by Glenda Reed Center for Architecture Foundation
The “Building Connections” exhibition is now on view at the Center for Architecture.
Center for Architecture Foundation
The Center for Architecture Foundation celebrated a year in built environment education at the opening of the 13th annual “Building Connections” exhibition on 09.17.09. The exhibit showcases K-12 explorations of architecture and design, with student models and drawings from the Foundation’s 2008-2009 Learning By Design:NY in-school residencies and Programs@theCenter workshops. While highlighting the students’ hard work and talent, the 2009 “Building Connections” also elaborates on the Foundation’s teaching methodology and provides a valuable resource for educators everywhere who are interested in bringing design education into their classrooms.
At the opening, children and adults alike marveled at a four-foot-square model of a Lower East Side tenement block circa 1900 (pictured), created in a 4th grade Learning By Design:NY residency at P.S. 150, which integrated architecture into the class’s Social Studies immigration unit. Students took care with every detail, from cornice to street vendor cart. Another focal point is a series of Frank Gehry-esque cardboard chairs made by teenagers in one of Programs@theCenter’s summer studios. (Although the chairs are functional, visitors are asked to appreciate their designs while refraining from testing their structural integrity.)
“Building Connections” is on view through 01.09.10, and will be accompanied by a number of public programs. On 10.28.09, educators and those interested in built environment education are invited to drop in for an Open House to learn more about how the Foundation can bring its special type of education to local communities. A professional development workshop for educators on 11.03.09 will guide participants through hands-on activities about architecture and design. Educators will walk away from the workshop with a classroom-ready resource and activity packet. For more information about these programs and the Center for Architecture Foundation, visit www.cfafoundation.org.