innovative whole school exemplars - the toolbox (gareth hoskins architects)

Senses of Place

Whole School Exemplars

A+DS Schools Programme

Gareth Hoskins Architects

THE TOOLBOX: a proposal for learning in the city

garethhoskinsarchitects

Senses of Place

Contents

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1. Introduction

2. Context

2.1 Educational Brief

2.2 ‘The Everyday’

2.3 Approach

3. Toolbox Inventory

3.1 Overview

3.2 Detailed Description

4. The Container and Storage

4.1 Bag/Box/Case

5. Example Exercises

5.1 Developing exercises - relevance to curriculum

5.2 Shadow City

5.3 Touchy City

5.4 Edible City

5.5 Sound City

6. A Way Forward

Bibliography

garethhoskinsarchitects 3

Senses of Place

1. Introduction

This document represents the outcome from the second phase of a research

project commissioned by Architecture + Design Scotland as part of their Whole

School Exemplars programme entitled ‘Senses of Place’. Gareth Hoskins Architects

were commissioned to develop a theme from their work in the earlier phase and to

consider how the implementation of a project which addresses this theme might be

replicable and applicable to many schools, and how it might change the learning

experience for those students. The broad aim was to demonstrate ways in which

well-designed learning environments could support delivery of the new Curriculum

for Excellence and changes in teaching methods. ‘Learning environments’ are

understood to include not just school buildings and their grounds, but potentially the

wider environment also.

For the first phase of the Senses of Place research project (2008), we proposed a

collection of interventions in a series of rural settings around the case-study school in

Orkney. The intention was to establish unique learning environments in each of these

settings (hill, forest, field et cetera), but to do so in a way which gently re-orientated

the pupils to this very familiar setting in such a way as to force them to look anew

at their environment. This aspect of the project, intended to distort a familiar and

ordinary place so as to enable its special but overlooked qualities to be seen

afresh and its hitherto concealed secrets to be told, seemed to suggest particularly

interesting possibilities.

We have chosen the city itself as the setting for this development of the project,

and are asking the question “How can we distort the students’ perception of their

city such that the familiar, ordinary and everyday become instructive, enchanting,

compelling and inspiring?” In answering this question we hope to establish a learning

environment outwith the walls of a school, but more importantly to engender an

attitude towards the city which enriches the students’ learning as a whole and which

induces in them an invaluable sensitivity to the world around.

Gareth Hoskins Architects

30 April 2009


Senses of Place

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1. Introduction

2. Context



2.3 An Approach


3.1 Overview



4.1 Bag/Box/Case



5.2 Shadow City

5.3 Touchy City

5.4 Edible City

5.5 Sound City

6. A Way Forward


Senses of Place


This Senses of Place research is partly a response to the Keir Bloomer position

paper ‘Emerging Educational Brief: Senses of Place 3-18’ which establishes three

priorities for the potential redevelopment of the secondary school estate in Dumfries.

Below are outlined the objectives for our response to these priorities:

Priority 1 ‘operate on a human scale’

This proposal is indefinitely scalable - that is it can be pursued by a single pupil or by

an entire nation of pupils at once. Furthermore, by means of enriching one’s personal

connection to it, the proposals seek to actively humanise the scale of the city, which

can at times be a frightening, noisy, busy and alienating place for children.

Priority 2 ‘facilitate improved continuity of educational experience from pre-school

through primary and secondary education and into lifelong learning’

Because this project is explicitly located outwith any particular school building

or timetable, and is concerned with engendering a general sensitivity to the built

environment, the skills which it teaches and the lessons which are learned are not

limited to a particular age group or stage.

Priority 3 ‘establish an environment that assists implementation of the principles of

Curriculum for Excellence.’

The principles of independent learning, flexibly formed learning groups and cross-

curricular and interdisciplinary study are very strongly reflected in the proposals. In

particular, the notion that schooling is not an end in itself but part of a process of

lifelong learning is deeply embedded in the proposals - we are providing a model to

inspire an enriched sensory participation with the world as a whole which will persist

as a lifelong spirit of imaginative curiosity.

