises in BEE curriculum designs. Adams was one of the first teachers to champion BEE and through her and her collaborators' efforts she brought BEE and BES into mainstream art education curriculum. In her later writings she acknowledges the more complex nature ofthe built environment, though still supporting the primac)' of the visual design and aestbetics. Work in schools covers a wide range ofconcerns. These include developing a greater degree of environmental awareness, building up a vocab ulary relating to aesthetic and design experience and, as a result, encouraging an enlarged emot ional response to promote a sense ofplace. Art 14C) and design is important here in developing a sense of possession and identity in relation ta • the environment. It is used as a means of intens ifying experience, influencing perception, enabl ing pupils ta ref1ect upon and rework that exper ience in order to make sense of it. This work encourages and emphasizes critical study, where pupils are helped to form judgments about quality and to attempt ta explain or justify these. lt therefore involves the use of both visual lang uage and words. It also initiates design activities. where pupils conceptualize possibilities for change, using imagination and fantasy to create new realities. ...Art and design is used as a means of intensifying experience, concentrating attention, as a means of perception, of analysis, of reflection upon that experience, as a means of reworking that exper ience in order to understand it. lt is used not only • to respond to what is there, but ta consider what might be, to e.xplore meaning and value, and to involve pupils in the creation of meaning through valuing activities.ll-I Adams expresses her philosophy about learning and education and the importance of the student working from her/his own values, reflecting upon these values and then acting upon them in a responsible, positive way. This philosophy echoes many of the alms of humanistic education and critical pedagogy. juneMcFee June McFee, the American art educator and theorist, has been a major influence on curriculum development of BEE. She strongly • 114Ibid.. pp. 118-119. 1"0 believes in the integration ofvisual and design components with • social and cultural awareness. June J\IcFee with Rogena Degge in 19ï7 wrote ART. CULTURE. AND ENV1RONMENT: A Catalyst for Teaching. 115 The core of this book is a curriculum design that fuses social and cultural consciousness with art education curriculum. Il contains chapters on the built em'ironment which were a major step in legitimizing it as a visual and cultural phenomenon to be studied in art education in North America. They focused on two elements of the built environment. The first was the relationship of people to the physical spaces around them and the second was the evolution of urban spaces. The chapter, "How People Use Space", described "activities designed to help students recognize how they use their environment and to become more thoughtful desIgners of their own spaces and thase they share with others. The activities are divided into four ".reas of inquiry: l-spaces, shared spaces, ciuster spaces, and the networks between spaces." 116 This conceptualization was an • ingenious way of immediately getting students to retlect on theirs and üthers' place in the built environment. I-spaces describes the personal space or territory we aH operate in and is part of the study ofAnthropometries ( please see section on Performance and User Engagement in chapter, The BuHt Environment). This notion is then developed to include the spaces we share with others. Shared spaces are exemplified by having the students recali chiidhood games such as hopscotch, musical chairs, "squirrel in the tree" and baseball. They define shared spaces, such as the above, as those where mutually compatible activities take place. IISMcFee, j. K. and Degg~, R. M. (1977). ART. CULTURE. AND ENVIRONMENT: A Catalvst for Teaching. USA. 116Jbid.• p. 218. 1 "1 Cluster or community spaces are more diverse spaces where indi\-idual and group acti\-ities of different types can occur at the • same time. such as town squares. community halls, fair grounds and soon. The network spaces concentrate on the systems of transportation and communication beiween ail spaces. They recommend iIIustrating this concept with an examination of the students' school and the different network systems it is involved with. Theirs is an excellent curriculum design for it encourages students to focus on their own personal world. then extends this insight into the greater community. How the world of the students works and how it relates to the greater environment is a central theme of ail l\lcree's curriculum greatest limitation to this chapter, one acknowledged by the authors, is the extremely condensed nature of the content. Their goal is much tao ambitious for twenty-two pages of text and visuais. The ideas are pres~nted in a simple straightforward way that belies the complex theories on which the)' • are based. The result is an exciting but rather overwhelming introduction to spatial concepts of the built environment which would be very difficult to translate into workable instructional design for most art teachers. Their chapter on "How CiUes and Towns Evolve" is even more ambiticus as it tries to develop a system for viewing, analyzing and reacUng to the visual eues of the built environment. They want students ta reflect on the "what, whys and hows" of urban growth. What makes a city work? What things divide ciUes? What do ciUes tell us about people? How do landmarks help us find our way? Can you read the past in your city? Do people's values show in ciUes? How can we make better declsions about cHies? How l'an we work together ta solve environmental problems?117 1171bid.. pp. 242-262. 1 ~7 To answer or even begin ta look for answers to these questions is a substantial task. The authors ask aIl the right questions but due to • restricted space (twenty-one pages), their answers or suggestions are often superficial and revert back to standard art class design projects that often trivialize the complexity of the inquiry. The contribution of this book to BEE is enormous as it acknowledges the need to reflect on the social and cultural determinants that affect the design and visual components ofour built environment. It begins the investigation from our cultural values and not from the design elements which are only symptomatic of the larger social process. The deficiency in the actual curriculum design is that its denseness of content makes the material inaccessible for many teachers to be able to translate it into workable classroom instructional design. The curriculum model developed later in this thesis is particularly concemed with this problem of trying to make complex content accessible and clear. InstructionaI Designs There has been sorne noteworthy work in the area of instructional design in built environment educaE::m for schools and community groups. Two of the most extensive projects are those of Rolaine Copeland and the Foundation for Architecture in Philadelphia and Anne Taylor and the Architecture and Children Institute in Seattle. Both of these people are very dynamic and committed promoters of built environment education ln the United States and Europe. Rolalne Copeland is Director of the Architecture in Education Program of the Foundation for Architecture of Philadelphia This group published a book in 1986 called ARCHITECTURE IN EDUCATION: A Resource ofImaginative Ideas and Tested Activities.I 18 It is a compendium ofeducational activlties that 118Abhau, M., (Ed.). (1986). ARCHITECTURE IN EDUCATION: A Resource of Imaginative Ideas and Tested Activities. Foundation for Architecture, Phil. investigates perLeptual, social and technological issues as they relate ta the built environment. They list the approximate grade levels for • thE: activities and sugge.>t the other related school subjects to be involved, such as science, mathematics, social studies and language arts. The curriculum content areas used are design, materials, structures, home, int€~ors, pxteriors, neighbourhoods and streets, and cilies. The art activities originate from these themes. The activities are espeClally inventive in the chapters on structures and neighbourhoods and streets. In the chapter on structures, the. authors create many physic Anne Taylor wlth George Vlastos and Alison Marshall produced a curriculum package in 1991 called ARCHITECTURE AND CHILDREN119 for the Architecture and Children Institute in Seattle. It Is comprised ofa student classroom package of 17 Instructional posters and a 119Taylor. A., Vlastos, G. and Marshall, A. (1991). ARCHITECTURE AND CHILDREN. USA. 1<;4 teacher's guide. This instructional design is very much geared to the teacher and the classroom. Jts emphasis is primarilyon the • structural and design aspects ofarchitecrure. It is done in a p!ayful and adventurous style with many connections ta the child's world and their understanding of it. A less extensive instructional design than others. it is pedagogically structured for easy adaptation to the existing classroom art curriculum. Ka)' Alexander and Michael Day have written a comprehensive curriculum guide for art in secondaJ}' schools called LEARNING TO LOOK AND CREATE 120. Working in association with the Getty Center for Education in the Arts they have developed a discipline-based curriculum design and their unit seven is devoted to "The Art of Architecture". The central theme of this instructional design is based on the study of the great works of architecture ta understand how the built environment works. The unit is very structured as to centent. materials and time and is organized by headings such as Art in Context. Art and Meaning, Creating Art. Questions about Art and Extensions. The instructional activities are very traditional, with the • standard approach ofan introduction ofart history slides as a motivational exercise. followed by a classroom art activity illustrating the theme of the slldes and finishing with a summation and discussion of future possibilities. In light of the many new ideas and approaches that have developed for buiIt environment education through the works of June McFee. Eileen Adams. Rolaine Copeland, Anne Taylor and many others it is very surprising to see a curriculum that reverts to the origiuk.! curriculum designs for BEE based on the study of historical typology and that completely ignores the socio-cultural determinants that are at the base of the bullt environmental phenomenon. The resulting instructional design is very artificial as it investigates such a small component ofthe bullt environment and analyzes it in a 120Alexander, K. and Day, M. (1994). ~GTO LOOK AND CREATE. The SPECTRA Pro!!ram. USA. historical vacuum. The suggested art activities only reinforce the original intentions of the authors and allow for only limited • exploration and self-discovery. This instructional design misses aIl the exciting and stimulating possibiIities that a more in-depth and challenging study ofarchitecture and the built environment can provide. Nathan Winters, an architect, wrote and illustrated the book ARCHITECTURE IS ELEMENTARY: Visual Thinking Through Architectural Conceots l21 for the Utah Heritage Fund in 1986. The book is structured around 50 lesson plans that deal mainly with the design, style and structure in architecture. The book reflects the architect's preoccupation with design and visual concepts, assuming that the salvation ofour built environment is througil good design. The lesson plans contain both inventive and standard art activities. It tries to develop a simple to complex approach to the lesson plans, though the overall direction is not always clear. Again, it is at its best as a useful resource book for the teacher who already has a strong • background in BEE. The art education magazine School Arts has often published articles on instructional design for architecture and the built environment. For example, in December 1988, it devoted a whole issue to the buUt environment under the heading "The Third Dimension: Places" with articles as varied as "Temples for Tomorrow" by Diann Berry; "The house where l live" by Marilynn Wcisensee; "Neighborhood Discovery" by Karen Lewand. 122 In 1992, School Arts also published an edition on the theme "Habitat: Architecture", which contained such articles as "Forts ofAlI Sorts" by Virginia Humphreys Booth; "Shelters" by Judith Harper; and "High-Rise Values" by Roy Schoenborn. 123 The articles are based mostly on single, successful instructional design ideas developed in the classrooms of practicing 121Winters, N. B. (1986). ARCHITECTURE IS ELEMENIARY: Visual Thinking Through Archtectural Concepts. USA. 122School Arts. Volume 88, Number 4, December 19l1B. 123Schoo( Arts. Volume 91,Number 9, May 1992. art teachers. There have been many local initiatives in communities throughout North America and Europe. Projects such as the magazines StreetWise l24 Îrom England and ArchiNEWS125 from the tl.s.A. result from the involvement and commitment of community. heritage, museum and educational groups. ln Montreal, the Museum of Fine Arts and The Heritage Montreal Foundation have published activity bookIets to promote awareness of the built environment. The books SUMMER IN THE CITY126and FROM H01\1E TO l\IETROPOLISI27 are excellent introductions for children to thE: worldngs of their urban environments. Designed more for recreational courses than the cIassroom, they relyon the city as the catalyst for their art activities. These types of instructional design books. based on self-discovery and local environments, are excellent in stimulating creative and formative educational experiences. Reflective Practice A fundamental process of this thesis is reflection. The emphasis in the built environment content is on environmental knowing. It promotes reflecting on one's natural and built environment to create understanding and meaning that hopefully translates into future responsible action. Recently in curriculum development, there has been growing interest in applylng reflective practices to better prepare professionals. Donald Schon has done significant research :>.nd development in this area. 124STRF,ETVilSF. The Magazine of Urban Studies. National Association for Urban Studies, Canterbury, Gleat Britain. 12SarchiNEWS. The Center for Underslanding the Built Environment, Prpirie Village. Kansas. US.A. 126The Heritage Montreal Foundation and The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. (1982). SUMMER IN THE CITY. Canada. 127The Heritage Montreal Foundation and The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. (1985). FROM HOME Ta METROPOUS. Canada. 1"7 • Donald Schon ln the field of education and especially teacher-training there is a growing use of reflective pract:ce as a process for better informing action. Schon has focused muct! attention on reflective practice through his two books, THE RfFLECTIVE PRACTITIONER: How professionals think in action l28 and EDUCATING THE REFLECTIVE PRACTITIONER: Toward a new design for teaching and learning in the professions129. Schon opposes the traditional ways of training professionals with their over-reliance on technology and scientific methodologies. He believes that scientific methods do not always integrate with personal ways of knowing and thus leave many practitioners reliant on external resources and not on their experience and own knowledge base. He flnds this especially inhibiting for teachers and other professionals who must continually face unpredictable and changing dynamics in the workplace. To succeed in professions such as teaching, the teacher must be prepared for on-the-spot assessments and decision making. It takes a certain kind of knowledge and reaction to respond to these • situations effectively and scientific research methods do not readily provide skills for this kind of intervention. Schon has identified this kind of knowledge as "knowing-in action" 130. Knowing-in-action combines what we rationally know and can consciously recall with what is almost instinctive and often burled in the unconscious. Parallei to knowing-in-action is reflecting in-action or reflective practice. Thus responding to professional situations should rely not only on one's technical knowIedge but 128Schon. D. (1983). THE REFLECTIVE PRACTITIONER: HOW PROFESSIONALS THINK IN ACTION. New York: Basic Books. 129Schon. D. (198ï). EDUCATING THE REFLECTIVE PRACTITIONER: TOWARD A NEW DESIGN FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. 