EDUCATION

The architectural field work practice competition is an open call for field work practice proposals destined for architectural students, which are covergent with this year’s annualtheme: present!. The objective is to facilitate students’ engagement with the professional body or the community where the practice will take place. We are thus interested in the practice’s value as a link between education and profession or as a means of inserting the students within the profession. “Education is vital in assuring sustainability and a high quality environment. In this scope, it is necessary to develop within communities the ability to understand architecture, landscape architecture and urbanism, as well as the processes of modelling our environment. These politics help to ensure a background of trust, a background in which citizens feel capable of efficiently engaging in he creation and managemnt of a high quality built environment”. (The politics for architecture in Romania 2010-2015)

The proposals should consider the following aspects: the professional body’s perspective on the event, how the event can relate to communities, the event’s educational value. Also, proposals should be practical and well-organized and should include a pre-established list of objectives and results.

The field work practice competition is part of a series of events dedicated to the education category of a_ta 2014, and its objective is to generate debates on the border between Education and Profession.

The full content of this post is available only in Romanian

http://anualadearhitectura.ro/ro/e03-practica-studenteasca-intre-educatie-si-profesie/

ARCHITECTURE AND CHILDREN, an event part of the Timisoara architecture annual a_ta 2014, opened the gates of Timisoara’s Western University to children on Wednesday, June 18th!

3rd and 4th graders totalling a number of 14 classes which graduated the DE-A ARHITECTURA IN SCOALA MEA (Playing architecture in my school) optional course this year gathered in the gymnasium of Timisoara’s Western University: the highlight was an exhibition of their homework for the optional course they attended- models of imagined districts and houses. This course’s scope was to develop and promote architectural and built environment education for children. The models materialised a response to the challenge of imagining their dream district/city in view of the newly acquired knowledge during the past school year. Each class’ quarter is the result of a long process of negotiation, in which children gradually played different roles: urbanist, landscape architect, inhabitant etc. This process ensured a common ground for establishing each district’s characteristics: from green spaces to public and private spaces. The result was an extremely varied urban landscape: from car districts and cycling districts to quarters where water replaced streets, from high-density and low-density areas to zones dedicated to public space. Each class well understood that they had to take full responsibility for their district, which did not hinder an explosion of enthusiasm in mounting the exhibition.

Between 11:00 am and 13:00 pm the gymnasium, designed by Hans Fackelmann, quickly soaked with the contagious joy of more than 300 children. They arrived, class by class, each carrying their model and carefully placing it at its designated spot inside the “children’s city”. Volunteer architects handed badges and coloured stickers for voting the favourite model. After all 14 districts took their place and the children’s city was completed, arch. Oana Simionescu, coordinator of the playing architecture program in Timisoara and of the a_ta 2014 organizing team welcomed all the children and explained how to vote their favourite model. Anxious voters, the children then made a tour of all the exhibited models and placed their voting stickers.The most beautiful district voted by the children belonged to class 4E from the “Avram Iancu” no.19 Gymnasium – a green island with a tree-covered hill in the middle, barely constructed. Volunteer architects expressed their vote as well, this time for the most architectural model: the diploma was awarded to class 4D, also from the “Avram Iancu” no.19 Gymnasium : they proposed an urban space, with collective dwellings, green roofs and areas for cars, pedestrians and for the community. The event ended with the awarding of the diplomas and, in a sweet touch, with the offering of gingerbread by the “Codrina” confectionery.

“Architecture and children” was an event organized by the Timiş branch of the Romanian Order of Architects, in partnership with the “De-a arhitectura” Association and is part of an index of events dedicated to education during a_ta 2014.

We would like to thank the participants and everyone who contributed to organizing the event.