2. Context

diagram: The Curriculum for Excellence - The Four Capacities


Senses of Place

2. Context


This project is fundamentally concerned with the capacity for the ordinary

experiences of everyday life to be instructive, captivating, and informative if looked

at in a particular way. Indeed, it is our belief that the city itself can be a museum, a

library, a playground, a laboratory and a classroom if looked at with the appropriate

care and imagination.

The writer George Perec’s view was ‘that we none of us give enough attention to

what is truly daily in our lives, to the banal habits, settings, and events of which these

lives almost entirely consist’. For him, the challenge is:

How should we take account of, question, describe what happens every day and

recurs every day: the banal, the quotidian, the obvious, the common, the ordinary,

the infraordinary, the background noise, the habitual ... To question the habitual. But

that’s just it, we’re habituated to it. We don’t question it, it doesn’t question us ...

The aim of this project is precisely to enable the everyday objects, places and

experiences of the city to be questioned by pupils, and in turn to enable these

objects, places and experiences to be used to question the pupils. For the city to be

used, in short, as the most exciting, multifarious and stimulating learning environment

imaginable.

As the graphic artists Michael Rock and Susan Sellers demonstrated in their late

1990s project ‘The Museum of the Ordinary’, the transformation of the ordinary and

everyday encounters of city life into a profoundly poetic learning experience requires

for the relationship between the citizen and the city to be gently transformed. Their

project delineated a number of blocks of downtown Manhattan and named it a

museum. In this way, ‘the permanent collection consists of all the designed objects

within the perimeter of the Museum: therefore the collection is in a constant state

of acquisition and divestiture’. The collection therefore contained water hydrants,

manhole covers, streetlights, window frames, door handles, candy wrappers,

clothing, vehicles, edibles, kerbstones and fly posters. Small information labels were

attached to certain objects to communicate their history and provenance, cordons

were strung in front of certain others, and guards appeared to ‘imbue some defended

object with a temporary value’. The public was invited to look anew at these familiar

things and enrich their understanding of their environment.


Senses of Place

2. Context

2.3 An Approach

In our proposals, we aim to bring about a distortion of the everyday encounters of city

life as a means to both invite pupils to question those encounters and to allow those

encounters to ask questions of the pupils. Like the Rock and Sellers project, instead

of distorting the places of the city themselves by built intervention (with the obvious

expense, logistical difficulties, ownership complications and statutory permissions

which that would entail) we would propose to distort the way in which they are looked

at, experienced, and therefore thought about by the pupils. If pupils can be equipped

in some way to be able to look carefully and differently at their familiar urban

surroundings, then these familiar places can become inspiring and instructive.

In the following pages, we propose a toolbox. It shall contain tools which equip the

pupils to look at, understand, and use their city in new and provocative ways. We

shall demonstrate how the use of some perfectly ordinary tools in some perfectly

ordinary urban conditions can result in extraordinary new perspectives on the city,

and in doing so both achieve particular learning outcomes associated with particular

curricular areas, and more generally (and perhaps more importantly) equip the pupils

with a greater critical sensitivity about their environment.


Senses of Place

03

04

08

12

14

20

1. Introduction

2. Context



2.3 An Approach


3.1 Overview



4.1 Bag/Box/Case



5.2 Shadow City

5.3 Touchy City

5.4 Edible City

5.5 Sound City

6. A Way Forward


Senses of Place


In no particular order, the following tools are included:

scissors

jam jar

ball of string

binoculars

digital camera

stick of chalk

clothes peg

dictaphone

paper bag

ear plugs

hand mirror

pencil and paper

magnifying glass

salt and pepper

wooly mittens

stopwatch

The tools are intended to be relatively cheap, readily replaceable, familiar and easy

to use, and robust. It is precisely their everyday character which qualifies them for

inclusion.

