Session Information
Paper Session
Contribution
This research starts from the perspective that young people and children aren’t only citizens “to be”, but have already knowledge and skills that allow them to be autonomous and active citizens (Corsaro, 2005). Through an ethnographic study with children and young people (aged from 12 to 15) in a urban school context we aim at finding and understanding their views (Hammersley; Atkinson, 1995) about architecture and space. Some questions underlying this research are: how can we describe young people and children relationships with the space; what type of interpretations of space they usually do; and how they participate and appropriate different spaces. We aim at listen to children and young people voices focusing in their views of the School and the City as a «built environment», paying special attention to their proposals for improving space quality. Being an architect concerned with citizenship and participation, it is relevant to the researcher to understand, from an educational point of view, how “the common citizen” understands space and its dynamics. Through a particular construction of the research field, we will be able to recognize different understandings of architecture (Jenkings, 2010). Doing fieldwork will allow us to be closer to the user, (young people and children), the habitant of designed spaces, (school and close city area), and will allow us to understand how architecture can contribute to increase people’s life-quality, recognizing them as full right citizens and social participants.
Hence, we can see architecture as a vehicle for understanding individual, social and educational relationships in a specific space physical/social context. We consider that children and young people, being sensitive and aware of the potential and the responsibility of architecture, will be more able to be involved, improving the «built environment» and motivated to be more participant. They will have a more active role as actors and people with voice, taking a position in the society, “because the subject can only "become" appropriating the world (Charlot, 2000:59)”.
As mentioned before, during this research we want to understand young people’s views and to understand if it’s possible to relate them to the space design. In the end of this research we will try to find different ways of getting closer architects/designers to the building/space users, in this case the young people. Strengthening the relationship and sharing different point’s of views we will be able to better understand the built environment and improve the satisfaction level of the users.
Method
Expected Outcomes
References
Charlot, Bernard; Da relação com o saber, Elementos para uma teoria; Porto Alegre; artmed editora; 2000. Corsaro, William (2005) The Sociology of Childhood. London: Sage. Fielding, Michael (2009) «Public Space and Educational Leadership. Reclaiming and Renewing our Radical Traditions», Educational Management Administration Leadership, 4, 497-521. Hammersley, Martyn; Atkinson, Paul (1995) Ethnography: Principles in Practice. London: Routledge. Haraway, Donna (1988) «Situated Knowledge: The Science Question in Feminism as a Site of Discourse on the Privilege of Partial Perspective». Feminist Studies 14.3, 575-99. Harding, Sandra (2003) The Feminist Standpoint Theory Reader: Intellectual and Political Controversies. London: Routledge. Jenkings, Paul; Forsyth, Leslie; Architecture, Participation and Society; Oxon, Routledge, 2010.
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