The Stone and the Children's House
Files
TR Number
Date
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
The architect operates in both physical and spatial media. When in the presence of architectural form, an observer exists within the volume defined by surface and within the context of constructive material. At once the presence of architecture is imbued through spatial awareness, texture, sound, weight, light, shadow; material and volume modulate the senses to create the architectural experience.
Montessori education is a pedagogy based on the development of a child's natural curiosity and intuition. The Guides lead rather than teach, encouraging the student to explore through activity. The student's intuitive exploration cannot be dictated or controlled by environment; the architect's role in education, therefore, is to work within his or her craft to create an "experiential architecture", one that utilizes the context of pedagogy, site, and material to develop a series of spaces to inspire within the individual a feeling unique to each. The architect must understand the nature of material, the way in which it wants to be used, to create an experience in which the architecture speaks of its making. The craft of building, then, becomes an architectural experience operating alongside the art of spatial composition. This school is the vehicle for exploring the dialogue between the spatiality and materiality of architecture.