3.1 Overview

SCISSORS

150mm(l) x 55mm(w) x 10mm(h)

used to cut

CAMERA

110mm(l) x 25mm(w) x 65mm(h)

used to document happenings and record

sights

JAM JAR

75mm(l) x 75mm(w) x 95mm(h)

used to contain things of a wet or animate

nature and to capture smells

STICK OF CHALK


used to make removable marks and white

dust

BALL OF STRING


used to delineate, to measure, to tie together

CLOTHES PEG


used to hold things together and to arrest the

sense of smell

BINOCULARS

140mm(l) x 115mm(w) x 55mm(h)

used to view distant objects, animals and

people

DICTAPHONE

75mm(l) x 25mm(w) x 125mm(h)

used to record sounds and conversations


Senses of Place



PAPER BAG

250mm(l) x 210mm(w) x 5mm(h)

used to contain things of a dry nature and

store unperishable edibles

MAGNIFYING GLASS

155mm(l) x 65mm(w) x 10mm(h)

used to distort sights and to get a better view

of nearby objects

EAR PLUGS


used to simulate silence or to hear the sound

of one’s own pulse

SALT AND PEPPER

90mm(l) x 45mm(w) x 110mm(h)

used to distort tastes or hold paper flat in high

winds

HAND MIRROR

195mm(l) x 90mm(w) x 15mm(h)

used to see things from a different perspective

WOOLY MITTENS

195mm(l) x 95mm(w) x 20mm(h)

used to keep warm and temporarily disable

the sense of touch

PENCIL AND PAPER

210mm(l) x 295mm(w) x 20mm(h)

used to record words, drawings, or rubbings

STOPWATCH


used to keep time


Senses of Place



Senses of Place

03

04

08

12

14

20

1. Introduction

2. Context



2.3 An Approach


3.1 Overview



4.1 Bag/Box/Case



5.2 Shadow City

5.3 Touchy City

5.4 Edible City

5.5 Sound City

6. A Way Forward


Senses of Place


4.1 Bag/Box/Case

There is a tremendous range of ways in which people commonly store, organise and

transport their possessions. The different methods of storage and transportation have

different connotations and therefore condition how one thinks about the contents. For

example, a magnifying glass stored in a satin- and felt-lined jewellery box will not be

thought of in the same way as an identical one stored in a supermarket plastic bag.

The container for this project’s tools - the ‘toolbox’ - will therefore be an important part

of establishing the useability of the collection, the attitude which the pupils will have

towards it, and the ‘tone’ of the project.

We require storage and transportation which is:

1. stackable (for storage at school)

2. light and mobile (especially for younger children)

3. protective (to ensure the safety of the tools)

4. robust (to survive repeated use and misuse)

5. distinctive and identifiable (to raise awareness of the project)

6. customizable (according to school / agegroup / project)

Importantly, the means of storage and transportation must communicate the seeming

contradiction at the heart of the project - on one hand the everyday character of

the tools within, and on the other that they will be put to special and unusual use.

The tools must seem both ordinary and banal, and, when assembled in this strange

collection, precious and exciting.

Although the design of the ‘toolbox’ is outwith the scope of this study, it is hoped that

a full size prototype which addresses the above brief can be developed as the project

moves forward.


Senses of Place

03

04

08

12

14

20

1. Introduction

2. Context



2.3 An Approach


3.1 Overview



4.1 Bag/Box/Case



5.2 Shadow City

5.3 Touchy City

5.4 Edible City

5.5 Sound City

6. A Way Forward


Senses of Place


The development of the Curriculum for Excellence has been progressing since 2002.

The most significant recent development was the launch of the ‘Experience and

Outcomes’ guidance (April 2009), which describes the expectations for learning and

progression in all areas of the curriculum.

The guidance states that ‘this material is for all who contribute to the education

of Scotland’s children and young people. The experiences and outcomes apply

wherever learning is planned’, and recognises the importance of ‘the quality and

nature of the learning experience in developing attributes and capabilities and in

achieving active engagement’.

It goes on that, ‘... Important themes such as, enterprise, citizenship, sustainable

development, international education and creativity need to be developed in a range

of contexts’.

In developing a resource that can be used outwith the school in a variety of urban

environments, our proposals directly address the need develop learning in a range of

contexts that enrich the learning experience. More importantly, the inherent flexibility

of the toolbox and the city’s infinite capacity to offer interest and inspiration, allow for

an extraordinary range of exercises to be designed which reveal and encourage a

deeper engagement with the sensory stimuli of urban life.

The Experiences and Outcomes guidance is structured under the headings of eight

curriculum areas and subjects. The wide range of activities that are possible utilising

the toolbox contribute to all the curriculum areas and subjects and also provide

opportunities for a range of cross curricular activities to address specific items listed

in the experiences and outcomes guidance.



