Architects and designers have a responsibility to provide an inclusive built environment. However, for those with a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the built environment can be a frightening and confusing place, difficult to negotiate and tolerate. The challenge of integrating more fully into society is denied by an alienating built…

Wayfinding is a kind of spatial riddle that people encounter almost daily. Although it has been well documented that wayfinding elements--namely, environmental cues, people and time--significantly influence wayfinding, there has been little work done to examine the effectiveness of those influences. In particular, the notion of wayfindingly…

In this article, the author discusses the different two- and three-dimensional art forms. She also describes the different media that can be used in these art forms.

The experience of observing students actively engaged in the learning process is precious. There is no better way to celebrate "Children's Health and Energy Awareness Month" than assembling in a world class high performance green school with gifted and talented students learning how to take an integrated approach to sustainable school…

Curiosity is often considered the foundation of learning. There is, however, little understanding of how (or if) pedagogy in higher education affects student curiosity, especially in the studio setting of architecture, interior design and landscape architecture. This article provides a brief cultural history of curiosity and its role in the design…

How do forward-looking institutions with rich landscape and architectural heritages integrate contemporary programming and design? This article explores the evolution of the Mills College campus and compares it with two larger western universities: the University of California, Berkeley (UCB) and Leland Stanford, Jr., University (Stanford…

The ACE Mentor Program provides early career exposure, mentoring, and scholarships to high school students in an attempt to encourage them to enter one of the three fields that make up the ACE acronym: (1) architecture; (2) construction; and (3) engineering. Founded in 1993 by longtime engineering consultant Charles Thornton, the program is…

Visual working memory (VWM) is widely thought to contain specialized buffers for retaining spatial and object information: a "spatial-object architecture." However, studies of adults, infants, and nonhuman animals show that visual cognition builds on core knowledge systems that retain more specialized representations: (1) spatiotemporal…

This research focuses on the effect of technology on the culture of architectural education through the lens of digital fabrication (CAD/CAM). As the computer was introduced into design education long before digital fabrication was accessible, design culture has prioritized image over material experience. Digital fabrication enables a material…

Over the past ten years, the Sorrell Foundation--a UK education charity--has demonstrated, through practical design projects, the advantages of involving children and young people as the main consumers of their school. The results of Sorrell Foundation projects have not only been extremely positive, but also highly creative. This article discusses…

The "Terrace Town" program brings architecture and city planning curriculum to elementary schools in Madison, Wisconsin, and surrounding areas. Over eight weeks, classrooms discuss what makes a community livable, sustainable, and kid-friendly. Throughout the process, students gain a better understanding of their own city environments and…

This research will illustrate the importance of a recent service learning project that was conducted for Miami, Oklahoma, by landscape architecture graduate students and faculty of the University of Oklahoma. Students and faculty partnered with the community to form the studio design team. Education in the landscape architecture studio at the…

This paper examines the development of educational institutions and buildings in one slice of a big city over a long timescale. The city is London and the slice Battersea, an inner suburb of mixed character and volatile fortunes. The narrative explores the shifts and interactions between state and voluntary provision, local community needs and…

Invoking a statement by the cultural geographer David Livingstone--that location is essential to knowing--this paper focuses on Danish school architecture during the 1950s and 1960s and the interplay between local geography and developments and discussions on the national and international scene. Through exhibitions and study tours and…

Walter Gropius built the internationally known movement and art school known as the Bauhaus between the years 1919 and 1928. This new institution was born by combining two fledging schools: the Weimar School of Arts and Crafts with the Weimar Academy of Fine Arts. In this new academy all media were regarded as acceptable as Gropius sought to…