the project
Title
THE (RE)DESIGN OF THE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT. What is changing?
Acronym
ROLE
Date
2023-24
Summary
The transformations we are witnessing at different dimensions of our lives forces us to broaden the horizons with which we look at education. In particular, it is necessary to analyse the network of new educational infrastructures that are being offered aimed both at the acquisition of new competencies, nowadays considered indispensable to prepare for the challenges of adult life, or at continuing education and updating knowledge. It is therefore crucial to understand how these new offers are differentiated from each other, adjusted to different target audiences, with their own educational projects, according to the specific needs of the communities they are aimed at and the territories where they are located.
Underlining the contribution of architecture/urban design to the construction of a new "narrative" for the creation of educational infrastructures, in distinct socio-economic and cultural contexts, ROLE’s main objectives are: a) to reflect on the challenges and demands for the design of knowledge spaces, comprising multiple realities (political, social, environmental, cultural, demographic, economic, technological, etc.) both in the present time and in the foreseeing multiple futures; b) the recognition of the educational dimension of built environments and public spaces, fostering the debate among professionals, public entities, communities and society in general.
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ROLE central motivation is to contribute to the (re)design of innovative, effective and meaningful educational environments, anchored in the values of a sustainable attitude at social, environmental, economic and cultural level. It explores different typologies of built spaces at different scales. It analyses their potential for educational practices, knowledge transfer, their value as educational opportunities, and their role as educational context, agent and content (Trilla 1993). The approach focuses on the educational needs and expectations (formal, non-formal and informal) of different target audiences (compulsory education, extracurricular education, adult and senior education, lifelong education), considering socio-economic implications and contexts of permanence, temporality or unpredictability.
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ROLE works on the diversity of educational environments, contributing to the construction of an informed survey of the universe, typologies and challenges of these spaces in Portugal, focusing on the following levels of approach:
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1. URBAN/TERRITORIAL SCALE: educational network in the city that includes multiple spaces and places (from school buildings, the cultural network to the urban civic) that provides resources for different modes of education.
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2. EDUCATIONAL DIMENSION: innovative educational projects, promoted by state, local authorities or private entities, understanding the interaction between the physical learning environment/territories and educational objectives, 'school' organisation modes, learning methodologies, educational agents, target audience, communities.
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3. ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL CHALLENGES: the fundamental role of the school space in the adaptation of communities to climate change, both in knowledge dissemination and in their recognition as quality spaces for the environmental and social well-being of their communities; school space as an interactive pedagogical instrument for spatial and environmental literacy.
Trilla, Jaume Bernet. 1993. “La Educación y La Ciudad.” In Otras Educaciones: Animación Sociocultural, Formación de Adultos y Ciudad Educativa, 177–203. Barcelona: Universidad Pedagógica Nacional de Barcelona y la Editorial Antropos.