130Schon. D. (1983). THE REFLECTIVE PRACTITIONER: HOW PROFESSIONALS THINI' IN ACTION. New York: Basic Books. p. 49. l"R more importantly on reflecting on one's past experience and personal • knowledge base and using this reflection ta inform future action. Schon's research has had a profound effect on teacher-training since the 1980s as many colleges and universities have enthusiastically incorporared variations of reflective practice approaches in their teacher education programs. The recognition ofand reliance on professional knowledge is the cornerstone of Schon's reflective practice. This knowledge is not defined as acquired knowledge alone but is knowledge that is applied to professional situations that relies on an understanding of one's own self. experience and capabilities. Schon refers to this type of knowledge as a form of artistry as it is not strictly applied scientific or fact-proven knowledge. He states: - Inherent in the practice of the professionais we recognize as unusually competent is a • core of artistry. - Artistry is an exercise of intelligence. a kind of knowing, though different in crucial respects from our standard model of professional knowledge. Ir Is not Inherently mysterious;· it Is rigorous in Its own terms; and we can learn a great deal about it -withln what limits. we should treat as an open question -by carefully studying the performance of unusually competent performers. - ln the terrain of professlonal practice, applied science and research-based technique occupy a crltically important though limited territory, bounded on several sides by artistry. There are an art of problem framing, an art of implement • ation, and an art of improvisation- ail necessary to mediate the use in practice ofapplied science • and techniquel31 • Schon's work reclaims the basis for decision making and action as one's personal and professional experience and not solely as exterior scientif1c or technological facts. Through reflective practice one can reassert one's own experience and understanding of the world as the foundation for future action. F. Michael Connelly and D. Jean Clandinin in their book TEACHERS AS CURRICULUl--1 ,'LANNER: Narratives of Experience132 contend that it is the teachers' thinking and doing that is at the center of curriculum development and planning. lt is the teachers' personal knowledge that determines the dynamics of learning conduct in the classroom. It is therefore important that the teachers have an understanding of their personal knowledge andfeactions and how they influence their teaching and decision making in the classroom. Connelly and Clandinin recommend ways ofdeveloping reflective • prartice both through personal investigations and interactive situations. They encourage the development of personal narrative as a metaphor for expressing one's persona! curriculum and teaching. As personal reflective-practice tools They recommend journal keeping, biography and picturing and document analysis133• For interactive situations they propose such reflective-practice processes as storytelling, letter writing between like professionals, teacher interviews and participant observationl34• Reflective practice is at the heart of the curriculum model developed in This thesis and is an e1>sential process for both the teacher and students to engage in for it to succeed. The teacher and 131Ibid. p. 51. 132Connelly, F. N., and Clandinin, D. j. (1988). TEACHERS AS CURRICULUM PLANNERS: NARRATIVE EXPERIENCES. New York: Teachers College Press. LBlbid.• pp. 33-41. 134Ibid•• pp. 44-54. • l()O students must be ready to reflect on their present living conditions and the built environment that supports these conditions before • further investigation can take place. From these investigations, decisions can be taken that affect the way they respond to the built environment. The proposect curriculum model and instructional designs make use of man)' of the reflective-practice tools. Storytelling is adapted by expressing stories visuaIly instead of linguisticaIly. Journal writing is often used and is further expanded to incIude sensual inventories. Interviewing techniques, letter writing and document analysis are also expanded. New reflective-practice tools for built environment education such as neighbourhood comparisons and conceptuaI mapping were also developed to be used in the instructional designs in the last chapter, The World We Live ln: Place, Space and Belonging. Gender Representation Women and Built Em"ironment Education Architecture and the building professions have long been dominated by males. Though there has been sorne advancement towards incIuding more women, these professions are far from having equal gender representation. This dominance also extends to architecturaI theories and designlng principles. There Is even more gender imbaIance ln the construction Industries. Only ln the residentlal real-estate market and ln the interlor design and decoratlon professions are women weIl represented. In contrast, ln the field of bulit envlronment education there are many outstandlng woman researchers and organlzers such as Eileen Adams, Roelane Copeland, Anne Taylor, Ginny Graves, Just to mention a few. Their contributions were reviewed earlier ln thls chapter. 1(:'1 /-linda Ave!}' in her article "The Potential Role of the Art Teacher. the Urban Planner. and Community Groups in Built Environment • Education" underIines the need to address this gender imbalance issue as women make up only 19% of the practicing urban planners and 9% of the praeticing architects according ta the Labour Canada statistics of 1985. 135 Toda)', there are many examples of extraordinal}' women in the fieid of urban planning and architecture. from Diana Agrest. Gae Aulenti and Denise Scott Brown to Saha Habib. Elizabeth Plater Zyberk and Laurinda Spear. Though the literature and past canons on architecture and the built environment reflect a strong male bias. it is important in art and built environment education to make known the significant contribution ofwomen in these fields. One way to support this goal is to use gender-balanced references and models in class and resource materials. Art educators Yvonne Gaudelius and Laura Guinan in their presentation "Gendered Spaces: Wh)' a Room of Our Own Isn't • Enough" at the 1994 National Art Education convention in Baltimore restated the need for a complete re-evaluation of the professions of architecture and the built environment in the context of feminist theories. They state: Instead of seeking to merely expose existing conditions. to recover women architects from history. or to analyze our uses ofspace in terms ofgender. we believe that it is essL.1tial ta effect paradigmatic changes that alter the conditions in which gender divisions are 135Avery. H. (1989). The Potential Role of the Art Teacher, the Urban Planner. and Community Groups in the BuHt Environment. Art Education. Sept. 1989. • p.54. Hl? created and reproduced 136. • Gaudelius and Guinan feel strongly that the gender blases of the professions must be acknowledged and reversed. They quote l\lark Wigley as he states. "the active production ofgender distinctions can be found at every level of architectural discourse: in its rituals of legitimation. hiring practices. classification systems, lecture techniques, publicity images. canon formation. division of labor. bibliographies, design conventions, legal codes, salaI)' structures. publishing practices, language, professional ethics, editing protocols. project credits, etc." 13ï. In art education they note that architecture and the built em'ironment are still taught mainly through historical typologyor design choices and analysis. They recognize the urgent need for more recognition of the social and cultural implications ofarchitecture and the built environment in art education content. They advocate four important challenges to effect change. They outline the first challenge as being the revision of the canon • ofarchitectural history to indude the works and influence of past and present women on the built environment. The second challenge is to change the practice ofarchitecture as a profession by re-evaluating the star system in architecture and also by acti\'ely \'aluing the contribution and involvement ofwomen. The third challenge is to get the profession ofarchitecture to recognize the particuk.r needs of women as mothers, single parents, senior citizens, and so on. The fourth challenge is to reduce the contradictions in the profession between monumental or status-motivated architecture 136Gaudelius. Yand Guinan. L. (1994). Gendered Spaces: Why A Room of Our Own Isn'nt Enough. Paper. National Art Education Convention. Baltimore. p.l. • 13 ïlbid.. p. 14. and the architecture needed to respond to the daily living habits and needs of ail society's members, within a process in which e\"eryone • l'an participate. Breaking down barriers of discrimination and exclusion based on gender, race, c1ass or sexual orientation is a difficuit task for any society. BuiIt environment education and art education have a responsibiIic} to participate actively in acknowledging past gender biases and exclusion and to work toward equal gender representation at ail levels. Summary This chapter has been a review of the major influences that helped create the curriculum model for buiIt environment education that will be developed in the following chapter. The built environment content of the following curriculum model prescribes a holistic view of learning and living that reflects the combined evolutionary processes that responded to the human will. to human capabilities, to natural glvens and to place and time, ail of which ultimately resulted in the buill environment. The inter connectedness of these forces accounts for the pervasive impact the built em"ironment has on ail our lives. Built environment education is a vaUd and compelIing content area that deserves a prominent role in our school curriculum. In many ways, art education seems the obvious home for this subject matter, though it ls also essential to historj, geography, environmental studies and social studies. In art education over the last twenty-five years, many attempts have been made to establish built environment education as a curriculum component. The curriculum plans that emerged have been imaginative and inventive and have been a wonderful resource for this thesis. But even though there has been much effort devoted to the development of built 164 em"ironment education in the past, it still remains on the periphery as a potential subject area for most art teachers. Art teachers find • the subject material interesting and often fascinating but. they also find it complex and sometimes inaccessible. Existing built environment education curriculum plans ha\'e not been readily assimilated into their curriculum repertoires. Existing curriculum plans are often a series of individual activities focusing on a particular aspect of the built environment process such as design problems or historical typologies. The art activities are often original and stimulating, but they tend to lack connection ta the larger understanding of the dynamics that affect the built em'ironment. An examp!e is the book published by the Foundation for Architecture of Philadelphia, ARCHiTECTURE IN EDUCATION: A Resource ofImaginative Ideas and Tested Activities l38• ln that book, individual activities are emphasized involving, in particular, perceptual, technological and design issues. As a resource book of acti\'ities and as an introduction to the terminology used in archItecture ;'Ind the built environment, il is excellent. As a curriculum plan developed from a consistent pedagogical approach • with a comprehensive insight into the whole built environment phenomenon, it is lacking. The organization of the art activities into appropriate age groups and the effective use of illustrations make it a classïc, nonetheless, in curriculum design for built environment education. Similarly, the Architecture and Children Institute in Seattle published instructional designs in the form of seventeen posters called, ARCHITECTURE AND CHILDREN 139. These instructional designs are particularly ingenious in their illustrations of body formations to demonstrate load-bearing stresses in buildings. The art activities that follow rely frequently on the understanding and manipulation of sophisticated design principles. Both these books try admirably to 138Ibid. 139Ibid. demystify the complexity of the issues related to architecture and the built emoironment by deyeloping innO\oatÏ\°e art actiyities that • explore and experiment with these issues from different perspeetiyeso A more traditional approach ta architecturE' and the built enyironment education is foHowed by Alexander and Day in the architecture chapter of their book. LEARNING Ta LOOK AND CRE<\TI::I-Io. in which ideas and concepts ofarchitecture are introduced through the study of histaricai typologies. These typologies become the motÏ\°ational examples for the study of design principles and models. This traditional approach is based on the use of the canons ofarchitectural styles to inspire design projects. It is an approach that easily lends itself ta Discipline Based Art Education curriculum de\Oelopment as it integrates art making. histary. aesthetics and appreciation. These and other architecture and built environment educational projects can be categorized as instructional designs. They emphasize • "the doing" and are individual units based on one idea or theme. llsuaBy there is little connection among the units and the teaching and learning strategies mOlY change with each ne\\' project. Instructional designs have to operate within the available classroom resources and time. A curriculum plan is a more comprehensive structure in which curriculum designs play an important part. A specifie pedagogical approach informs aH the different teaching units within the plan. There is also a central theme or focus that underlies aH the different units. As mentioned earlier in this chapter, two of the most noteworthy curriculum plans in built environment education are those ofAdams and Ward and of King and Degge. • l-l°Ibid. Adams and Ward made major contributions to built environment education by recognizing the need for teachers and students ta be • able to define anà commup;cate the uniqueness of the built environment. They stress the impor~ance of developing a system for percei\'ing and recording the physical phenomena that constitutes the built environment and, also, the language skills to express it, Critirai skills, such as analysis, synthesis and evaluation, are necessaJ:' wols for students in understanding their built environment. The limitations of the approach of Adams and Wards is their belief that the study of the built environment should focus on the design and performance aspects of the built environment. They purposely avoided political, social and economic issues. Thi~, 1feel, leads to an incomplete, if not distorted, view of the built environment. Nonetheless, Adams and Ward have had a lasting impact in built environment education. King and Degge developed a different approach to built environment education, one that stresses the personal and social implications of the built environment. Thcir curriculum plan is based • on the inquiry into the students' personal living spaces and how those relate to larger communal spaces. They also investigate issues involving the development of the urban form and how performance levels of the built environment affect our quality of life. The pedagogical approach of King and Degge recognizes the importance of the student's own experience as the starting point for further investigations and a deeper understanding of the built environment. This approach has had an important influence on the curriculum model deveIoped in this thesis. King and Degge's major contribution to built environment is the inclusion of the social issues and their impact on the built environment. They developed an effective curriculum plan that makes use ofour everyday living experience to inform car understanding ofand interaction wlth the built environment. The curriculum model developed in the next chapter owes a great debt to both the instructional designs and the curriculum plans that 1 lfi7 have just reviewed. The following curriculum model uses instruetional designs as samples for classroom activities. These • instructional designs try to be as innovative and creative as the ones previously examined but also tI}' to make a conscious connection between each of the individual designs to ensure relevance and continuity of ideas. The instructional designs of the curriculum model are used to promote the acquisition and operation ofskills and techniques. The instructional designs are also meant to encourage experimentation and exploration through the use of a variety and mixture of materials and mediums. A more important impact on the curriculum model has been the curriculum plans cfAdams and Ward and, also, McFee and Degge. They illustrate way~ in which broader issues of content and systematic pedagogical approaches may be rombined ta enrich and ta enhance the ~tudents' understanding of theif built environment. It became important in the curriculum model ta deveIop these pedagogical processes further and more extensivel)' by identifying themes that, on their own, had relevance but as a group reinforce a larger vision of the built environment. The folluwing curriculum model tries to achieve the goal of representing the multifaceted nature of the built environment within a methodology that moves from personal to communal and from simple to complex. Observing and reflecting on one's own habitat gives one a base on which to galn insight into the habitat cfothers. At the same tlme, understanding .the built environment ofothers can give us inslght into our own. Achieving understanding of both habitats leads to a fuller appreclation of the richness and clJmplexity of the larger built environment. Establishing a way ofobserving and recordlng our constructed world is Imperative, as stated by Adams and Ward. The following curriculum model develops a system ofobservlng and recordlng but also tries to create a more in-depth approach that, not only documents the built environment phenomena, but also reveals • soclety's underlying values and norms. The curriculum model lM propose ta do this thro'.lgh a systematic analysis and prioritization • of the sensorv cues that make up the built environment. The process of analyzing pe:sonal and communal spaces originally introduced by King and Degge is expanded into a process of observation. refIection and awareness. This becomes an Integral part of the curriculum approach used in many of the thematic units in the curriculum mode!. To avoid the disconnection of themes or ideas between units. a problem at times in the other curriculum plans. the curriculum model used a structure in which units build on each other. These units, by themselves, are contained concepts and processes but as a group are meant to fIow from one to another in order ta reinforce the sense of the built environment as being an aIl pervasive