Senses of Place


5.2 Shadow City

LOCATION:

Public square with statues

TOOLS:

Stick of chalk and camera

EXERCISE:

trace the shadow of a statue directly onto the ground with the stick of chalk. Repeat

every hour for a whole day. Photograph the marks and pattern created.

ELABORATIONS:

calculate height of statue and angle of sun from markings

research the figure in the statue and the sculptor

make drawings / prints inspired by the pattern you have created

diagram: tracing a statue’s shadow

diagram: marks on the ground

5.3 Touchy City

LOCATION:

Streets

TOOLS:

pencil and paper, and wooly mittens

EXERCISE:

Work in pairs. One pupil must touch as many different objects as possible (traffic light

buttons, different textures of stone walls, door handles, shop windows, pavement,

kerb stone etc). and describe the texture to the other pupil who will be wearing wooly

gloves. Together make a rubbing of each object studied.

ELABORATIONS:

design and produce clay tiles which relate to the variety of textures experienced

learn about material properties - why some materials feel cold, warm, soft, hard

research where in the world the materials which make the city came from originally


Senses of Place


5.4 Edible City

LOCATION:

City park

TOOLS:

Scissors, salt and pepper, and clothes peg

EXERCISE:

Collect fruit from fruit trees, herbs, and edible flowers from the park to complement

your picnic. Use combinations of salt, pepper and the clothes peg on your nose to

notice how the food tastes.

ELABORATIONS:

learn about ‘food miles’ and research where common foodstuffs come from

cook a meal on the basis of what has been learned about seasonings and herbs


Senses of Place


5.5 Sound City

LOCATION:

Anywhere and everywhere

TOOLS:

Dictaphone, earplugs,

EXERCISE:

put in earplugs. Go for a walk in the city with your dictaphone turned on and notice

how different everything seems without the sound. Later, as a group try to identify

which recordings were made in which places.

ELABORATIONS:

write and record a piece of music inspired by the sounds of the city

research the science of sound, hearing and deafness, and learn about sign language

seek out recordings of other cities, wildlife, and music from around the world


Senses of Place



Senses of Place

03

04

08

12

14

20

1. Introduction

2. Context



2.3 An Approach


3.1 Overview



4.1 Bag/Box/Case



5.2 Shadow City

5.3 Touchy City

5.4 Edible City

5.5 Sound City

6. A Way Forward


Senses of Place

6.1 What next?

We view this document not as an end in itself, but as the first step in developing an

inspiring, flexible and replicable learning experience - a final tool inventory, a design

for storage, and a formalised methodology for developing exercises for use with the

toolbox. To embark upon this process, and to test the proposals contained in this

document for their impact in practice on the learning experience, we need to do two

important things.

1. Develop a prototype

This stage involves developing a range of further exercises, refining the tool inventory

on the basis of these, formalising the exercises in a document or as worksheets, and

developing a physical prototype of the container / storage solution for the proposed

tools. This will provide us with a prototype of the Toolbox project.

2. Workshops / Testing

Having produced a prototype, we would like to test it in a workshop environment. We

would carry out a range of the proposed exercises developed as part of the Toolbox

with pupils from a range of ages and in a range of urban conditions. The feedback

- from both pupils and teachers - would form the basis for further refinement of the

proposals. The outcome would be a final proposal for the Toolbox project which could

be produced, replicated and used by teachers without specialist input.

Ultimately, it is only by securing the resources required to pursue the project as

outlined above that its significant value to the learning experience can be definitively

demonstrated.

6. A Way Forward


Senses of Place

Keir Bloomer, Emerging Educational Brief Senses of Place 3-18 (unpublished)

George Perec, Species of Spaces and Other Pieces (Penguin, London, 1999)

Michael Rock and Susan Sellers, The Museum of the Ordinary, published in the

journal Eye, no. 28 vol. 7 Summer 1998 pp 32-35

Curriculum for Excellence website:

http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/curriculumforexcellence/

Bibliography

innovative whole school exemplars - the toolbox (gareth hoskins architects)

Documents

shadow city

edible city

touchy city

senses of place2

senses of place1

senses of place0304081214201

learning experience

unique learning environments