Z33 organizes international architecture symposium: Classroom, a Teenage View
On February 15th and 16th, 2024, experts will come together to discuss the future of learning environments during an international architecture symposium at Z33, House for Contemporary Art, Design & Architecture in Hasselt. Architects, policymakers, and researchers will reflect on the following questions: What kind of learning environments do we need today? How can we adapt existing school buildings to meet these requirements?
The COVID-19 pandemic has transformed education. Suddenly, students began learning from home. When they eventually returned to school, the physical environment remained the same, but teaching and learning methods had changed. This is the starting point of the Classroom exhibition, which runs at Z33 until February 18th. The international project now concludes with an architecture symposium.
The traditional method of teaching, with ‘frontal’ learning, has been questioned for years. Recent digital developments have had a significant impact on the way we learn. The COVID-19 crisis accelerated the transition from traditional teaching methods to individual digital learning. Schools also no longer want to be isolated clusters; they aim to connect more with their surroundings. Terms like ‘dual learning’ and ‘community school’ take center stage. All of this calls for new learning environments and challenges the conventional school structure.
Guests
During the symposium, various experts will speak. Among the (inter)national speakers are Joaquim Moreno (curator of the Classroom exhibition, architect, and head of the Architecture School at the University of Porto), Lisa Rosén Rasmussen (Aarhus University, Denmark), Erik Wieërs (Flemish Government Architect), Pamela Woolner (University of Newcastle, United Kingdom), Maria Emanuel Albergarias (a key figure in the Portuguese National Plan for the Arts), and Susanne Pietsch (TU Delft).
On the second day of the symposium, visits to schools in Leuven and Brussels are scheduled, including De Wijnpers in Leuven and 't Karreveld and the Egied van Broeckhovenschool in Brussels. These schools are noteworthy because they are located in urban areas and actively engage with the community. The Egied van Broeckhovenschool is housed in an old brewery, and 't Karreveld is located in a former office building. Both schools provide flexible spaces for the local community.
The symposium marks the culmination of an international collaboration between arc en rêve centre d'architecture in Bordeaux, CCB/Garagem Sul Architecture Center in Lisbon, and Z33, House for Contemporary Art, Design & Architecture in Hasselt. This collaboration resulted in a publication and a traveling architecture exhibition, Classroom, which is now on show at Z33 until February 18th. In this exhibition, visitors can contemplate the future of learning environments through models of iconic school buildings, videos
Z33 as a classroom
As part of the exhibition, Z33 challenges the traditional and measurable concept of the ‘classroom’ with students and teachers. From January 16th to February 9th 2024, four schools from Hasselt step out of their comfort zones: Provinciale Kunsthumaniora, Methodeschool van Veldeke, GO! Next Level X, GO! Next Het atheneum. Z33 temporarily becomes their classroom for lessons in French, Dutch, Economics, Philosophy, or Mathematics. It's a unique experiment to learn from each other and see how the environment influences your perspective or the lesson.
Practical
The Classroom, a Teenage View project is made possible through a collaboration between Z33, House for Contemporary Art, Design & Architecture, CCB/Garagem Sul Architecture Center in Lisbon, and arc en rêve centre d'architecture in Bordeaux. The project is co-funded by the European Union.
For more background information about Joaquim Moreno, Lisa Rosén Rasmussen, Erik Wieërs, Pamela Woolner, Maria Emanuel Albergaria, and Susanne Pietsch, you can download the attached bios.