and interconnected phenomenon. AlI curriculum plans rely on the skiIls and practices of the art educator in creating their curriculum approach for built environment education. This curriculum model tries to expand the teachers' role and knowledge of the built environment by activel)' involving them in specifie learning and teaching strategies. The strategies emphasize humanistic education, critical pedagogy, creativity and problem solving and refIective practice. This particular curriculum approach became the engine of the following curriculum model for built environment education. The foIlowing chapter is about the development of this curriculum model for built environment education and is calIed, The World We Live In: Space, Place and Belonging. • Chapter Four: The World We Live ln: Sp2ce, Place and Belonging • The World We Live ln: • Space, Place and Belonging Introduction The goal of this curriculum plan is to develop personal meaning and agency for students and teachers for the built environment they live in. Through a deeper understanding ofthe students' relationship to space and place, they will he better informed to adapt to or help change the constructed world around them. Change, whether internai or external, reflects the values of the people involved. The values affecting the process for change in this curriculum plan are based on a belief in the democratic rights ofaIl members of society to have a voice in maintaining a just, egalitarian and compassionate society that cares for its weaker and future members and promotes species and ecological survival. Since the discrepancy between this Ideal vision of society and the prevailing human reality • we live in is ob\'ious, we find ourselves the inheritors ofa built environment that is often dlfficult or impossible to change. This curriculum plan must acknowledge the reality of this entrenched characteristic in trying to better assure the success of productive action that incorporates both the existing environment and hope for its future weIl being. Another objective of this curriculum plan is to create guidelines for instructional designs based on concepts and theories in the field of bullt environment studies using the unique pedagoglcal possibilities of the field ofart education. The intent is not to glve prescrlptive course plans bl~t to offer to teachers a particular theoretical point ofview with a specifie developmental structure that can be adapted, integrated, condensed or expanded in conjunction with the individual needs ofthe teacher's own curriculum agenda. . ' 170 Particular instructional designs are included in the course plans only as motivational examples to be used and developed by the • teacher when required and are under the heading. Studio Process The type ofcurriculum structure used for this paradigm is not only simple to complex but aIso internaI to ex,ernal and back again. In other words it starts with the students' own present and past experiences and extends them into their communal associations and then brings back these insights to retlect on the effect they have on their own beliefs and living habits. By understanding their own preferences and needs, they will develop stronger references for appreciating and comprehendlng the greater or a dlfferent environment. Curriculum Designs As developed in the pre\'ious chapter. the curriculum model usecl is a fusion ofHumanistic. Life Situation. Reconstructionist and Discipline designs. The Humanistic design reflects the work of the humanlstic psychologists Rogers and Fromm and the educational theories of Dewey and Chapman. Emphasls is on the social and cultural connection to the students' lives and the validity of their personal experience in a positive atmosphere that values creative and discovery approaches to learning. This is particularly expressed ln the teachlng strategies that use reflectlve practice and inquiry techniques for learnlng and the students' own world as the departure point. The teaching strategies aIso rel}' on a mixture of indlvidual and group processes. The Ufe Situation design elements have a natural connection to an}' curriculum for bullt environment and art education. Bath directly evo!\'e from the environment we live in and are forms of creative interaction and ex'Pression with our built and cultural IiI environment. This is exemplified in the following teaching strategies by the direct interaction of the students with the environment ta • create sensOI)' inventories of familiar and foreign built environments. The Reconstructionist design element transforms the reflective, creative and inquiI)' aspects oflearning into informed action. Through the potentiaI ofan art education curriculum it is hoped that the students will develop a proactive responsibility towards their natural and ouilt environment. Thus the summative projects are based on teaching strategies that engage the students in the larger dynamics of their society and help them adapt to and/or concretely influence the future of the bullt environment as they perceive it. The Discipline design component is necessaI)' to integrate the art education curriculum into the existing institutional structure of which art education is considered one of many disciplines and is subject to the same temporal and spatial organization. The following teaching strategies are designed within the time limitations of most • art classes and encourage the use ofenvironments directly accessible to students, such as their classroom, their school. their dwelling and their neighbourhood. as weIl as the use ofother field locations. The Curriculum Model The curriculum model formulated has been deslgned to use as few curriculum divisions as possible in order to build a holistic understandlng of the built envlronment phenomena from the autonomous parts. The main headings used are Concept. Introduction and Studio Process. These headlngs represent a synthesis of the following standard curriculum methodology ofContent, Unit Objectives, Teaching and l.earning Strategies. 172 Content: • The content is structured in traditionally acknowledged categories uSed in art education. They are outlined by Laura Chapman in the section from the previous chapter called Art Education. The content categories or subject divisions are Medium, Art Form, Subject and Th~mt:, Design, Style, Cultures and Periods and Function. The following curriculum units will have content that can he classifled in one or many of these content categories. They are presented in an integrated form to underline the !'>olistk nature of the curriculum paradigm process. The organization of the content is based on the investigation of the students' internai world with aIl its perceptions and lived experience and how this affects their understanding ci the greater built em"ironment. Through a more intense investigation of the greater bullt environment, the students will then analyze the effect that this has on their own perceptions and living habits. By developing a more conscious understanding of the bullt environment, • the students will be better equipped to make informed decisions as to how to better adapt to or change their environment. The bullt environment and architecture is. ofcourse. a vast and complex field ofknowledge that cannot be fully investigated in one high school curriculum study unit. Therefore a number of theories and practices were selected to form the basis of the content. They are described in the chapter, The Bullt Environment. These theories and practices were chosen to suppon the goal of the curriculum paradigm outlined in the Introduction. The objective of the curriculum model and instructional designs was to break down or transform the theories and practices of the field ofthe bullt environment into pedagogical activities for an classes that would Jead, as a totality, to an overall understanding and more meaningful relationship to the bullt environment. • 173 The following Is a brief summary of the ten content units • developed for the curriculum plan. Unit 1: What's important to me? The curriculum plan begins with an investigation into the students' own habitat. A method for describing and expressir'6 the visual components of their personal environment will be developed. The students will then identify the feelings that are associated w!th these components which may include such things as securit)'. comfort. pleasure. annoyance. fear and so on. From the prioritization of the importance to each student of these visual components. a portrait will evolve of the values for a way of living that the student feels are important or necessary to her or him. Unit 2: What's important to us? Expanding the investigation from the personal world of the students to the larger one of their neighbourhoods will permit a comparison of the two. Again. one begins with a sUl"\'ey of the • physical components that make up the urban Image of thelr nelghbourhood and then prioritizes the more Important to the lesser important features of thls particular environment to create a ranked Inventory. From this inventory. a list of the values important to this particular nelghbourhood will emerge. Unit 3: Wh)' Is that place different? The next step Is to explore a dlfferent neighbourhood in light of their own. From a comparlson of the physical differences of the two nelghbourhoods. a list of the values unlquely contained in the other urban form will be deduced. Il should be noted that differences here refer not to differences that separate or divide but differences that offer new possibiUties and other understandlngs 0" ways ofliving. • 1ï4 Unit 4: What does it tell us? • F'rogressing to an investigation of the greater urban forro, the students will begin ta investigate the particular landmarks that distinguish their particular city or urban landscape. Again, through a variety of means ofdescription and recording, an inventory of these landmarks and a prioritization of their relative importance will reveaI the previous and sometimes contemporary cultural vaIues they represent. l.andmarks are usually a visual testlmony to past historical events and societal aspirations. They astutely exemplify the layered visuaI pattern of most urban forms that evol\!e out of the previously constructed components. Unit 5: Where do we get together? From the study of landm:'rks, the investigation will expand to "gathering places". This is a very large categoI)' as it represents most communal endea\'ours incIuding commercial, industrial, educational. spiritual, recreational and cultural actlvlties. First, making an • inventol}' of these places where we shop, work, go to school, pray, play, bank, heal, and so on and then categorizing them bl' their funetlon, and then their priority ln that function, will help reveal sorne of the underlying cultural values and dl'namics that created this urbun image. Unit 6: How do we get there? The Image of the urban form can only he completed bl' an understa..ldlng ofits transportation and communication networks and infrastructure. First, the construction ofa sensoI)' and written list of ils main components from roads and raillines to sewers and electrical systems and then categorizing them by functlon must he done. Then a prioritization by importance or necessity will help reveal the signlficant indicators that reflect the cultural vaIues of the past and present society. liS Unit ï: What's done for safety and securit}'? Public and personal well-being is a concern for everyone and this • unit explores the resources and structures in our built environment that aid protection. prevention and intervention. From crime and fire ta medical emergencies. the built environment is structured to help respond to these crises. Unit 8: Do all the parts make a who!e? Ifwe put together my house, my neighbourhood. your neighbourhood, the city landmarks. the "gathering places" and the urban infrastructure do we end up with a city? This section is structured to help develop a holistic view of the urban experience for the studrnts and to appreciate its complexity and vitalit}'. Unit 9: Who does what? how? and where? Who are the main agents ofchange in our contemporary built em'ironment? This part of the im'estigation is an attempt to conneet • the built em'ironment phenomenon ta specific people, professions. institutions and jobs in our societ}' that directly create the form of our buiIt environment. This will include urban planners, architects. de\'elopers, municipal planning departments, contractors, clients. financial institutions and so on. Unit 10: What can we do? This concluding section is to reinforce the self-reflective component ofthe curriculum which is also central to all the sections. It is intended to develop understanding and insight into the possibilities and responsibilitles we each have to make Informed and compassionate decisions for the future ofour bullt environment. Existing communlty organizatlons concerned with the bullt environment and classroom projects and possibilitles to raise community awareness will he investigated. 176 Unit Objeeti\'es: • Each unit develops specific objectives which are put in the form of questions in the category, Concepts. They are further developed through motivational themes in the Introduction and carried out by a studio process in the Studio Practice. The unit objectives are directly developed from the themes expressed in Chapter Two, The Built Environment. The themes are identified in the Concept and are expanded ln the Introduction. Several themes may be synthesized or carried fOJward to other units, for example the concepts of environmental identification and orientation are explored in several of the units. Each content unit has the potential ta work by itself as a contained idea, but in the format in which it is presented here, the content units often build on the experience of the previous unit and form the foundation for the next. • MethodoJogyor Teaching/Learning Strategies The methodology used for the curriculum model Is based on the curriculum approach developed in the previous chapter. The aetivities developed in the Studio Process are the outcome of a curriculum approach that reflects the Ideas of humanistic education, heuristics, creativity and problem solvlng, emancipatory and crltical pedagogy, social change theories, holistic Interpretation, reflective practice and so on. As weIl, the teachlng and Iearning strategies are developed within the physlcal and temporal restrictions of the art c1ass and avallability of materials. The actlvities deveIoped in the Studio Process are only a Ilmlted example of the many possible instructlonal designs that the teacher could us~, • 177 The teaching strategies are designed ta support the inquiry or discovery approach to curriculum development, thus allowing the • teacher to investigate the curriculum content along with the students. Sorne of the teaching strategies emphaslzed are group investigation, discussion/questioning, bralnstorrning, systems analysis, community activities, inquiry and problem solving. role playing. simulation, synectics, reflective practice and so on. The learning strategies depend heavlly on self-reflective practice as the cornerst'1ne of the content investigation. It is through the analysis of the teachers' and students' own experience and living habits that the students will find the key to gain access to the greater meaning of the bullt environment. The learning strategies have been developed ta provide a balance between the acquisition, assimilation and application of the subject material. The Process ofSynthesis The two previous chapters, The Bullt Environment and The • Curriculum Context. develop two of the three main eJements of this thesis project. those of the subject content and of the underlying pedagogical process used. Both these chapters evolve in a linear format. The curriculum model is the Integration of the first two chapters within an art education context and does not follow the linear development of ideas used in the first two chapters. As an introduction to each unit of the curriculum model, a summative chart showing the integration of the ideas and concepts from the first two chapters is presented to indicate the sources used. The chart is designed to give a more concise organlzational plan of the central process of this thesis project. The charts are titled Organlzational Structures and Process of Synthesis. • 178 The Curriculum Model • The World We Live In: Space, Place and Belonging LJpil 1: What's Important to Me? Organizational Structure and Process of Synthesis BuHl Em"ironment Concepts Curriculum Strategies -Identification with place. -ChiId-centred curriculum p.21 approach. Curriculum de\"elops from student's -PsychoJogical connections experience. p.22 p.ï6 -Sensual im"entory. -Critical pedagogy p.34 Evaluating student's living habits. -Reading the environment p.108 p._:>?