Topic

Schools are hearts of their communities. They are not just places for formal learning – they have the potential to also become space for informal exchange and learning, meeting of friends and new experiences.

Physical space can play an important role in activating and nurturing this potential. The acts of creating, caring for and using physical space can in themselves become catalysts for the development of community’s social space. The physical and social space can be thus created in parallel, shaping and influencing each other in the process of making.

It follows, that such space can be made only with active involvement of the community in question, building up on their needs, desires, gifts and resources.

Project

The project aims to develop a participatory method for designing school and neighbourhood spaces from within their communities. The pilot is developed in collaboration with the local community of the village Chayuan on the boarder of Chinese Provinces Sichuan and Gansu.

Foundation

The TOYOTA foundation

Researchers

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Angela Million
Zuzana Tabačková

Partners

Kyushu University, Japan