Coming into the #CAEportland conference I had been exposed to a host of learning environments, mostly on the east coast, that communicated various messages about their goals, purpose and WHY they were built in the first place. Of course there is often a basic need for new facilities which address overcrowding, run-down buildings and lack of accessible routes for every person. Most of these new buildings are well designed places for learning but in 10 years of practicing architecture I have only heard one person use the term pedagogy to connect the place with the function. When I was invited to be a scholar at the Portland conference, I was excited to see what the west coast is doing to solve some of the same challenges we face on the east coast. This conference was breath of fresh air, living up to and exceeding my expectations and my hopes. Here are a couple of my takeaways with more to follow:
Change take commitment and design maters
Ira Socol and Pam Moran spoke on the first full day about committing to the change and delivering on that commitment by searching for ways to say yes. Furthermore, we toured numerous buildings that really connected to their purpose which came through in the design. We had several amazing tour guides including some students in a couple of occasions, but the design of the building made sense and it supported the Pedagogy of the school. They didn't necessarily need a narrative to understand that a collaborative and creative process was established which created spaces that foster collaboration and creativity, not to mention good communication and critical thinking. For all of the sites we toured they all had a common theme: The project started with ownership of the pedagogy and the place for executing that was built in support of those goals.
Architecture for Education has a huge responsibility
It was refreshing to be on a bus with so many other designers who really cared about sharing knowledge. I have been to several conferences in the past and there is often a vibe of competition between firms with a polite professionalism. There is also often a desire to be the first with a great idea or a thought leader within the profession. These themes, while advancing design in some ways leads to a disservice to the students and educators who use the buildings we design. I prefer to be more of a contributor which is what I found at the CAE conference. We toured many great places that may or may not be the "first" to execute in a certain way, but for the most part everyone was willing to talk about the pros and cons and discuss how we are all thinking about design for education and how we are all pushing against the horizon in our own ways. The responsibility to craft places for learning that inspire is great. The more we can have open dialog about what works and what doesn't the better off every student in this country will be weather I specifically designed their space or not. Sharing is caring!
So, overall, Portland was amazing. The place we visited were beautiful and they all connected to their "WHY" in ways that enhanced the user's experience and their right to be in beautiful designed spaces that enable thinking, doing and being.