- -Reflection and action -Private and communal spaces, Emancipatory pedagogy p.20 p.llS -Performance levels of BE, Ergonomies and Anthropometries. p.44 -Personal attitudes and the perception ofspace. p.28 ," l -q1 _ • Curriculum Model - Students search childhood memories for constructed environments they have made - Students analyze feelings associated with these places. Are these feelings still valid for their present environments? - Students dev-elop inventories of sensory cues of their built environment - Students prioritize and evaluate these sensory inventories -Students express their preferences in their own personal spaces -Students refiect on their own changing attitudes and how it affects their perception - Students Investigate prlvate, communal, storage and connecting resldential spaces - Students examine how these spaces are adapted to human use (ergonomIcs and anthropometrics) 180 l'nit Ohjeeti\"es: • This unit begins with the concepts a) Back then... and b) Special places. which explore the theOl"y of "identification to place" as expressed by Christian Nobert-Shulz in the chapter The Built lm"ironment (page 21). The students are asked ta ref1ect on and identify spatial aetivities and special places that were significant ta them in their chi!dhood. From the feelings and emotions that these actÏ\'ities and spaces c\"oked. the students wiII start to connect particular em"ironments and their physical properties with the feelings and emotions they elicit. The next theme. c) My room.... concentrates on the private living em"ironment of the student. The object is to have the student examine the physical components that make up her/his environment as eues and what these cues reveai. This unit is based on the theories developed in the section Reading our Built Environment (page 25). This is an important unit as it initiates the central process used throughout the paradigm. The following theme, "How 1feeI... How 1 • see..." ref1ects on the effect that one's emotional state and attitude at the time have on the perception of the environmental space. The next t\\'o themes. d) The other rooms... and e) My space -your space.... introduce the student to the division and use ofspace in living arrangements. These spaces are mostly culturally determined as expressed by Amos Rappaport in the section Inherent Meanings (page 20). They also introduce the concepts ofanthropometrics and ergonomies as outlined in the section Performance and User Engagement (page 44). Using the techniques of building a sensory invento!")', a priority of the uses ofa particular environment is formed and in this case is used to understand the spatial organization of private and communal spaces in living arrangements. • 181 Concept • al Back then... Students wiII reflect on their childhood and the physical em'ironments that they created in play. \""hat emotional reaction did these environments create? ( For example, mystery. security. detachment. control, and so on.) b) Special places... The students will record the places that they find special in their em"ironment at home or outside the home. What emotional feelings do these special places elicit? c) ~Iy room... The student will describe in a written and sensory record her/his room. He/she will prioritize the important components and the effect they have in her/his room. ( For example. quiet. isolated, colourful, cozy. spacious, peaceful and so on.) From this prioritization the student will identify the • em'ironmental components that respond to her/his needs and preferences. d) Ho\\" 1feeI... Ho\\" 1see... The students will reflect on ho\\" thelr varying moods may affect how they perceive or fcel about certain environments. e) The other rooms... The student wlllinvestigate the relationshlp of her/his room to that of the l'est of the residence. Again. through an analysis of the physical details and space arrangements. a list of priorities will develop that will reflect the student's understanding of her/his personal environment. This investigation should also reveal an understanding of private and communal spaces. • 182 n My space -your space... The student will explore the concepts of ergonomies and • anthropometrics. Course Plans Senso!)' lm'entery A senso!)' invento!)' refers to the recording of environmental details by the use of the senses ofsight. sound. taste. touch and smell in a written. visuaI. sound or other senso!)' fonnat. a) Do you remember when...? Inrroduction: Ask the students to refleet back on their earlier childhood and remember the sand castIes. tree houses. leaf forts, basement • hideaways, attic sanctuaries. cardboard huts, bed sheet tents and other fantasy retreats They played in. Have Them recount the feelings and sensations They remember about these environments (probably those of adventure, protection. independence, security, control. escape, experimentation and so on). Studio Process: From their recollections. have the students draw facsimiles of these childhood environments and describe the feelings and emotions that these places evoked. Ho\\' wouId They design an environment today that would reflect these same feelings and emotions? From found objects construct this environment (in miniature or life size). • 183 bl A room of one's o\\'n... • Introduction: Ha\Oe the students describe and list the physical components of their bedroom. What do they like about their room and what are its shortcomings? What would they change? ( This exercise should be done as an individual project to avoid any uneasiness that may occur through the revealing of personal details about the student's life.) Studio Process: From the student's list of needs. preferences and wildest dreams. have them design their famasy bedroom. Ha\Oe them translate this into a model using studio and found materials. cl The \\"ay 1feel... Introduction: Have the students reflert on the particular way they may feel and • ho\\" this may affect their feelings about a specifie spaee. For example. Ho\\' does their room feel when they are tired or want to be left alone? And how does this same room feel when they are bored or want to go out and be with frlends? Studio Process: Ha\'e the students write down their feelings about the c1assroom they are presently in. Then ask them to describe their feelings towards the room when they are about to have an examinatlon. And then their feelings towards the room when the examinatlon is done. Have them recall another space where their panlcular moocts pr attitudes at the time affect the way they feel about the space. Have them translate how this affects the perception of this space with three-coloured pastel drawings. 184 d) Room hy room,.. .. InlroducCion: From a plan drawn from their residence. ha\'e the students identify the priyate and public spaces and the beha\'iour that is expeeted to happen in these places. ( For example. the bathroom and hedroom are personal or pri\"ate places where entry permission is often needed or the liying room may be for formai entertaining where one is expeeted ta remO\'e one's shoes and where sedate behaviour is called for.) Priyate. communal. storage and connecting areas will be identified. How important are these areas and what priority do they haye in a Ii\'ing arrangement? Studio Process: Ho\\' does one integrate the private and communal spaces in a domicile? From a list of the students' priorities have them rreate private. communal. storage and connecting spaces out of different-shaped coloured construction paper. Have them connect these shapes to create a workable floor plan -adding details suri'} as the entry points and windows. After creating the first-floor plan. • ha\'e the students revise the original shapes in ligh t of the restrictions or new possibilities they realized after completing the first one and design a new floor plan. Have the students make a list of the various considerations they had to make in designing the floor plans (access. efficiency. quiet versus active areas and so on). ln the final design what percentage of the space \\'as personal. communal. starage and connecting? e) Too big. too small; too close. too far... Intraduction: What height should a door handle be or a light switch or a doorway? Ho\\' close does someone get to you before you feel uncomfortable or ho\\' does one signi[y to others a private or 185 personal territory? These are sorne of the questions raised in the • study of ergonomics and anthropometrics. Studio Process: Using the school building. analyze the physical arrangement of spaces and building fIxtures in relationship to meeting the physical needs of its users (the students, teachers and stam. Consider such things as corridor mobiIity. leaming and recreational spaces. access for the speciall)' abled. elderl)" or very young. lighting. acoustics (in the classraom versus in the halls). use ofcolour and texture. indi\"idual and small-group use and so on. Divide the students into small groups and have each choose a location in the school to analyze the "user-fit" or ta determine if the needs of the user are met in this particular em"ironment (tao high. tao lo\\". tao diffIcult. tao crowded. tao nois)'. tao congested. tao dark. too far. tro near and so on). l!sing a camera and tape recorder have them make a \"isual and sound slide show of their particular chosen area of the schaol. • • 186 Unit 2: \Vhat's Important to Us? Organizational Structure • and Process of Synthesis Built Em"ironment Concepts Curriculum Strategies -Cogniti\"e and Perceptual -Humanistic Psychology. Mapping. p.32 importance ofchild's world. p.81 -Orientation and Place. p.22 -Child-centered -Climatic and Geographical curriculum. p.8a determinants. p.21 -Heuristics. p.99 -Sensory lm'entory. p.34 -lnner and Outer worlds. -Reading the en\"ironment. p.85 prioritizing stimuli to • re\"eal underlying \"alues. p.39 -Acti\"ities and the Urban Form. pAZ -Obser\ing peoples' actions. p.2i • 18i Curriculum t>Iodel • -Students do a "walk-about" and Iist Identifying elements of their neighbourhood -Students record who is doing what, when and where in their neighbourhood -Students construct a cognitive map and compare it to a cartologist's map -Students articulate their Impressions and the unique or predominant characteristics of their neighbourhood • -Students analyze these elements to re\"eal the socletal values they represent -St.udents investigate the different signs and symbols of their nelghbourhood • 188 Unit Objectives: • This unit opens with the theme "Look what people are doing Q\"er tr,ere..." and encourages the students to more closely observe what goes on in their neighbourhood and who is doing il and where it is b'èing done. We habitually observe people and their activities before we observe the surroundings. The ne~:t theme. "Three blacks on your right...", introduces the students to the concepts of cognitive and perceptual mapping. A compari~on with cartography reveals the reliance each of us has on \"isual cues for way finding. The following t\\'o themes. "AlI that is there..." and "Reading the built environment..." continue the important pracess of building a sensory record or invento!")", this time, expanding the pracess from their own residence to the larger neighbourhood. The sensory invento!")" introduces the students to the techniques ofeffectively describing their environment and the importance of signs and symbols as environmental eues. This sensory record is then • prioritized and analyzed to reveal the underlylng cultural values that help determlne our urban form. These values most often relate to such concerns as safety and security, transportation, commercial enterprlse, quallty of resldentlallife, cost, the Indivldual and the community, lelsure, religious life, education, health care, crime and fire protection. Concept This unit Is an Investl~atlonof the world dlrectly outslde our domicile: our nelghbourhood. a) Look at what people are dolng over there... The students will make a record of the people ln thelr • 189 neighbourhood. identifying who they are and the actÏ\'ities • they are engaged in. b) Three blocks on your right... The students will explore their abilities oforientation using cognitive and perceptual mapping techniques of their neighbourhood. c) AlI that is there... The students will first make an inventory of the senSOT\'. (visuaI. tactile. auditoT\'..,olfactor\'. and oral) components of their neighbourhood. ( It might incIude colours. smeUs. textures. edible plants. breezes and so on.) d) Reading the built environment... The students willlist and classify the physical components of the environment. (for example. the Iist might incIude the number and size of the roads. types of transportation. number of parks and • recreational facilities. trafflc control systems. air and noise pollution. Iight and wind effects. community security initiatÏ\'es. construction materiais used. types and function of buildings and so on.) The components of this list will then be prioritized by their importance in the environment. The prloritization should indlcate man)' of the main communal vaiues (safet)', securlty. education. transportation. recreatlon, children and the elderly, hea1th care, commerce and trade, religion and so on). • 190 Course Plans • a) Look ..... hat they're doing over there!... Intraduction: Who are the people that live in your neighbourhood? What do they do and where do they do it? When you walk around the streets of your neighbourhood, who do you see and what are they doing? Do their actions influence or give you indications of what is possible for you or others ta do in your neighbourhood? Studio Process: Ha\Oe the students produce a record using dra.....ings. written accounts. photographs. videos and so on. of the people of their neighbourhood and the activities they partake in. Using these varied elements assemble an installation that expresses the interaction of people and their built emoironment. • b) Do..... n the street and beyond... Intraduction: Ho\\" does one describe or indicate the location of where one Ii\Oes? By the street name. by the church at the corner or by the blue garage door across the street! The students will build a cognitive map of their neighbourhood and compare il to a topographical map. What do the differences between the two maps indicate about the student's perception of her/hls nelghbourhood. Studio Process: Have the students draw a map oftheir nelghbourhood from memory, incIuding aIl the slgniflcant indications and locations. Next. have the students follow this map in thelr nelghbourhood. making changes and adjustments where necessary. Have them reflect on the dlscrepancles. (Usually, the most obvlous Is the scale and use of distances.) • 191 c) AlI around me... • In rroduetion: Develop an inventory of the sensual stimuli that make up the student's neighbourhood environment through the recording of visuaI. aurai, olfactory, tactile and oral elements. Studio Process: 1) The students will construct an "environmental sensory chart" that wiII help them organize the sensory elements they come into contact with. This chart wiII record all that they see, feel. hear, smell and taste as weIl as the method they use to record these elements. such as \\'f'itten commenta!)', sketches. photographs and slides, audio and \'ideo recordings. found objects and so on. The students wiII then use thls chart to do a "walk about" in thelr neighbourhood (or that of their school). This will also help students develop a vocabula!)' particular ta the buiit environment. An example wouId he a vocabula!)' list that describes dlfferent textures that might contain such words as: smooth. rough. slippe!)', hard, soft. shlny. dull, rigld. • pliable, d!)', wet, fuzzy. oily, polished, coarse. gritty. spongy, thorny, sharp. lumpy, bumpy and so on. For smells. one can use words lIke sweet. pungent, fresh. sour, strong, dellcate. rancid, perfumy, acrid, aromatic. fetid, musty, fragrant and so on. On returnlng from their "walk about" the students will connect these senso!)' impressions with the physlcal elements of their neighbourhood envlronment (such as the parks, roads, gardens, houses and buildings, sldewalks and curbs, streetlights and garbage contaIners, etc.). Il) Returnlng ta the nelghbourhood, ask the students ta do a series of textura} rubblngs ln pencil, charcoal, pastels, crayons and/or coloured penclls. In cIass, create sampIes of textures uslng dlfferent surface patterns and medlums (paInt, ink, fabric, paper, brushes, stencils and sa on). From these textures, eut out shapes and collage an Image ofa children's play house in its environment. 192 d) A place for everything... • In traduction: The purpose of this unit is to take the information gathered from the sensory inventory and classify the different constructed elements ofthe neighbourhood. The students will then form categories from such physical elements as houses, apartment buildings, stores, offices, garages, schools, streets, roads and freeways, sidewalks and pedestrian paths, tunnels, bridges, train tracks and stations, churches, synagogues, mosques and other religious gathering places, hospitals, town halls, police and fire stations and so on. In these categories, the students will prioritize the importance of these physical elements from the prominence they hold in the actual built environment. (Thus from the size, location and quality of the physical elements one can usually determine whether the community values spirituallife or commerce or recreational facilities over efficient and fast transportation or education over fast food outlets and so on.) This unit finishes with the question "what makes a neighbourhood"? Ho\\' do all the different physical elements fit together to make a neighbourhood and does the whole \\'ork as weU as it should? Studio Process: 1) From the sketches and photographs from their "walk about" have the students make a group coUage of the main elements in their neighbourhood (houses, apartments, parks, pIaying fields, cinemas, stores, schools and so on). From these images discuss the importance of the elements as to location, size and quaIity ofconstruction in the community. What does the relative status ofthese physicaI elements convey about the nceds and desires ofthe community in which they live? Does this coincide with the students' needs and desires? If so, how; and If not; why? From the data in thelr sensory inventory, have the students create two palntings; one that reflects a place ln their nelghbourhood that they find special and one that reflects a place that they avold or flnd undeslrable. 