GENERAL INFORMATION
Tiina Valpola
Architect SAFA
Architectural Policy Programme/ National Council for Architecture
The Development of Built Environment Education and Teaching Materials
Finland is, along with Ireland, Holland and Australia, recognized as one of the pioneer
countries in built environment education. The “Enjoyable environment” -booklet, published
by the Finnish Association of Architects in the 1980’s, is probably one of the first teaching
materials concerning built environment education. During the 1980’s and especially the 1990’s
built environment education began to carry weight as a part of architectural policy in several
countries.
In the beginning of the 1990’s strongholds of built environment education in Finland were two youth art schools specialized in built environment education: LASTU in Eastern Finland and ARKKI operating in and around the Helsinki region. Both were founded in the beginning of the 1990’s. Simultaneously private architects and teachers all around the country began to launch projects concerning built environment education in co-operation with schools, museums and culturally oriented NGO’s. This was often done independently without knowledge of similar projects going on elsewhere. Toward the end of the decade the Finnish Government’s Architectural Policy Programme offered valuable help, and the National Council for Architecture acted as a catalyst for development in the field of built environment education.
Versatile grass roots level activity and numerous interesting projects caused the Finnish Association of Architects to launch a comprehensive inquiry in 2000. The results of the inquiry were published as a book with the benevolent support of National Council for Architecture in 2001. The English version “Discovering Architecture” was published a year later.
The inquiry condensed and formalised co-operation and knowledge throughout the field. Numerous seminars and forums were held and organized as co-operational projects between different fields of study. In 2001 a network between different architectural educators was formed in the metropolitan area, which nowadays goes by the name of ArKas -foorum. The Ministry of the Environment agreed to join the so called Tammi development programme launched by the National Board of Education and the National Board of Antiquities. The programme aims to strengthen the position of cultural heritage education in schools.
Also, the selection of teaching material began to grow. In 2004 The Finnish Association of Architects published the first part of their series dealing with challenges that built environment education faces. The book, Arkkitehtuurin ABC - Löytöretki rakennettuun ympäristöön (The ABC of Architecture – An Expedition into the Built Environment) is meant for lower secondary school and high school teachers, and generally everyone interested in the field. During the same year the National Council for Architecture published its seminar report "Arkkitehtuurikasvatuksen rakennuspuita" (Building Blocks of Built Environment Education). Two works concerning built environment education for children are underway: "Matkalla arkkitehtuurin maahan"(On the Journey to the Land of Architecture) put forth with support from the National Council for Architecture, and “ Arkitektur för barn och ungdom” (Architecture for Childen and Youths) with support from the National Board of Education. In addition Tammi –development programme has produced eight publications concerning cultural heritage which include a formidable amount of material dealing with built environment education.
Teaching materials supporting built environment education have also been produced as a result of international co-operation. The Finnish Association of Architects has participated actively from the beginning in the International Union of Architects built environment education work program, Architecture and Children. In 2002 the work program published a collection of guidelines concerning co-operation between architects and teachers called Built Environment Education Guidelines, soon to be published in Finnish. Presently the work program developing the International Union of Architects built environment education (UIA/BEE) Network. An international, electronic portal designed to encourage the exchange of information and experience on teaching children about architecture, opened in the summer of 2005. The international co-operational network Playce, the founding of which was accelerated by numerous international seminars held in Finland, is also working on its own portal.
Prospects and Participants in Built Environment Education
Finland’s social, education and cultural policies aim to upgrade and encourage the development
of new know-how and new innovations. Built environment education is an important part of this
process. To nourish and develop it is an integral part of the governments Architectural policy
programme dating back to 1998. An illustrated version of the Architectural policy programme has
been published as a joint project between The Finnish Association of Architects and the National
Council for Architecture. The publication is available in
Finish,
Swedish,
English,
German
and
French.
In accordance with the principles of the architectural policy programme the authorities as well as private parties have emphasised civil education. In addition to exhibitions aimed for children,the Museum of Finnish Architecture hosts seminars and educational gatherings. The Alvar Aalto -museum and The art museum of the city of Pori are also active in promoting built environment education. The Finnish Association of Architects develops and produces materials and education programs in co-operation with different parties. The National Board of Antiquities, The Ministry of the Environment, and the National Board of Education continue the Tammi development program to support co-operation between museums and schools. The Alvar Aalto Academy organizes international education events for built environment educators in conjunction with the Playce network. The National Council for Architecture supports different parties working in the field and participates actively in the coordination of different functions of built environment education and in the debate concerning the content of built environment education. Several regional architects and county artists actively promote the civil debate concerning the built environment. The regional art councils of Uusimaa county and Eastern-Uusimaa county have appointed an architect to a three year office as county artist to develop built environment education in respective regions. In local architectural policy programs and cultural environment programs civil education has been given a central role. The architectural, environmental, and development policies of (Jyväskylä, Oulu, and Eastern Finland.)
The two youth art schools specialized in built environment education founded in the 1990’s, LASTU and ARKKI, the Jyväskylä Visual Arts School and the Pori Art School for Children and Youth are all imperative to the solidification and public visibility of built environment education. This is because they produce basic education in arts from the viewpoint of architecture and create educational practices and norms. Similar activities are under development in several art schools throughout the nation, often in co-operation with the local antiquities and art councils. There exists a large demand for expanding activities, as built environment education is gaining a large amount of visibility in the architectural policy programs being prepared in the cities of Helsinki, Vantaa, Turku, and Kuopio, and the counties of Varsinais-Suomi and Häme. The most recent achievement with far-reaching effects in the field is this internet portal, which promotes understanding the importance of built environment education in all spheres of society as well as promotes the most justified goal to integrate built environment education into the curriculum of our schools.
9.19.2005