Social Learning: Low-cost Private Schools in Ahmedabad

Our studio will investigate schools, learning how architecture supports pedagogical innovation and improves the experiences of students. We depart from a social perspective, noting the vast spatial and programmatic differences between government, low cost and high cost private schools. We will use an iterative process of design and analysis, to make proposals for low cost schools. Students will transform existing Ahmedabad schools which require urgent improvements. They will respond not only to the current situation but will be asked to address further programmatic requirements in different phases and will be assessed on how they respond to these shifting contingencies in the brief. Analysis will be conducted using software developed by the Space Syntax Lab at the Bartlett UCL. This is not a parametric tool. It is used to understand how spatial planning enables types of social interaction in buildings. By the end of this exercise, students will have made a proposal for the selected building which will comprise a new comprehensive pedagogical model in relation to spatial structures. They will also have produced a stimulating architectural inquiry into the possibilities of working on existing structures with remarkable budget constraints and complex social necessities.