193 Il) What are the different signs and symbols that are a part of your neighbourhood environment ( crosswaIks, speed Iimits, one way • signs, crosses, telephone boxes, "neighbourhood watch" signs, fast food signs and so on)? What kind ofappropriate behaviour do these slgns and symbols indicate to people and why? What kind of community values do they underIine? From a review of the students' data in their sensor)' inventol")', have them design signs and visuai Indications based on the concept ofecologicai responsibility (no Iittering, respect for the flora and the fauna. pollution, land erosion and so on). III) Ask the students to reflect on the qualities a neighbourhood needs to have to be a success. After considering aIl of the residents of the community, from young to old, ask the students to first prioritize the needs of this proposed neighbourhood and then its desires or wishes. The students should then he broken up into smaller groups, each group taking an area or function of the proposed neighbourhood. Each group should return with a visuai and sound representation of their part of this neighbourhood. The last project is ta see how ail the parts can fit together and the adjustments and • negotiations that have to he made to create a complete neighbourhood. • 194 Unit 3: What Makes That Place Unique? • Organizational Structure and Process of Synthesis Built Environment Concepts Curriculum Strategies -Reading the built environment, -Exploration and Self recording sensory inventoI)', p.2S discovery techniques, p.9S -Investigating activities and the urban form that corresponds to them, p.2i -Reflective practice, EmancipatoI)' curriculum -Shared spaces, pAS p.IlS -The urban form as witness of -Social awareness, cultural change, p.26 p.ïï • -Implicit and explicit, signs and symbols, p.34 -Affordance, what does the place offer? p.28 Curriculum Model -Students Investigate another nelghbourhood and record lts 195 uniqueness through a sensory • inventoI')· -Students compare the specialness of this neighbourhood to their own -Students investigate the activities that are particular to this neighbourhood and that give it its distinctive character -Students investigate the possibilities that their neighbourhood offers or affords them • 196 Unit Objectives: • The first theme of this unit is caUed, "Next door..." and is an investigation of another neighbourhood. other than that of the students. The students first construct a sensory inventory from which they will prioritize and analyze the underlying social values. They will investigate the particular activities that help give this neighbourhood its unique urban form. The students will explore and recount the pleasures of discovering a new neighbourhood and the adventure that this can offer. The second theme is titled, "lt used to be right there..." and explores the ever-changing character of the urban form. Students will investigate how the urban environment integrates new uses and structures in respor,se to changing demand and exploitation. Concept • al Next door... Choose another neighbourhood that has different qualities from those of your students' neighbourhood. By comparing the physical and topographical elements of the two neighbourhoods, students will begin to understand the values underlying other types of built environments. bl lt used to he right there... Look at another neighbourhood and analyze the changes that have taken place over time in that particular bulit environment and search for the reasons for these changes. cl Lets try it... What possibilities does this neighbourood offer for us? The student will investigate this neighbourhood and what it affords them in meeting their own needs 197 • Course Plans a) It's Iike that over there... In traduction: Go to another neighbourhood and have the students do a "walk about" using a "sensory chart" to record the elements of that environment. When returning to school, cIassify these elements and prioritize them as to relative importance in their physical environment. Have the students make a list of the physical elements that are different from those oftheir neighbourhood. Discuss the effect and possibilities of these differences. What makes a new environment intriguing and exeiting? Srudio Process: From their impressions of their "walk about" of the other neighbourhood. have the students interpret these impressions in a series of three pastel sketches by trying to capture the feeling of this partieular neighbourhood (possibly through abstraet or • expressionistie styles). Then have the students review their sensory eharts and note forgotten details. FinaUy, have the studentseomplete a painting representing the slgniflcant features and atmosphere of the other neighbourhood. b) Ofwhat use is it no...... In traduction: How does the functlon ofsorne buildings and structures change over time? The purpose is to have students be aware of the ever evoiving charaeter of theirs and other neighbourhoods. By identifying oider structures and knowlng their original function and their present use, the student will beeome aware of the changing demands on the built environment. 198 Studio Process: Choose a structure or building that has a different function from • ils original use. ( Acom"erted movie theatre, a transformed garage, an abandoned side road and so on.) Wh)" has the use of the structure changed? Ha\"e the students choose an existing structure from this ncighbourhood and adapt il ta a present day use. Ask the students ta make a model of il and ils ne\\" function, using mounting board and found textures and objects for the surface pattern and detail. c) What's there to do... lntraduction: What does lhis neighbourhood offer the students? How are these possibilities communicated to the students? For example, is this neighbourhood conducive to skateboarding, in-line-skating, bicycling and soon. Studio Process: • Have each student choose an activity they would like to do in the neighbourhood. Have them identify the physical conditions necessary to carry out this activity (eg. a hard surface, obstacles, nets, water and so on). Have them also identify the necessary safety and security conditions (eg. trafflc control indications, soft surfaces, size and space, fences and so on). From an e;dsting location have the students do a preliminary drawing of its present state and then do an ink drawing of the activities that this space could support or afford. 199 Unit 4: What Does It Tell Us? • Organizational Structure and Process of Synthesis BuiIt Environment Concepts Curriculum Strategies -Classification of urban forms. -Development of Holistic K. Lynch. Landmarks. p.24 conception. p.8S -Orientation and place. -Building from student's p.2I life experlence, p.ïi -Vv'ay finding and cognitive -Reflective practice. mappmg.. p.3")_ Emancipatory curriculum p.IIS -Buiiding perception of urban • form. p.26 Curriculum Madel -Students investlgate landmarks, bath natural and constructed -Students explore the importance and original motivation for these landmarks -Students investlgate the impact • 200 landmarks have on the urban • image -$tudents develop new landmarks for their urban environment • 201 Unit Objectives: The unit begins with the theme. "1 know that place..." and • explores the natural and built landmarks from the students' urban environment. An Investigation into the meaning and impact of these landmarks for the urban form is undertaken. From war memorials and commemorative sculptures to botanical gardens and civic buildings. the students will identify the promlnent landmarks ln their urban environment. The students will investigate the significance of the detalls that determlne the status of these landmarks in the urban environment. The second theme introduced is "To know that place..." and is an historical research of these landmarks in order to reveal the reason for thelr landmark status. (Commemoration. phllanthropic donation. choie ritual. memorials. leisure areas and so on). The students will also reflect on the importance of landmarks as signlf1cant symbols of the urban image. • Concept al 1kno,," that place... This is an Investigation of old and recent. natural and built landmarks ln the students' greater urban community. (War memorlals. commemorative statues. fountalns, public sculptures, squares, lIbraries, cathedrals, city hall, major parks. slgnlt1cant buildings, bridges and so on.) The slgnlt1cance ofthe location, date, slze and quality of materials of the landmarks will glve an indication of thelr Importance and the cultural values that orlglnated them. b) To know that place... The hlstorlcal relevance of these landmarks will also be studied. How do landmarks help form our urban image? • 202 • Course Plans a) l'\'e been there... In traduction: The students will make a list of the main landmarks of their city or their nearest urban centre. They will study their structural type, materials, location and sa on. Adiscussion on the character of landmarks and the function they fulfill in the urban image will gi\'e the students insight into their meaning. Studio Process: 1) In cIass, have the students list the known landmarks in their urban en\'ironment. Continue with research assignments that investigate the landmarks' origins (date of construction, purpose, designer and client and so on). Using photographie cameras, have each student choose a particular landmark and do a photographie montage or slide show concentrating on angle, perspective and • lighting conditions to capture the landmark from different \'iewpoints. II) Have the students take an architectural landmark and break it down into its geometric forms. The students willinvestigate the two dimensional shapes and three-dlmenslonal forms that make up MOSt buildings and constructions ( triangles, squares, circIes, squares, and p)Tamids, wedges, cubes, cones, cylinders, spheres and so on). With the use of perspective or depth lInes have the students transform shapes Into forms ( e.g. clrcle to cyllnder, square to cube, triangle to wedge). Then uslng as Many eut-out shapes as possible. create a silhouette ofa city skyscape. From assembllng a variety ofgeometrlc forms create sorne tradltlonal building types (e.g. a pyramld sitting on a cube glves you a basic house form; a hernlsphere placed on a cyllnder whlch !s then set on top ofa cube gives you the basic architectural forms usee! in churches and mosques). III) Sorne architectural shapes become forms only when the)' are shaded (e.g. circle to sphere). Have the students choose the direction • 203 of the light source and appropriately shade a cube. cylinder. pyramid. cone. sphere and so on. (Remember to create an even • gradation from dark to light.) After putting severa] geometric forms together. the students choose the direction of their light source and shade them consistently. IV) Create texture through the drawing of surface pattern. Have the students explore and design surface patterns by using as models building materials such as bricks. wood. stucco. marble, shingles. metal, glass. mirror, stone, plastic and so on. (Remember certain textures such as glass are defined by their transparency and others Iike mirrors and polished metal al =defined by reflective quality.) V) When integrating shading and surface pattern with geometric forms, one must remember two rules. First. the surface pattern gets thinner or narrower as it goes around a curvature and also the surface pattern gets smaller as it follows a perspective line. Secondly, the shading is more effective if the surface pattern gets darker as the shading gets darker. Using a cone form, shade and shingle it or, using • a cyIinder form. shade it and give it a stone texture. b) To the glory of... ln rroducrion: The history and origins of the different landmarks will be explored. The original purpose or commemoration of their construction and the significance they have today will be investigated. Studio Process: Breaking the c1ass up into small groups, have each group take a landmark (natura] or constructed) and do a research project to determine its origins and social signlflcance. Have them evaluate the appropriateness or effectiveness of the landmark as it is today in ref~rence to its original conception. Each small group must then agree on sorneone or sorne event they would llke to cornrnernorate and then design an appropriate setting or structure for a conternporary 204 landmark. Haye each small group make a model of their design using studio and found materials. Does the final result effectively transmit • their intentions? • 20S Unit 5: \\'here Do We Get Together? • OrganizationaJ Structure and Process of Synthesis BuHt Enyironment Concepts Curriculum Strategies -Classification of elements of -Holistic vie\\'. people urban form. p.24 places. p.S5 -l\leeting places. p.24 -Ethical principles. p.Si -Acti\'ities and their effect -Creatiye teaching. p.95 on the urban form. p.25 -Creatiye learning. p.95 -Performance and user engagement. pA2 -Synectics. p.99 • -SocialpetaI and SocialfugaI. pA8 -Special user groups. p.49 -Health and safety. p.S 1 -Proxemlcs, pAS • 206 Curriculum Model • -Students identify aU the gathering places that exist in their urban environment -Students examine public and private gathering places and the use, access and location of them -Students investigate the particular dynamics of specific meeting places, such as the street, plaza, workplace, school and so on -Students explore the needs of special groups and how their needs are dealt with in gathering-place •••• environments -Students will study the location of other gathering places and their effect on the overall urban form 207 Unit Objectives: • This unit focuses on the designated meeting or gathering places in our built enviranment and their contribution to the development of the urban form. The first theme is called "On the street... " and examines the dynamics that go into making street life. What are the conditions that make street life exciting or menacing? Who controIs what happens on the streets? The second theme. "At the plaza..." explores the dynamics of the commercial shopping centre. Who contraIs these dynamics and what rules of conduct are implicit in the physical form of these plazas? Do these plazas consider the needs of special groups? The third theme focuses on the workplace and is caUed "At work...". The students will identify the many work environments known to them in their urban enviranment and investigate the special needs and effect they have on the organization of the urban form. The fourth theme is "At play..." and examines the many entertainment and recreational facilities in their community. The students will study their location, accessibility and efficiency, The fifth theme concentrates on the various religious and spiritual meeting places that make up the urban envlronment. How do these religlous and spiritual Institutions contribtit.e to the urban Image? The sixth theme centres on educationaI and cultural establishments and Is called "For the learnlng...". The students will Investlgate the special requlrements of schools, unlversltles, lIbraries, museums and sa on. 208 Concept • a) On the street... This is an investigation into the dynamics that go Into making a livel)', interestlng public space. Whether it be a street known for Its shopping, or its restaurants, or its galleries, (or any combination of these and other elements), the students will study the dynamics that draw people toward (or deter them from) street life. b) At the plaza... This section will explore the commercial shopping centre as a popular gathering place for people. Who is allowed? What actlvitles are condoned? Who contrais what goes on? are sorne of the questions to be investlgated. c) At work... The types of working environments that exlst in an urban landscape and thelr particular relatlonshlp to the overall urban form will be Identlfied. (Industrial zones, manufacturing areas, hlgh tech • complexes. commercial businesses, government offices and so on.) d) At play... An exploration of the various entertalnment and recreatlonal venues ln a communlty willidentlfy thelr position in adding to the Image of the city form. (Theatres, cinemas, concert halls, sports arenas and stadlums and so on.) Their accesslbllity and space requlrements will also be studied. e) At prayer... A revlew of the dlfferent rellglous and spiritual gathering places that are represented in the community. (Mosques, churches. synagogues, temples and so on.) A look at their effect on the urban image and their hlstorical ancestry will be explored. 