Course detail

Architectural Workshop BIP Vilnius

FA-BIP-WEAcad. year: 2023/2024

The Summer School, organized by the Faculty of Architecture at VILNIUS TECH in September 2023, focuses on educational architecture. The "Holiday School" program looks at adapting schools for more meeting and recreation. Students in the summer school analyze school spaces not traditionally used for education, such as hallways, auditoriums, and outdoor spaces. We explore indoor and outdoor spaces where students spend their time between lectures, during breaks, after school or during vacations. The idea is to combine education with recreation and meeting. We discuss the development of spaces that provide psychological well-being and the interaction of the school building with the climate and the local landscape. During the workshop, students will be offered excursions to school buildings in Vilnius and its surroundings and participate in lectures, research, and design.

Language of instruction

English

Number of ECTS credits

4

Mode of study

Not applicable.

Guarantor

Ing. arch. Radek Toman, Ph.D.

Department

Department of Monument Care (UPP)

Entry knowledge

Not applicable.

Rules for evaluation and completion of the course

Assignment (analysis, design)
  • How can informal spaces in school buildings stimulate more meeting and recreation?
  • Can the outdoor space and the local setting become more part of the entire school program, both during lessons and afterwards, after school? The worshop takes place in Vilnius, Lithuania in 4–15 september 2023.
    Participation and submission of the assigned project is evaluated.

Aims

A school is more than just attending classes. A growing child also meets peers at school, so it acquires social skills. It makes friends and develops emotionally. During breaks, each child wants to choose activities independently: one child wants to participate in large groups and do a lot of exercise, another seeks peace and quiet and wants to talk with a classmate. The school's hallways and outdoor space are often used for this. But talking quietly in a very busy hallway with lots of movement from other children is not ideal. And in many cases, that hallway space is very sparse and empty and does not encourage encounters or varied use. At least that is the dominant situation in Lithuania now. Most schools in Lithuania were built before 1993, when the country became independent, and were constructed as standard buildings, often with a corridor school typology. The existing buildings focus mainly on education with the classroom system, and less on informal meetings and diversity of recreational opportunities.

Study aids

Not applicable.

Prerequisites and corequisites

Not applicable.

Basic literature

The WaterSchool Booklet. Studio Makkink and Bey. URL: https://smb-waterschool.nl (EN)
TORRE, S.D. Buildings for Education. Springer: 2020. URL: https://www.springerprofessional.de/buildings-for-education/17528688. (EN)
BOSCH, Rosan. Build your own school anywhere. URL: https://rosanbosch.com/es/pagina/learning-inspired (EN)

Recommended reading

Not applicable.

Classification of course in study plans

  • Programme B_A+U Bachelor's

    specialization --- (do 2022) , 3. year of study, winter semester, elective

  • Programme N_A+U Master's, 1. year of study, winter semester, elective
    specialization --- (do 2022) , 2. year of study, winter semester, elective

Type of course unit

 

Field training

104 hours, compulsory

Teacher / Lecturer

Ing. arch. Radek Toman, Ph.D.

Syllabus

  • TUE August 29th Start. Remote lecture by curator Dolf Broekhuizen on Open-Air Schools. And we have a remote workshop: some small tasks in groups to meet each other before the in-person meeting in Vilnius and to start thinking about the topic in advance.
  • MON September 4th Our guest architect Rianne Makkink (Rotterdam) gives a keynote lecture about the WaterSchool. Further development and discussion on workshop.
  • TUE September 5th We are going on the study tour to Vilnius Schools (old, new, and still in process of implementation, primary, secondary, and high, with different academic practices) in order to learn how they use their space.
  • WED September 6th We will make an initial analysis of the spaces at our case school, Vilniaus Petro Vileišio Progymnasium. The curators Christiane Fülscher& Diana Reichle (Dortmund) will give a lecture on the concept of Whole Day Schools.
  • THU September 7th Back to School for One Day! – Vilnius Waldorf Green School (discussions on health and nature issues at school with school community representatives; development of R&D directions, group formation). Curators’ lecture Liutauras Nekrošius, Edita Riaubienė on Adaptation of Existing School Buildings to Contemporary Education Needs.
  • FRI September 8th We will explore the sea-side – train to Klaipėda, then to Palanga by bus and Neringa by ferry. The Train Session 5:53–10:20 AM (presentations of the initial ideas +300km). Klaipėda-Palanga- Neringa study tour to schools. Stay at Gamtos mokykla (School of Nature operated by the Dept. of Protected Areas) for 2 nights (Holiday for 1 day)
  • SAT September 9th Lecture on Nature provided by locals, then thinking & discussing, cycling & swimming, caching wind in dunes & doing nothing
  • SUN September 10th Return trip to Vilnius
  • MON September 11th Lecture: Lecture by Czech Architect Jarek Sedlak about adaptation of School Buildings. Develop more focus on topic.
  • TUE September 12th Consultations/discussions/project development at Vilniaus PetroVileišio Progymnasium
  • WED September 13th Consultations/discussions/project development
  • THU September 14th Preparation of the exhibition
  • FRI September 15th Final presentation at Vilniaus Petro Vileišio Progymnasium