Around 4,000 students across the country have started De-to Architecture classes in the 2019-2020 school year

09.10.2019

03.10.2019

For 7 years now, in September, students across the country start a new school year with one of the De-a Arhitectura Association's courses on their timetable. In 2019-2020, 162 classes, 38 of them in rural areas, are enrolled in "De-a arhitectura mini" (preparatory, 1st and 2nd grades), "De-a arhitectura in my city" (3rd and 4th grades) or "De-a arhitectura in my school" (6th, 7th, 9th, 10th and 11th grades). Around 4000 pupils already meet the volunteer teacher-architect tandem on a weekly basis to guide them through the city and its built environment, whether rural or urban.

The cultural program De-a arhitectura was initiated in 2011 and accessed funding from the "Timbrul Arhitecturii" tax until 2016 by participating in the selection of cultural programs organized by the Romanian Order of Architects (OAR). Due to the results of the program and in order to ensure continuity and impact in the society, since 2016, the OAR decided that this program should become a priority cultural program, as it meets the 5 criteria of priority cultural programs: its scale (between 2012-2018 the program reached 20 700 pupils in state schools from primary to high school and 750 teachers and involved more than 600 volunteer architects in its development, reaching on average 4500 pupils, from 6 to 18 years old, from all over the country, more than 150 architects and 150 teachers annually); uniqueness (it is the only educational program on architecture and built environment in Romania developed at national level in state education with a school curriculum certified by the Ministry of National Education since 2014, Order MEN no. 4422/2014, for optional curricula in state schools); uniqueness (it is the only educational program in the Romanian education system that is taught by a mixed team of teacher+specialist/architect and is structured on project-based learning); complexity (it is an interdisciplinary program, involving architects, urban planners, education specialists, teachers, artists, engineers, social entrepreneurs, etc.); quality (the organization of the cultural program and the educational materials are used as an example of good practice at international level).

The aim of the From to Architecture courses is to whet students' appetite to study an area that does not appear in the school curriculum, architecture and the built environment, but which is part of our lives and influences them every day. The programs developed by age groups stimulate students' creativity and imagination through methods specific to their level of study (primary or secondary school), children get to know the specific language of architecture, familiarizing themselves with its characteristic representations and enrich their visual culture, the classroom approaches help students to develop critical, integrated thinking, to make logical connections between the subjects studied.

The assistance offered by De-a Arhitectura to the state schools enrolled in the program free of charge involves prior preparation, before the beginning of the school year, of those who will take the optional courses in the classroom, teachers and volunteer architects who will support them, to deepen the content of the educational program, to strengthen team collaboration in preparing and supporting classes, to practice interactive learning methods and to benefit from the transfer of experiences from one school year to another.

This summer the three main De-a arhitectura programs conducted online trainings and workshops as follows:

⌂ De-a arhitectura mini: online training and face-to-face meeting from July 15 to August 20, 2019;

⌂ De-a arhitectura in my city: online training from August 1-20, 2019 and face-to-face training workshops on August 30-31 in Brasov and on September 6-7, 2019 in Bucharest and Timisoara;

⌂ De-a arhitectura in my school: face-to-face training workshop on September 14, 2019 in Bucharest.

The pre-preparation and training workshops aim each time to familiarize teachers and volunteer architects with the De-a Arhitectura approach, how to collaborate, the competences targeted by the curriculum and its rigors, the structure and content of the courses and the characteristics of the age group, to clarify the activities through which the teacher will prepare and support the lessons and to clarify the activities in which the architect can support the teacher in preparing and supporting the lessons, to clarify the support provided to teachers by the De-a Arhitectura Association during the course implementation.

"In short, for several years De-a Arhitectura has become my source of professional joy and inspiration. Offering to the community a part of the gift that I have been given, to be an architect. The word comes volunteer, because you get more than you give. It's perhaps the most beautiful way of understanding the phrase "by giving you get". And not a little. There's a lot of positive energy, but everything that happens is also because someone somehow worked to think and start this program with all that it means - materials, organization: I practically received this gift. Nice present!:)", says arh. Florin Enache, De-a arhitectura volunteer since 2014.

More information about De-a arhitectura courses, methodologies and teaching materials, enrollment procedure for optional courses in schools, as well as for complementary educational activities, you can find on the association's website: http://www.de-a-arhitectura.ro/ and by checking frequent announcements on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DeAArhitectura/.

About the De-a Arhitectura Association

De-a Arhitectura Association was founded in January 2013 by six architects and aims at enriching the architectural and urban culture of the current Romanian society through the education of children who are also "opinion shapers" of their parents. Here the results of the association in 2018: 2018 Report.

The development and implementation of educational programs in schools and the previous training of tutors is financially supported by the Romanian Order of Architects from the "Timbrul Arhitecturii".

Mission of the De-a Arhitectura Association

We build through education. Our construction grows when:

⌂ Children and adults understand and love the values of the built environment and are active in their communities

⌂ Built environment professionals engage in society through education

⌂ In education, play, experimentation and creativity are taken seriously