209 f) For the learning... An examination of the places that our society designates for the • pursuit ofeducation and knowledge. (Schools, universlties, Iibraries. museums and sa on.) The special requlrements of these places for learning and knowing and thelr Integration Into the greater communlty will be examlned. Course Plans a) The street belongs to ail of us... ln traduction: We have ail experlenced the pleasures one has from a stimulating walk on an animated and dynamlc street or, vice versa, the warlness one feels on a deserted, cavernous city block. What are the components that go Into making an Invltlng street envlronment or a • hostile pedestrian terrain? Studio Process: 1) Choose two dlfferent streets, one that Is anlmated and a popular people spot and one that is inhospltable and threatening. Have the students prepare a sensory chart of these IwO environments. (Smells from food vendors and restaurants, sounds from traffic or street muslcians, shade from trees, the desolation of homeless people, pollution from exhaust, wind gusts from high buildings, the feel of pavement, cement or cobblestones and so on.) From the inventory of these sensory elements have the students create a mural that contalns the physical and sensary elements that go into making an attractive and appealing street with a vigourous and animated street life. II) Have the students reflect on their experience of feeling safe and secure ln these IwO environments. (Density, mix of people, presence of security personal, te1ephones, availability of stores and offices to enter in emergency, deserted areas, abandoned buildings 210 and sa on.) Have them list the physical elements that aid in their feelings of security and/or vulnerability. Reviewing their sensory • inventory from theses two streets, have them collage the images and impressions that relate to their safety in these environments. III) Have the students list the activities assaciated with these two contrasting streets. The students should then analyze this list to determine the mix ofactivities that these two streets attract. (Shopping, browsing, meeting, dining, entertainment, business, heaith care, personal care, passage through and sa on.) In smail groups, have the students design a city street black with ail the amenities and services that they feel necessary to support the needs and wishes of their lifestyle. Have each smail group do a diagrammatical map of the street with ail the amenities and services indicated and with a list of their reasons for the specifie location of them. b) Meet me at the malI... Introduction: • Commercial shopping centres, as controlled commercial em"ironments, have become a future in our urban North American landscape. They are private investments that group stores and services while providing easy access and parking for automobiles. A direct reaction to our car culture, the larger shopping centres are usually comprlsed of several nationally known chain stores anchored in the extremlties of the plaza with a varlety of smaller Independent and speclalt)' stores linklng them. Though seemlngly a comblnation of prlvate and public spaces. they are totally private property and, as such, the user Is subject to the rules and regulatlons of the owners. Most of the designs ofshopping centres are made to encourage consumptlon. For example, water fountalns are few in order to stlmulate the buylng ofsoft drinks and public seatlng is usualiy found in the fast food halls to encourage eatlng. The route one takes to travel the length of the plaza Is not the most direct but is planned to glve maximum exposure to as many of the services and shops as possible. • 211 Studio Process: 1) Take the students ta a local shopping mail and have them do a • sensory inventory. From this inventoI)' have them divide their Iist into two categories: 1) Elements that support people activities and 2) Elements that support commercial activities. Using coloured construction paper, have each student design a boutique or service that they find appealing or wouId Iike to work in. Using the floor and a large roll ofcraft paper have the c1ass assemble a shopping centre but, for the moment, do not permanently attach the various pieces. (This process will take sorne negotiating and jockeying among the students ta arrive at a workable and realistic arrangement.) II) Have the students make a Iist of the people they sawat the maIl or of the people they think use the maIl. Who does this Iist excIude? (The elderly, the poor, people without cars and so on.) Returning ta the students' temporarily assembled shopping centre, ask them ta augment their design by allowing for greater use and more varied users of this particular shopping centre. (Drop-in centres. free activities for adolescents, benches for the elderly, people-watching areas, art displays, children's play areas, basketbail • court and so on.) Have the students return to their collage and complete it by incorporating their ideas of what an ideal people gathering site should contain. c) Bringing home the bread... Introduction: Every urban centre contains a vast variety of work environments from the factory floor to the research laboratoI)'. Each one of these work places has speciflc requirements to function properly. ldentifying the functlon and the partlcular nE'~ds of these work places and exploring ways of Integrating or better Integrating them Into the communlty will he the focus of thls section. • 212 Studio Process: 1) Have the students construct a Iist of the many work locations • contained in an urban centre. (Factories, banks, schools, warehouses, hospitals, stores, car manufacturers, and so on.) From thls Iist have the students draw up a set of physlcal and business requirements necessary for each of these workplaces to he effective. (transportation, proximity to resldentlal areas, to thelr suppliers and/or customers, energy supply, parking, Isolation and so on.) Have the students choose a particular workplace and sketch the exterlor of the structure It Is housed ln and the surroundlng envlronment. II) From the students' sketches, have them make a IIst of the materials used ln the construction of these workplaces. Have the students reflect on the reason for the use of these materlals. (Strength, resistance, Insulatlon, cost, look, status, context, technology and so on.) Using their original drawlngs ofwork places as a resource, have the students develop an inventory of textures and surface patterns of materlals used in construction uslng black-and white and coloured drawlng mediums. (Bricks, stones, marble, stucco, cement, shingles, slates, wood shakes, alumlnum sldlng, wood, • granite, glass, polished steel and so on.) III) Dlvide the students up Into small groups and have them each choose a workplace. Uslng collage materlals and thelr prevlously developed InventoI)' of textures, have each group construct a small maquette out of modellng board, hlghllghtlng the textures and surface patterns of the construction materlals. d) Where to relax and have fun... lntroduction: This unit explores the many places developed to support our pursult ofpleasure and leisure. From the bowling al1y to the concert haIl, the student will examine the functlon and position of these venues ln the larger urban forro. From an inventory ofathletic, cultural and nature actlvltles, the student will prlorltlze thelr importance, control and accesslbiIlt)' in relation to public use. 213 (Recreational centres, play grounds, sports arenas and stadiurr.s, swimming pools, bicycle trails, nature trails, parks, pedestrian malis, • theatres, cinemas, auditoriums, water parks, amusement parks, theme parks, exhibition halls, botanical gardens, zoos and so on.) Studio Process: I) Have the students make a list of entertainment and leisure facilities in their city. Have them categorize them under the heading Culture, Sport and Nature. Then have them divide their list into public and private places and prioritize them as to their popularity. From this list have each student pick a different place and sketch what they think is a typical type of structure for this activity (i.e. skating rink, cinema, football field and so on). Assembling the class sketches, identify and discuss the dominant physical features typical of these structures. Il) What leisure activities do the students Iike ta participate in? How can these facilities or locations be improved to provide better service? Have the students choose a specific actlvity and, using their imagination and unlimited resources, design a place fÇ>r this actMty. • Have the students do a painting of this place considering the textures of the materials used and the environment lt is situated in. III) Re-examining the Ilst of actlvitles, have the students reflect on the users and categorize them as to age, sex, physical ablllty and wealth. Who are the main users on this list and who are excluded? ln small groups, have the students design a leisure or entertainment facillty that would address the needs ofone of the special groups (the elderly, the very young, the specially abled and so on) . Using found objects and studio materlals, have each group create a model of this facillty and its environment. e) For our spiritual neects... In traduction: Most urban landscapes are witness to our society's past and • present spirituallife, reflectlng a variet)' oforganized religions and 214 spiritual traditions. Religious institutions are familiar landmarks in most urban forms. Their style and structure often retlect an • historical evolution that has occurred over many years. These religious structures usually have specifie structural characteristics and visual symbols that relate to their ceremonial practices and expressions of faith. Studio Process: 1) The students will make a list ofaIl the religious institutions in their urban landscape and identify the unique visual details of their structure. The students will study ancient and contemporary religious monuments such as Stonehenge, the pyramids, Buddhist temples, mosques, Christian churches, synagogues and so on. The students will then make ink drawings of the various symbols associated with the different religions. (Cross, Star of David, Ying and Yang and so on.) Il) The students will analyze various religious spaces, identifying elements that support a contemplative, respectful and spiritual atmosphere. They will then construct an interior from found objects. • coloured construction paper and studio materials that express these special qualities. f) To be in the know... In troeJuction: The most obvious institutions of knowledge and learning are schools and universities. But besides these we have museums. libraries and archives. They often have a central position in the urban envIronment that represents society's respect and commitment to the pursuit ofknowledge. This unit will explore the educational institution and its abUity to create an effective learning environment. • 215 Studio Process: 1) The student's school is the perfect Iaboratory for analyzing an educational environment. First, have the students in class design a • cognitive map of the school. Follow this with a tour of the school, comparing the cognitive maps to the actuallayout, noting ail the disparities. Construct a sensory chart of the environment. II) Have the students reflect on the functlon and use of the major spaces of the school. Do these spaces meet their needs? Do these spaces provide adequate Iight, quiet. fresh air, visual stlmuIàtion, space, storage and so on? Divide the students into small groups and have each group pick a particular area of the school and redesign it to their wishes using coloured construction paper, collage materials and markers. On a large piece of craft paper reconstruct an image of the school with these separate pieces, filIing in any left-out areas. Ill) Make a visit to a local Iibrary or museum. Have the students write down their impressions of the building. What physical elements outside or inside the building affected their impressions? Are the contents of the building reflected in the design of the building? Have the students think about what a Iibrary or museum of the future would he like and design a plan for one. (Hi-tech • library, space museum, virtual-reallty internet centre and so on.) Using photographic collage materlals have them construct a murm their designs 216 Unit 6: How Does It Get There? • Organizational Structure and Process ofSynthesis BuHt Environment Concepts Curriculum Strategies -Urban form is determined by -Holistic overview, p.85 original infrastructure, p.26 -Interconnecting networks -Reading the environment p.112 while in motion, p.26 -Heuristics, p.99 -Performance, pA2 -Integrating the automobile • p.53 Curriculum Model -Students investigate the many forms of people transport -Students analyze the advantages and disadvantages of our varied transport systems 217 -Students also investigate the supporting infrastructures. such as • roads. sidewalks. bridges. etc. -Students examine the transportation systems for water, waste. energy and communication -Students explore how these transportation systems affect the urban form • • 218 Unit Objectives • This unit begins with the therne "Catch that bus... ". After examining the various people transportation systems. the students will compare their pros and cons and the effect they have on the urban image. The students will focus particuIarly on the use of the automobile and its implications for the urban environment. As weIl. the students will explore human-powered transportation systems and how our urban environment supports (or not) the oldest form Gf transportation. The second theme "Down the drain and beyond..." investigates the infrastructures that include water supply and drainage systems. energy distribution systems and communication networks. The students will explore the apparent and hidden manifestations of these "flow" systems and how they affect urban design and • development. Concept al Catch that bus... Every urban environment relies on different forms of transportation from shoe leather to trolley cars. Each system has its advantages from cost and efficiency to speed and comfort. A1so each system can be evaluated in the amount of intrusion it procluces for the urban form. Thus the infrastructure ofroads, bridges, waterways. ports, raillines. bicycle paths, sidewalks and so on is a major element of the urban form. • 219 bl Down the drain and beyond." Besides mo\-ing people. the urban em-ironment must pro\-ide • for the transportation of commodities such as water. waste, energy and communication. This necessitates another infrastructure system of wires, pales. l'ables. pipes. sewers. ducts. etc. The form of the infrastructure affects the image of the urban pattern and any subsequent changes ta il. Course Plans a) Trains. buses and boats.., lntraduction: This unit will examine the different people transportation systems used in an urban landscape. (Buses. trains. trolleys. subways. bicycles. animais. shoes. roller blades. airplanes. boats and. ofcourse. the car.) Il will look Olt the advantages and disadvantages of these • systems and the consequences for the urban environment. Studio Process: 1) Have the students list the different public transportation systems and also Iist the advantages and disad\'antages ofeach. (Cost. efficiency. maintenance. comfort, health and safety, pollution. speed. aceessibility. directness. noise. infrastructure and so on.) Using photographie collage images have them create a mural of the different public transportation networks. (Boats. ports. canals. trains. subways, tramcars, tracks, train stations, buses, bus shelters and stations. roads. bridges, tunnels, freeways, garages, airplanes, airports and the like.) II) Have the students reflect on the use and reliance on the car as a mode of private transportation in our environment. Have them list the advantages and disadvantages ofowning a car. (Cost. maintenance, parking, efficiency, comfort, health and safety. privacy. status, etc.) During a neighbourhood walk have the students record 220 with photographs and sketches the many ways the car affects our urban image. (Driveways. garages. parking lots. streets and roads. • access ramps. gas bars and service stations, publicity signs. road indications. stop lights and sa on.) III) Have the students list the advantages and disadvantages of walking. rollerblading and bicycling as a mode of private transportation. (Cast. comfort, efficiency, health and safety, accessibility. maintenance and sa on.) What are sorne of the changes we can make ta our environment ta make waIking and bicycling more efficient and pleasant? (Wider. sidewalks, more bicycle. paths, more pedestrian walkways, more tTees, more interesting routes, more benches and rest stations, amongst others.) Using ideas generated from this discussion have the students create a particular environment for either walking or bicycling and do a watercolour painting of it. b) Can't live without Ît... Introduction: • The infrastructure that manages our water supply and waste disposai, and that delivers our energy source and communication network has become essential for our way of living. Because these systems are often subterranean, they are not always obvious to us. (For example. gas lines. sewers and water mains.) The location of these systems often affects the resulting design of the urban plan. Also once the infrastructure is in place it is very hard to make changes to the existing urban form. The removaI and disposaI of wastematerials and garbage is, ofcourse, a fundamental responsibility ofevery community. Studio Process: 1) Have the students do a walkaround tour of the neighbourhood identifying the eIements that indicate part of the infrastructure. (Manhole covers, telephone lines. gas meters, evacuation pipes, etc.) 221 Have the students imagine a cross section of a street and draw the infrastructure they would see. • lI) Where does water come from and where does waste go? Have the students investigate the location, function and structure of their local water filtration system and waste disposaI plant. How is garbage colleeted in their neighbourhood and where does it go? Is there a recycling program in your area? Have the students reflect on the problems of litter and the possibilities of recycling and have them design "logos" and signs that address these issues. • • 222 Unit ï: . What's Done For Safety and Security? • Organizational Structure and Process of Synthesis BuHt Environment Concepts Curriculum Strategies -Environmental performance. pA2 -Investigating personal world. p.81 -Special user groups. pA8 -Emancipatory curriculum -Toxicity of materials. p.51 p.1I5 -Structural safet)' implications -Heuristics. p.99 p.:>--7 -Fire and crime protection. p.52 • Curriculum Madel -Students investlgate pedestrian trafflc, its Integration and possibilltles -Students explore the measures taken in tire and crime protection and prevention -Students review their own home safety and health measures 223 -Students examine our community's • emergency health crisis services • 224 Unit Objectives: • The unit hegins with the theme called "Crossing the street..." and deals with pedestrian safety. The students will evaluate their neighbourhood for the safety, convenience and maintenance of their pedestrian walkways. The second theme is called "Crime and fire..." and explores the community services and the part they play in the built environment. The students will concentrate on preventive equipment and security practices. The next theme is titled "The home can he a dangerous place..." and analyzes the student's home and school environments in view of potential safety and health hazards. The fourth and last theme is" 911..." and, as the number indicates. reflects on the facllities and services that handIe • emergency health crisises in our community. Concept a) Crossing the street... A daily concern for ail of us is how we can safely get around. What are the methods used to control traffic and protect pedestrians? How is our environment structured to ensure our safety and security? b) Crime and flre... How does our society offer protection from these threats? What are the identifying elements of the structures that house these security services? What security systems can be used to increase effective prevention against these threats? c) The home can he a dangerous place... 