projects and articles by members
Children and the City
"Since graduating as an architect in 1989 I have been working as a collaborating architect in Sweden, Germany and Holland. Since 1999, I have been an assistant professor at Dortmund University first in the Department of Architecture later in the Department for Spatial Planning."
Tiger-Enten Universität 2003
'Tiger-Enten Universität' (Tiger-Ducks University) is a collaboration between German television (ARD/SWR) and an increasing number of German Universities. For several years this collaboration has been organising lectures around interesting themes for children between 8 and 14 years of age to make the university world familiar to children and young teenagers. In 2003 the Chair of Urban Design at the University of Dortmund held a lecture entitled 'Why do houses have no wheels?' for 600 children visiting the campus in Dortmund - a fairytale around contemporary urban design themes such as compact cities, suburbia and post-industrial landscapes.
'Children in the city' 2003 - 2004
The Urban Design Colloquium at the University of Dortmund - organised by the Chair of Urban Design - traditionally takes place every semester and deals with current themes in Urban Design. The theme for this year's Colloquium with about 10 lectures is 'Children in the city'. Target groups are students of spatial planning and architecture, employees of the university and the city council, architects, planners, private persons.
In the winter term we try to find out why urban design does not take children into consideration and how this situation could be changed in the future. In the summer, the lectures will concentrate on architectural education for children in Germany, comparing it with the situation in other European countries. The Colloquium will end with a workshop for children from Dortmund, coached by an international group of architecture educators (e.g. [caa]).
Participation in 'Architects at school' 2004
Since 1991, the Chamber of Architects in North Rhine-Westphalia has been organising projects in cooperation with several schools. The purpose of these 'KIDS' projects is to give pupils a better insight into their living environment. The pupils point out a zone in their school with a problem (interiors, school yards etc.), which should be analysed and solved together with e.g. a 'consulting' architect. For six months, they work together on a plan that will eventually be carried out by pupils, dedicated parents and teachers, plus local firms, which may also offer financial sponsorship. The architects involved work on a voluntary basis.
In the future...
- Academic research in 'architectural education for children' initiatives in Germany compared with international activities, as well as recommendations for the future of educational planning in Germany
- Establishing a school of architecture for children in Germany
