Polish cities are, unfortunately, a far cry from the ultimate in architecture and taste. In order to curb urban chaos, the Polish Chamber of Architects has recently launched a project under which students from five regions in Poland (voivodeships) are given a spatial planning course.
The pioneering program “Shaping space” is an original idea of the Chamber of Architects. It is dedicated to post-primary children. Its aim is to make the young people sensitive to social responsibility and the sense of esthetics. The classes are run by teachers who have been equipped with a tailor-made guide book with model class scenarios.
– It is of crucial importance for teachers to be creative. We don’t want to limit the teachers. We give them a basic tool kit to teach architecture – says Malgorzata Gruszka, a project coordinator. – At the same time we do not want to teach architecture as such, this is what universities are for and it’s not the point. We want to teach them how to understand architecture, to provoke the need for architecture to be good. And to explain what a good architecture means, she explains.
– The program develops skills of observing the spatial order and the lack thereof, says arch. Urszula Szabłowska, a project coordinator. – I would love the program to be promoted as widely as possible because then we will have citizens who can… see.
The students taking part in the program are very enthusiastic and show great interest in the subject. The classes are of practical nature – the students make models, shoot films, discuss popular places, e.g. school and home surroundings. When asked about the effects of the classes they say that they started to pay attention to things that they had not seen before, e.g. how advertising spoils the landscape. The program is adapted from Ireland to Polish conditions. You can read more about the program on the official website of the Chamber of Architects.
Feel free to watch interviews with project coordinators on:
http://www.izbaarchitektow.pl/pokaz.php?id=2013