225 Many accidents occur in the home and work place due to sIippage, trafflc patterns, losing one's balance or falling, obstructions, • lack of indications and so on. What is done to minimize physical risk in our interior environments? d)91l... In case of medical emergencies, what measures reflected in our built environment have been considered to ensure fast and effective sen'ice? Course Plans a) Following the rules... Introduction: In an urban environment that has to integrate the pedestrian with mechanical systems of transportation, a system of priority rules • and regulations is essential for safety and security. The physical environment responds to this regulation of conduct in many specifie ways. (Traffic lights, stop signs, priority indications, curbs, pedestrian crosswalks, speed limit signs, trafflc barriers, trafflc flow patterns and so on.) Studio Process: 1) Have the students do a photographie and sketching walk about of their neighbourhood and record all the physical elements that relate to trafflc control and pedestrian safety. On returning to class have the students make a collage using their photographs and sketches from their walk about. • 226 b) Between the fire hall and police station... • Intaduetion: Policing and fire fighting are the two major security systems of most urban environments. They necessitate special facilities to carry out their duties. To help prevent crime and flre, there are many steps one can take to better protect our home or workplace. Studio Process: 1) Have the students make a list of the functions and particular physical details of the buildings used in crime prevention and fire fighting. (Police station, flre hall and prison.) Take them on a tour of one of these facilities and discuss the particular needs of these structures. (Security, access, centrality oflocation, prominence and so on.) Have them make composite drawings of particular elements unique to these environments. II) Have the students list the different preventive mechanisms that one can instail. (Break-in alarms, fire alarms, bars on windows. safet)' latches on windows, fire extinguishers, fire boxes, fire doors, fire-resistant materials and so on.) Using the theme of • neighbourhood crime watch, have them do a series of warning signs in coloured markers. c) Watch your step... In traduction: The home and workplace contaln many potentiaily dangerous possibilities. Thus we instalI banisters, non-slip floorlngs, doors that swing inwards and so on. Many of these preventive measures we take for granted and many, unfortunately, we forget about. Studio Process: 1) Have the students do a tour of the school, noting aIl the preventive measures used to avoid accidents occurring. (Location of • door openings, direction of tramc flow, indications to prevent 227 collisions, locations of washrooms and other services, access ta the building, use of non-skid materials on fioors and steps, electrical • installation coverings, indication markings for glass walls and doors, hand railings and so on.) Have the students design a poster for safety at home or in the workplace using coloured paper and markers in a collage. d) Emergency medical help... Introduction: Ho\\' has the built environment accommodated the need for emergency medical vehic1es? What are the special requirements of such a service? Studio Process: 1) Take the students on a tour of a hospital and, more specifically, an emergenc)' ward and have them note the particular design and organization of this area. (Eas)' and quick ambulance access, wide • doors, large and unc1uttered entrance area, obvious and prominent signs and procedure indications, easily transported furnlture and medlcal equlpment and so on.) Have the students design a waltlng area for relatives and frlends of patients, consldering the dlfferent emotional states that waltlng ln a hospital produces. Using eut-out shapes and drawn elements have them do a mock-up fioor plan of a comforting but dlverting waiting room. 228 Unit 8: Do AlI the Parts Make a Whole? • Organizational Structure and Process of Synthesis Built Environment Concepts Curriculum Strategies -A common order, p.22 -Holistic overview, p.8S -The urban form as a mirror -Interconnectedness of of the conflicting process of phenomena, p.8ï change, p.26 -Instruments of social -Urban form and existing change, p.lOS infrastructure, p.26 -Articulation of changing -Overview of environmental world, p.125 image, p.23 Curriculum Model -Students assess the urban form as a network oflandmarks, green spaces, resldentlal, commercial and Industriai areas and so on 229 -From these varying parts. students build a "holistic" • image of the urban image -Students investigate the development ofzoning regulations • • 230 Unit Objectives: • The central theme of this unit is based on the holistic vision of the urban form and is called, "A cit}' builds character...". Students begin to conceptually assemble aIl the predominant elements that give their particular urban environment its special character. From the earlier process of "reading" the urban image, the students develop ways ofexpressing the uniqueness of the total image of an urban environment. Students will reflect on the subjectivity of this process and how many of their impressions ofother urban environments are influenced by their own conceptions about their built environment. The theme ends with an investigation into zoning regulations and their effect on the urban image. Students explore different "zoned" areas and articulate the concerns each of these differently zoned areas engender. Concept A city builds character... What deflnes a city? Is it Its landmarks, skyscrapers, green spaces. residential areas, buslnesses, construction style. accessibillt)'. streets. geographicallocation, cIlmate and so on? Most likely It Is a comblnation ofelements or the predominance ofseveral that glves an)' urban form its special character. Passlng through an urban environment one responds to cIues that create a favourable or adverse impression. What are sorne of these cIues? Are they superflcial or do they indicate a more complex story? How does an urban environment get divided up into its neighbourhoods and zoned areas? • 231 • Course Plans a) Fitting together... In rraduction: This unit examines the overail image the students have of their urban environment and the accuracy of these perceptions. Do all the parts of the urban environment play a role ln thls Image? Srudio Process: 1) Have the students write a letter to a student in another country descrlbing the city the)' live in. Have them Include a drawlng and map of their city or urban centre that they think typifies It. II) Have the students recall a vislt ta another city. Have them do a small watercolour ofa memorable Image of that city. Uslng thls watercolour as a postcard have them wrlte their Impressions of this city to a friend on the back. III) Reviewlng the students' letters that descrlbe thelr own city, • compile a list of predominant elements and dlsplay the maps and drawings together. Have the students reflect on the completeness of this list of elements and Images. What Is mlsslng? Why is it misslng? Have each student do another drawlng ofan image they did not mention or draw and add it to the other drawings. Does thls glve a more complete image of their city or Is that ever possible? IV) Have the students reflect on the postcard they made of another urban centre. How much ofwhat they wrote reflects on their likes and dislikes of urban environments? Make a list of the c1ass's preferences and objections when visitlng a forelgn city. Have them sketch several Imagina!)' images ofa particular place they would like to visit. V) Using the previous student sketches as Inspiration. create a class mural of the students' Ideal urban setting using collage and painting materials. 232 b) Parts of the puzzle... • Intoduction: How do neighbourhoods get created and how does this affect our image of the urban environment. This unit addresses the cognitive perception students have of their city as parts and as a whole and how it relates to the zoning by-Iaws. Studio Process: 1) Starting with the students' school, have them identify the neighbourhood it is located in. What are the names of the surrounding neighbourhoods? What neighbourhoods do you have to pass through to reach the downtown? Have the students construct a cognitive map ofall the neighbourhoods in their city or region. Compare this with a scaled map of the same area. Why is their perception of the city plan different? (One uses visual and sensory clues as well as scaled distances to orlentate oneself.) Il) Where are the boundarles of the school's nelghbourhood located? Investigate the reasons for these particular boundaries. • (Geographical, political, historical, economical and sa on.) Returning to their original sensory inventory of the area, have them recall the location of the different residentlal, business, manufacturing, commercial sectors of their nelghbourhood. Discuss the origins and purpose ofzoning by-Iaws. What purpose do zoning by-Iaws serve in their neighbourhood? (Safety and security, noise and air pollution control, traffic control, emciency, accessibilit)', infrastructure and so on.) Using coloured cut-out shapes to represent the different zones in their neighbourhood have them rethink the urban design oftheir neighbourhood. III) How do all the parts fit together? After a discussion on mixed and limited zoning policies, separate the students into small groups and distribute an imaginary topographical map ofan area to he dev"loped by each group. This proposed seulement area should have a river running through it with a few small Islands. a small forest. a central rood, train tracks, farm land, a small hill and so on. Along with the map, hand out coloured shapes representing zones for 233 housing(residential), manufactunng, commerce, recreation and parks, agnculture, transportation, religious institutions and public • institutions (hospitals, schools, police station, fire hall, city hall and so on.) After a discussion of the types ofactivlties one m1ght find in each zone (for example, in the transportation zone one mlght find train and bus stations, a port, alrport, hlgh-speed road systems, bicycle paths and so on) have each group design a new urban environment. Using coloured markers, have them Identlfy the particular activlties ofeach zone and the connectlng transportation structure. When the smaII groups have completed their plans, have them explain their planning decisions to the rest of the class. • 234 Unit 9: Who Does What? How? and Wh~=-ê? Organizational Structure and Process ofSynthesis Built Environment Concepts Curriculum Strategies -The dynamics and raies -Instruments ofsocIal affecting the built environment. change, p.105 p.54 -Social reconstruction, -Agents of change: p.IIS urban planners. p.5S architects. p.6ü associated professions. p.62 construction industI)', p.65 • -Gender representation. p.152 Curriculum Model -Students investlgate the job profiles ofthe major professions, urban planning and architecture -Students also investIgate the associated professions such as engineering, interior design, landscape architecture, etc. • 235 -Students explore the construction • Industry -Students analyze the gender balance in these professions -Students explore the different academic and career options open to these professions • 236 Unit Objective: • The theme of this unit, "Who's in charge...", concentrates on the people and professions that affects the buiIt environment. The two main professions it explores are that of the urban planner and the architect. It aiso reviews the participation of the associated professions such as engineering, interior design, landscape architecture, etc. It concludes with a limited review of the construction industry. It also introduces to the students the issue ofgender balance in the work force of these professions and jobs and the positive action needed to address this inequality. Concept Who's in charge? .. This unit investigates the professions, agencies and businesses • that affect physical change in our built environment. It recognizes the urban planner and the architect as the pivotai professionals who actualize the visual-design images. It also recognizes that there does not seem to be one overseeing force from the public or private sector that guides a master plan, for better or worse! a) The urban planner, the architect... lntl.xluction: This part of the unit investigates the responsibilities of these two professions and their impact on the built environment. Gender balance issues are introduced. Studio Process: 1) Have the students research theJob profiles and responsibillties of the urban planning and architectural profession. By contacting • 237 your local association of urban planners and order ofarchltects, they will give you a list of urban planners and archltects who accept • student visitors at their offices or who sometimes they will make visits to the cJassroom. It is also a good opportunlty to ask for gender speclfic-role models. These associations also have information about the gender equaIity, education, training and professlonaI options for urban planners and archltects. Have the students compose a diagram showlng their different professional responslbllltles. Il) Review with the students the different professlonal choices of the urban planner. (Planning companies, municIpal planning offices, government agencies, envlronmentaI groups and sa on.) Returnlng to the mural of their "ideal urban environment" have the students identify the areas of the urban landscape that the work of the urban planner would possibly affect and make the appropriate changes to the mural. III) Have the students imagine themselves as architects who had to design and build a school. !)ivide the students up Into smaIl groups and outline the project as to the sIte and type of s(hool. Have the students follow a design process of consultation, inspiration, • preliminary working drawings and final workIng drawing of a floor plan and exterior view. This design work should be done with the minimum use of mechanical drawing instruments, though perspective and scale should be explored. b) Consulting the speciaIist... lntraduction: The urban planners and architects often rely on other professions and skIlls to complete their projects. ThIs part of the unit wlII explore the assoclated professIons of engIneering, surveying, Interlor desIgn, computer-asslsted design and landscape archItecture. Studio Process: 1) Revlew and Identlfy the contribution of the varlous disciplines ofengIneerIng (civil, structuraI, mechanlcaI, electrlcal) and surveying • 238 to the building process. Investigate the use ofcomputer asslsted design (CAD). If possible, have the students visit a CAD consulting • firm or training centre ln order to have a demonstration oflts vast possibllities for design. Il) If possible, bring an interior designer to c1ass to talk about the profession and show examples ofher/his work. Have the students think about designing a student centre for themselves, reflecting on their needs and wildest wishes. Uslng small groups of students, have each group desIgn and make a model of this student centre from found and studio materials. III) Take the students on a tour of the nelghbourhood, specifically to look at the gardens and their landscaplng techniques. What are the effects of formaI and informallandscaping? What part do trees, bushes and hedges play in a garden or park? In small groups, have the students reflect upon the pleasures of a park and design one considering such things as types of users, recreation facilities, rest areas, park furnlture, animaIs, variety, ft:!freshment services and so on. Have the students design and make a topographical model of their ideal park from found and studio • materials. c) Withln the rules... lntraduction: This part of the unit deals with the controlllng or regulatory bodies affecting the built environment. The municipal and local governments pass by-Iaws for building codes that regulate construction standards. The plannJIlg office will issue building permits when the architectural designs meet these standards. It Is then followed up on the construction site with visits from building inspectors. These govemmental regulatory agencies will also develop zoning ordinances which lI)' to ensure harmonious and complementary land use. • 239 Studio Process: Take the students on a vlsit to the local municipal planning office. • On returning to c1ass, have them list as many building codes as they can that affect construction. (Structure-to-land ratio, helght restrictions, parking avallabillty, pedestrian access, vehicular access, health and fire safety, structural design, electrical, mechanical and plumbing systems, elevators and so on.) Have the students create a visual profile of the planning office using photographs and commercial magazine images ln a collage format. d) And hope it stays up!... In traduction: The construction industI)' cames out the actual building of the urban planners' or architects' plans. Comprised of a