From the mid-1960s to the present we have attempted to introduce architecture from the standpoint of how buildings are experienced, before worrying about how they are built. We have believed that until we can begin to understand how buildings affect individuals and communities emotionally, how they provide people with a sense of joy, identity, and place, there is no way to distinguish architecture from any everyday act of construction.
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Where is architecture taught in traditional school curricula? In the high school industrial arts class? In a visual arts class? The third Thursday of every other month? Never? The fact is that architecture is rarely, if ever, included as part of a planned, sequential program of instruction. In my nineteen years of formal education, I received only a cursory introduction to the world of architecture. Since architecture affects each person daily, from the home in which one lives, to the place in which one works or goes to school, to the community in which one roams, it would be useful to have a language with which to communicate about architecture. This unit has been designed to accomplish two tasks: 1.) describe my journey into the world of architecture, and 2.) provide a blueprint for myself and other teachers who wish to take themselves and their students on a similar journey.
