Amsterdam and the public realm
Walking across the quirky bridges that span Java Island, exploring the regenerated eastern docklands area and mapping the changing contours of the skyline - young people are learning to interpret the public realm of Amsterdam through programmes delivered by the city’s architecture centre, ARCAM.
Students exploring an Amsterdam street
Learning through the public realm can help to animate the streets, public spaces and local areas where young people live and learn. ARCAM’s work with primary and secondary school teachers is about promoting creative learning in public spaces. The aim is to show young people the value of good design and to enable them to have a say in the way the places around them are shaped.
Learning in groups
Irma Enklaar, Head of Education at ARCAM, advocates the benefit of group-based approaches to learning in the public realm. “You can have a better dialogue with a small ratio of about one teacher to ten students,” says Irma. “All our programmes are interactive as we find that it’s a way to let young people participate, to help them actively engage with the built environment.”
Tall buildings in Amsterdam © Olaf Hirsch
Creative learning in public spaces
ARCAM’s programmes for 2009/10 are packed with teaching ideas that you can use to take learning out into the local public realm.
Amsterdam at your feet is a walking tour of the regenerated historic part of Amsterdam, looking at maritime heritage, public spaces and new buildings. The programme focuses on the following activities, which start during the visit and continue back in the classroom:
- looking at the old and new buildings to compare the heritage and the contemporary built environment
- sketching the buildings and spaces visited on a timeline, to see how the city has changed over time and how it has been shaped by the industrial past.
- exploring and discussing architecture and design, so that students learn to articulate and question what they see.
One of the city's libraries © Olaf Hirsch
You can use similar activities in your own teaching through the public realm by:
- taking a class to a civic square to make observational drawings of the buildings and open space
- visiting a local heritage site and drawing a chronological map to show how the place fits into the local history of the area
- visiting or looking at drawings and photographs of a local residential or commercial area
- holding a discussion to share ideas about why the public realm is constructed the way it is and how people shape the urban environment.
Exploring the past, shaping the present
Well Shaped is a creative learning programme from ARCAM, aimed at key stage three and four students. It uses the eastern docklands area of Amsterdam to explore how the Dutch city has been defined by the past and shaped by modern influences.
The Jan Schaeferbrug bridge © Olaf Hirsch
On the visit young people work in small groups with ARCAM trained teachers to:
- discuss the impact of architecture and design on the public realm
- learn that people design and shape the places where we live
- look at and discuss the use of public space in a docklands area
- visit Europe’s largest public library to look the cutting-edge ecological design and the interior space.
You can use Well Shaped to inspire a public space project in your local area. Ask young people to think about why public spaces look the way they do and how they can be designed to manage out crime and create safe and sustainable communities.
After taking part in an ARCAM project, the young people of Amsterdam continue their creative work back in the classroom. This can be one of the best ways to encourage an active approach to learning through the public realm.