complex arrangement of interrelated buslnesses, services and manufacturers, the construction ln Justry has a promlnent place ln the process of • change in the bullt environment. Srudio Process: I) This part of the unit focuses on examlning "tenders" and "estimations". The relatlonshlp between the client, the archltect and the contractor begins wlth the tenderlng of blds. The contractor, with the advice of a professional estlmator, will make an estimation of cost according to the project description and the quallty of materials and completion tlme and submit it as a bld to the architect or project manager. Ask the st:Jdents to search ln the local newspapers and find examples ofofficial tenders and Identify the origlnator of the tender and the type ofcompanies they are intended for. II) Have the students revlew the construction process ofa building. (Land survey, excavation, Installation of the drainage system, laylng offoundatlon, construction ofthe structural frame or walls, the floors, the roof, the exterlor cladding, the windows, the plumblng, the installation of the electrlcal, communication and mechanical systems, the interlor f1nlshlng, the interlor decorating 240 and so on.) In smalI groups, have the students collage a mural illustrating the different stages of the construction process using the • sketches and photographs from their sensory inventories. • 241 Unit 10: What Can We Do? • Organizational Structure and Process of Synthesis BuHt Environment Concepts Curriculum Strategies -BuHt environment community -Social reconstruction, groups and associations, p.67 p.1I8 -Special user groups, pA8 -Emancipatory education, p.IIS -Local initiatives and lobby groups, p.6ï -Change and articulation ofown world, p.I2S • CurrIculum Model -Students explore local buHt environment associations -Students identify important issues of these organization -Students plan and develop built environment awareness projects -Students initiate bullt environment displays in their own communities • 242 Unit Objectives: • The first theme of this unit is called. "Getting tagether..." and explores the various existing organizations in the students' rommunity. The students will review the issues taken up by these organizations and the responsibilities that come with membership in them. We are extremely fortunate in Montreal ta have man)' active and committed community organizations concerned with the built environment The second theme is called. "Let's do it..." and is devoted to proactive projeets done by the students. The students will activel)" engage in designing. placing and setting up displa)'s for their school and community to promote awareness and involvement with the built environment. Concept • al Getting together... There are man)' existing organizations that are involved with the built environment. From heritage organizations to government agencies. these organizations offer a source of information and/or a proartive association to join. bl Let's do it!... There are man)' creative activities and projects that an art class l'an organize that will offer the students a participating part in expressing their ideas on the built environment and involvement with their local community. • ~43 • Course Plans al Ho\\" can 1join... lnlroduction: Students investigate the organizations in their community that are in sorne \\"ay im·olved \Vith the built environment. ln the J\lontreal metropolitan area there are many organizations of which the following Iist represents just a few. Heritage Montreal. 1181 J\lountain St.. J\lontreal. Quebec. The Canadian Centre for Architecture. 1920 Baile St.. Montreal. Quebec. L'Ordre des Architectes du Québec. • 1825 Blvd. René Levesque. 0 .. J\lontréal. Québec. L'Ordre des Urbanistes du Quebec. 85 Rue St. Paul. O.. Montréal. Québec. Sauvons Montreal. 3531 Rue Hutchinson. Montréal. Québec. Ville de Montréal. Service de l'Habitation et du Développement Urbain, Division Préservation du Patrimoine, 85 Rue Notre Dame, E., Montréal. Québec. 244 Studio Process: /-Im'e the students investigate several of the built environment • organizations in their area. noting their organizational goals and membership protocoI. Have the students design and execute a poster publicizing one of these organizations using poster paints. bl Let's show them... lntraduction: Have the students develop school and community projects that will engage them in expressing their commitment to the built environment using bath public and private venues. Studio Process: 1) Have the students plan a built environment awareness day or week at your schooI. Have the students design posters ap..d flyers. lIsing a display area of the school set up an installation that exhibits the various projects the students have done in class. Have them • collect responses from the viewers about the viewers' reactions to this display and the built environment. II) Have the students contact their locallibrar)', community centre or city hall to find out If they have display areas and If so. have them set up an exhibition on the bullt environment. onen these public institutions have wonderful exposition areas and are open ta displaying projects from the communlty. Ill) Another possible location for exhibitions Is prlvate and commercial buildings such as plazas, the entrance halls of business towers and so on. Often a vacant storefront can become a great place for an installation of your students' work. Many times these places are available at no charge. Il may take sorne time ta discover who are the people responsible for these areas, but when you do, theyare often very accommoctating. For example, durlng the 1994 INSEA ( International Society of Education through Art) ln Montreal the Complexe Desjardins had an extraordinary exhiblt of students' work based on the theme of their built environment. 245 • Chapter Five: Conclusion • • • Conclusion Goals and Expectations As stated in the original thesis proposaI. the goal of this project was to create a curriculum plan for built environment education from which Quebec secondaI)' art teachers could create valid and significant cIassroom pracLice. A built environment curriculum paradigm or prototype would be developed from the synthesis of selected ideas and theories from the field ofarchitecture and the built en\"ironment and fused with specifie pedagogical approaches and processes and actualized within the parameters ofart education curriculum. Il was a research project based on my experience in teaching art and architectural design, curriculum planning and a long standing interest in architecture and the built en\"ironment. My personal aim was first to produce a curriculum process that integrateà a new • content area (buiIt environment education) into existing art education curriculum and, second, to produce a curriculum model that would be accessible, adaptable and relevant to the Quebec and North American context. 1began the research with a survey ofexIsting Iiterature and an investigation of the many built environment support groups in North America and Europe. This exercise underscored the different pedagogical priorities of the professionals in urban planning and architecture and thase in education. The pedagoglcal actlvities that were developed. though often inventive, lacked depth and connection to the larger context of bath art education and the built environment. 1continued the research with an exploration ofa wide variety of areas of interest in the built environment, from architecture and structures to historical development and urban planning. A focus began to form and take expression. It was guided by the ideas and • 246 thoughts generously shared by Da,"id farley on the significance and rclationships wc form with our built en\"Ïronment. Through • in\"l~stigations into the nature and significance of structures and the history of urban design, it became apparent that a more rele\"ant area of research, given my concerns. was that of "environmental knowing" or "reading" ofour built em"ironment. Aiso of importance was the decoding of the cultural values embedded in the built en\"Ïronment and finding ways ta recognize and evaluate the performance aspects of our surroundings. Thus, what our built environment affords us or provides for us and how this impacts on the quality of our daily lives became a pertinent issue for the thesis to consider. These ideas also relate ta architectural determinism and the potential of the built environment to control human behaviour. The section on the built environment ended with the identification of the roles of the different members of our society and the professions who transform or alter the built environment. An examinution of the concerned professions, the building industry and the support groups exposed their different mandates and the • fragmentation that exists among these key groups. The next step was the exploration and development ofan appropriate curriculum model for the paradigm. It involved the re\"Ïew of curriculum approaches that reflected the views of humanistic psychology. creativity and heuristics theories. discovery and problem-solving pedagogy, holistic and ecologlcal ethics, critical pedagogy, reflectlve practlce and dlscipline-based curriculum planning. ln designing the curriculum model. 1 tried ta fuse these concepts wlth an accessible and workable structure that was appropriate for art education curriculum planning. This structure emphasized the Importance of the teacher's and students' experlences and relatlonships with their environment and the responsibility they have in being part of the larger dynamic. To accomplish this fusion. discovery and problem-solving techniques. such as sensory inventories. cognitive mapping. 24ï neighbourhood walk abouts and site explorations, became critical techniques in decoding the physical eues that make up our • environment. By analyzing these environmental eues and their order of priorit)·, an insight into the specifie needs and wishes ofa particular communit)' evolves. This process became the cornerstone of the curriculum paradigm and echoed many of the elements from the curriculum model, especiaIly those emphasizing the students' own environment and experience as the starting point for an expanded investigation into the greater built environment. Taking the ideas and concepts of the field ofarchitecture and the built environment and combining them with a particular pedagogical approach necessitated a process of selection, elimination, compression and concision. In the field of the built environment, 1 researched subject areas such as historical typology, past and present ideas of urban planning, technological development, structures and design processes and finaIly put them aside for further investigation. The themes of identification and orientation, environmental knowing, affordance and performance and agents ofchange were chosen as the • content basis of the curriculum model and instructional designs. The creation of the curriculum model was one of fl::;ion and balance of its components. The first step was to investigate current built environment education curriculum plans and designs. There was a cIear need for curriculum plans that featured transparency and accessibiIity, a comprehensive or holistic approach to the subjeet " matter and instructional designs that took into account the reality of the art cIassroom and schooI. This necessitated developing examples of instructional designs that adapted to the timetable of the art cIass, to the school facilities, to the surrounding neighbourhood and to other apk'opriate resources. To increase flexIbility, the pedagogical unlts were designed to adjust to different duration and Ume constralnts. Each unit could be used separately or, when Ume permitted, contlnuously with the • other ten units to benefit from an holistic overview. As weIl, the 248 paradigm encouraged teachers to aiter, expand and develop the units in new directions depending on their own personal curricular needs • and agenda. A variety of individual and group processes were developed in each unit tu promote personal development and social interaction. The curriculum model used many of the content categories outlined by L Chapman as noted in thE' ~hird c"tapter under the section, Art Education, in order to better bridge other art education curriculum units. Therefore each unit of the paradigm considered medium, art forms, subject and themes, design principles, styie and function. This was also done to assist the art teacher in deciphering the concepts and activities of the new content area of the built environment. Reflections on the Curriculum Model • The curriculum model and instructional designs developed in this thes!:; fulfilled many of m)" original goals and expe~tationsand in man)" ways exceeded them, especially in the evolution of the concepts from personal to communal experiences as a reflective practice. lt has also opened up many possibilities for further development and indeed 1hope to continue reflning and expanding the project. As 1tried to meet my original intentions, new areas ofconcern arose. First, the central theme ofcivic responsibility was often more prominent than 1origlnally planned. It Is, ofcourse, a very important theme but ft does tend to overshadow my original desire to demonstrate the fulfllIment and pleasure one has from reflecting upon and engaging with our buiIt environment. The section titled Human 10y in the chapter, The Curriculum Context, was written to emphasize the satisfaction and gratification that the study ofour • 249 built environment can offer. This thesis was fou!1ded on the stimulation and possibilities that the built environment provides for • ail our dail)' living. Changes to the built environment are an evolutionary constant and sometimes the)' are interpreted as threats and menaces. Nonetheless ft forms part ofthe reaIity ofour constructed heritage to which we must ultimately adjust. Vigilance and active participation in the process of urban change are vital. They can only be effective and enduring ifwe acknowledge the capacity of the built environment to enrich our lives as private and communal beings. It was a fundamental goal that the curriculum paradlgm capture the exC'itement and potential that the built environment offers as a pervasive agent for understandlng and celebratlng our constructed past, present and future. Second, the scope and complexity of the built environment content material was often dlfficult to reduce or slmpIify for use in the curriculum paradigm. The aim ofmaking a comprehensive and holistic curriculum paradigm was often in confllct with the aim of • it trying to make cIear, transparent and accessible. Sorne of the unlts covered too much material and ended up being overloaded with ideas and activities. Thus, at times 1committed the same excess for which 1reproached other curricuium plans ln built environment education. The goal ofsimplicity and cIarity is a dlfficult one to attain because the built E::nvironment Itself is not a simple or cIear phenomenon but a complex and rich record ofour cultural development. Thiïd, thecurriculum paradigm, which was divided Into ten units to emphasize the progression of the themes and concepts, is cumb€rsome. This ma;- be due to the complex nature of the content in some of the units, but It is aIso due to the nature of ten unit divisions themselves that tend to compartmentalize the thernes and hinder the flow of ideas from one unit to another. • 250 Implications for Futher Research and Teaching • During the past five years, man)" isolated concepts and activities of the curriculum model and instructional designs for built environment education have been tried out by myself and others in the cIassroom. That experience has influenced the instructional design aspects of this curriculum model. But it is now time to implement the curriculum plan in its entirety and review the feedback from the students and tcachers. Evaluating the workabiIity and effectiveness of the curriculum paradigm will lead to new refinements and effectiveness. 1would also Iike to explore other curriculum structures besides the ten units used for this paradigm. A possible alternative wouId be ta use the same content rnaterial but in different thematic groupings. Breaking the themes up into four larger units, with smaller subunits. might be a way of presenting the material in a simpler and less dense format. There is a need to develop a networking system ofcommunity support groups and associations that are involved in issues of the built environment. It would be a great resource for art teachers to be able ta coordinate with these groups and integrate them into their field trips and curriculum plans. My next research will be to continue the investigation of the two sections, Structures and Urban Spaces, begun for this thesis and abandoned as they did not support the flnal content selected. It will necessitate the investigation of a different curriculum approach and probably fall wlthin the art history and aesthetics areas of art education. 251 Conclusion • 1hope my original intention that this curriculum paradigm would become an effective and usefui curriculum plan for secondaT)' art teachers will be fulfilled. 1aIso hope that it will inspire further explorations and the development ofother curriculum plans that will help promote the much needed development of built ~nvironment education. • • 252 • Bibliography • • • Bibliography Abhau, 1\1. (Ed.). (1986). Architecture in education: a resource of imaginative ideas and tested activities. Philadelphia, PEN: Foundation for Architecture. Adams. E., and Ward, C. (1982). Art and the built environment. a teacher's approach. U.K: Longmans. Adams, E. (1990). Teachers and architects: collaboration in education. ln Thistlewood, D. (Ed.), Issues in design education. GB:Longmans Agrest, D., (1991). 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