Working with the Creative Genius of Children

We're delighted that this article has been published by Innovate My School today:

Children learn very quickly.  Their learning patterns are led by their conceptual thoughts at first and then by experience as they get older.  When children are faced with new challenges, their thinking methods are not confined to established preconceptions of how things should look or work.  Instead they are more fluid, often very confident and usually unique.

This series of Monster drawings by Jack (age 3) were presented with a very rational and clear description of what each of the monsters did,  identifying all their features, and reasoning behind even differences in colour.

As kids get older, conventions take over and their creativity becomes more tailored to established preconceptions.  Their concepts are represented in a more common artistic language which we all can understand.  Once this development takes place, it is very difficult to return to the simple naivety which we once had.

This picture by Bobby (age 9) does not need much explaining - it is easy to read.  He is also experimenting with perspective.

We have been running workshops called Architecturefor Kids At Furzedown Primary School, London SW17.  Its not about the things which we all take for granted in our built environment, such as walls, windows, doors, floors and roofs.  Instead, it’s looks at structure, space, colour, materials and is very playful.  Because architectural design is not usually a subject taught before college, we have had the advantage of working with the hidden creativity of enthusiastic Year 5 children (10 year olds)  on this very fresh subject.  The series of workshops took place over a summer term and investigated structure, architectural drawing, design, model making / rapid prototyping, and making full-scale installations; A sequence of stages stretching from concept to realisation of a small architectural project.

Extracts from the introduction to design:  Each workshop began with an introduction to the subject area, and an explanation of what we would be trying to achieve in the lesson.  This is a snap-shot looking at how materials, colours, textures, form and structure might be combined.

We had a set palate of materials and resources with which to create.  Mostly this was free or donated and almost all of it was recyclable.  It included paper, string, role, cardboard tubes, including large ones from carpet shops, old estate agents boards, sheet card and packing card, nuts and bolts and cable ties.

Because the rules of application were not prescribed, children were able to experiment, which led to come involved narratives, and a lot of creative investment.  The materials we had to work with could be used for small scale models (card, cardboard tubes and scooby-string etc.) and then transferred up to full size installations (with carpet tube rolls, estate agents boards and robe etc.)

So with a road map to develop ideas but no set rule book to prescribe how creativity is managed, here are a number of projects which the children engages with and the ideas they came up with:

Labib looked at triangular forms and how flat surfaces can be turned in to three dimensional articulated surfaces, to create an exo-skeleton body suit.

We took card and investigated ways in which it could be connected, to make shelters, enclosures and dens.  These studies were then scaled up with estate agents boards.  Putting slots on the diagonals eliminated any reference to the vertical and horizontal axis.  To make them stand up, triangular structures had to be found at unfamiliar angles.  The variety and combinations of boards which the children discovered were much greater than I would have imagined, approaching it with a supposed experience and rationality.  

Structural investigations led to design drawings then study models and finally architectural installations by our budding young Architects.  Top centre was a cool beach hut by Freddy.  Top right became the Random Funky Festival Pavilion by Katie, which was developed in to a full scale structure.  The structural principles of the canopy were developed from our structural workshops looking at triangulated frames vs panels.  Katie made the connection of assembling panels in a triangular arrangement to make a lightweight, structural plane.  This was tested first with the model before progressing to the final installation and it worked really well. 

Thinking like a child, with naivety and pure experimentation is a very difficult thing to achieve, once our thoughts are subject to our experience and preconceptions of how the world should be.  It has been a real joy for me to witness how the children have worked and developed their paths to design and create their projects.  Children working from enthusiasm, combined with an inquisitive nature is a very powerful recipe for creativity.  Despite 20 years + in practice as an architect, this has to be one of the most fun experiences I have had and one that I have learnt the most from.   I hope the children got a lot out of it too (I’m sure they did) and I look forward to the opportunity of working with the next Year 5 in May 2015.

Learning Through Landscapes

Learning Through Landscapes (LTL) is a charity organisation which helps protect outdoor school playgrounds from development.  They reinforce the importance of the school playground as places where children can connect with nature, be active, learn outdoors, learn social skills and have fun.  They recently launched their #protectschoolgrounds campaign, highlighting this basic need for children.

The threat of consumption of school playgrounds from the pressures of schools to expand or find money is an important condition which should be highlighted.  It is a condition which is also symptomatic of the gradual urbanisation taking place across the country as a whole, as we seek to expand and make more space for rising population levels and industry, whilst working within a confined set of conditions and boundaries.  Within most UK environments, there is significant pressure to expand or change, which in turn places pressure on external, undeveloped spaces.  Too often buildings have names which gives them importance and outdoor spaces don't.

Maybe its time to work in to our outdoor spaces and develop them as just that - Outdoor Spaces - by giving them names, functions, multiple functions, make them changeable and responsive to how they are used, but define and name them in some way so that they have a greater connection with people and might spark a bit of resistance if suddenly they are the subject of development proposals.

We should take a lesson from the work of LTL and look at our outdoor environment in a new way.  On our regular walk to work or run to the sandwich shop at lunch time, we often follow the same path.  That path is punctuated with street corners, crossing points and key landmarks which we pass to mark our way and psychologically reassure us of our progress on route.  What if we reinvented these spaces as Outdoor Spaces, and put something there other than grey concrete and tarmac with steel lamp posts covered in anti-climbing paint?  We need spaces where we can stop and talk, places which prompt us to look up and orientate ourselves in the outdoor  environment, places in contrast to our urban world where we can connect briefly with nature, even if for a moment we are unable to see a man-made straight line, artificial colour or flat plane.  A micro park on a street corner might prompt us to visit the real thing or the countryside more regularly.  If we made moves like this, we might find a greater collective resistance to urban expansion and the lateral spread of building development.

Wouldn't it be great if we could ignite a cultural connection with an Outdoor development campaign that would rival the pressures of Urban developments?  It would need to become economically advantageous some how or pick up political backing.

There are many parallels between school expansions and urban expansion.  More and more is expected from schools in terms of their capabilities.  Teaching patterns are changing to meet government requirements and pressures to adopt new technologies.  More and more is expected of what they have to do from the National Curriculum.  Similarly, as a nation our living patterns are changing, our lives are becoming more and more complicated, our living patterns often present more hurdles than solutions and we are under pressure (mostly driven by ourselves) to embrace new technologies.  Most of these growing pressures focus on and within buildings and the built environment.  We start to loose the recognition and importance of the spaces between, the outdoor spaces, where the air is cleaner, the light is natural and pressures can be lifted.

How LTL and schools deal with reinforcing the importance of school playgrounds could inform us greatly on how we can treat and protect our everyday outdoor spaces from urban development, and make them more enjoyable and engaging places to be in, rather than rushing through.  Some of their solutions show schools expanding on the same footprint, building up or under existing buildings. Making use of as much roof space as possible as functional places for outdoor activity, learning or nature gardens etc., is another solution.  They also encourage existing outdoor spaces to be named, given outdoor functions and uses, often multiple functions, and developed as nature gardens, outdoor classrooms, play spaces etc.  Identifying existing outdoor spaces signifies their importance and connection to people and (might) make it more difficult for them to be swallowed up by building developments.  It also recognises that, for the school, the outdoor environment is a very important resource, even if government policy and the National Curriculum doesn't.  We should adopt the same policy and recognise the importance of our outdoor spaces, and like kids, engage with them and have fun.

Outdoor spaces can be multifunctional, with each area supporting several tasks.  They can also work in support of indoor spaces, or areas beyond the school.