What Happens When Children Really Are Involved in Designing Their Spaces?

In my previous post, I looked at certain aspects of children’s participation. But are there any success stories in this field? What social and educational benefits does children’s participation offer?

One interesting example is the Learn-Move-Playground workshop run by Vitoria Capresi and Barbara Pampe in Cairo in 2012. The objective there was to improve the qualities of the exterior spaces at two schools by designing furniture and providing shade in the form of vegetation. It was done using a participation method which involved children and teachers throughout the process, from conception to construction, in order to prioritise their needs and desires and achieve significant user identification with the resulting design. One of the benefits reported by the organisers was that when this identification occurs, the participants themselves take on responsibility for looking after and keeping the space in good repair. They also become more aware of diversity in terms of needs and interests.

At the start of the workshop, pupils were asked to make a collage of an imaginary world where they could learn, move about and play (hence the name “Learn-Move-Playground”). The children displayed their images and talked about their ideas and wishes, which were noted down by the architects as a series of key words. The organisers highlighted the importance of providing conceptual and artistic stimulation based on ideas and visions unconnected with the school environment, so as to avoid preconceived ideas. Collages, drawings, models… but also pre-planned games, interviews, stories and films all served as elements of mediation. Games being played in the playground were also observed to decide on the most suitable uses and locations. Later, the architects converted the class’s collective ideas into models, to confirm the ideas being proposed. The pupils’ participation in the execution phase generated high levels of motivation, commitment and also interest in learning about building and gardening techniques¹.

Another notable example was the project carried out by the Norwegian architects’ cooperative TYIN to design a recreational space and community centre in Bangkok (Klong Toey Community Lantern, 2009-2011). This initiative took place in an environment beset by severe social problems. Again, indirect methods were used to involve boys and girls in the process. First, they were asked which space they liked the most in their homes. Their answers clearly showed that, for them, shade was a luxury, and this was therefore prioritised in the design. The participants were then asked to bring an object they didn’t use, but that they’d like to talk about. One girl brought different pieces of glass. Discussion about how those fragments could be used and made into hanging lights became the conceptual point of departure for the project, which from then on was called the Lantern project. Different lamps now keep the place well-lit at night, metaphorically turning it into a protective space that gathers and welcomes the building’s inhabitants just as a lantern envelops the light within it. Finally, the children’s drawings inspired the designers to surround the central space with an open, two-storey structure where they could sit, swing, climb, act out or meet².

Why can the children’s participation in these cases be called a success? Because their involvement was decisive in the design process and created mutual benefits.  With regard to the interventions carried out, it led to the users (of all ages) identifying with the space and committing themselves to its upkeep in a regime of social sustainability. With regard to the boys and girls who took part, it provided an enriching apprenticeship in such varied issues as creativity, inclusion, co-responsibility for common space, construction and the importance of building up a community through dialogue and shared projects.

Do we want our cities to have responsible inhabitants, committed to their surroundings? If we do, lets really start involving and educating children in participation.

Text translated by Andrew V. Taylor