Buffalo Rising Online

Jun 6th 2007, 10:17am By Cynnie Gaasch

This Friday, a group of Buffalo Public School students will hold an exhibit of their works created within an Architecture in Education project they've worked on all semester long through a special partnership between architects, teachers, and students.

In the midst of a period that sees many schools in the District being redesigned and rebuilt through the Joint Schools Construction momentum, this project presents a learning opportunity for the children from an otherwise confusing transition process. What better time to bring the architects in to work with students in order to make the chaos of temporary schools and entirely new classrooms a means for creative thinking and learning?

Featuring work created by Buffalo students at Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts, Hutchinson Technical High School, Discovery School, and Waterfront Elementary. This project is a collaboration between the Buffalo Chapter of the American Institute of Architects and the Buffalo Public School District.

A team of local architects and educators started working in 2005 toward a partnership that would introduce the work of Dr. Anne Taylor’s approach to architecture in education to the Buffalo School District. Through an intensive workshop in February, teacher/ architect teams were formed, and they brought the curriculum back into the classrooms for extended architecture residencies that would truly engage children in Buffalo in their surroundings. The student work created – models, film, drawings and sculpture – will be shown at CEPA Gallery this weekend.

Utilizing the multidisciplinary approach of architecture, the residencies have been working through the core curriculum subjects, Math, English and Social Studies. The students participated in informal design exercises that were designed to provide “real life” learning experiences and increase their awareness of the built environment.

Architects participating in the program represented eight firms and the University at Buffalo. These include Architectural Resources; Cannon Design; Hamilton, Houston, Lowney; Harrington-Sandberg; Kideney Architects; Watts Architecture & Engineering; Wendel Duchscheren; and Young + Wright.

Project coordinator, Education Chair for the regional AIA, and Vice President at Cannon Design, Kelly Hayes, reported on the progress of the project to date, “Every time I talk with one of the participating architects about their classroom experiences, their faces light up. I think it’s going really well.”

June 8 - 10 Reception, June 8, 5-9 PM CEPA Gallery Market Arcade 617 Main 856.2717