Architecture For Education

by Pamela Clarke, Mark Robbins

If the environment that surrounds us affects us in both subtle and direct, immediate and lasting ways, then the architecture of our schools is of profound importance. To this end, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Chicago-based Business and Professional People for the Public Interest joined forces to respectively sponsor and administer a juried public school design competition. The criteria for the competition were that the schools should provide intimate learning environments and that they should be economic to build, universally accessible, reflective of their communities, and innovative in design. Architecture for Education features the illustrated designs of the architecture firms who were selected by the Konig Eizenberg and Marble Fairbanks. The designs of the other finalists--Jack L. Gordon, Lubrano Ciavarra, Ross Barney + Jankowski, Borum Daubmann Hyde + Roddier, Mack Scogin Merill Elam, and Smith-Miller + Hawkinson--are represented, as are highlights from the notable contributions of Doug Garofalo, CODA Group, and others. Accompanying essays discuss, among other topics, the history of Chicago School architecture and the whole package comes tied up in an innovative design by studio blue that divides the book up into sections with different trim sizes, evoking the modularity that marks intimate environments.

136 pages, Paperback

First published April 2, 2003

Reviews

[Jocelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imagine if Chicago Mayor's actually cared about these proposed designs. Imagine CPS actually pushed for productive change and universal design for their students instead of cheating students with diverse needs out of their services.