UIA Architecture and Children Built Environment Education Network: Golden Cubes Award

Information provided by Allen Kong (Allen Kong Architect Pty Ltd)

The International Union of Architects (UIA) is a non-government federation of national architectural organisations from 115 countries and territories worldwide. It was founded in 1948 with the aim of uniting architects around the world, providing a platform for sharing knowledge, innovation and collaborative solutions, with a particular focus on sustainable development. The UIA has a governing Council, a range of work groups and commissions, and organises triennial congresses, forums and international design competitions.1

The Architecture and Children work Program is one of the ten work programmes run by UIA. It aims to raise awareness among children of the built environment, architecture, urbanism and sustainable development. Fostering their knowledge in these fields will ensure their development as responsible citizens, able to make their voices heard and influence the political, economic, and social strategies that will shape their cities and their environment.

The Australian Institute of Architects (RAIA) is a member of the UIA in Region IV - Asia and Oceania, and has representatives on the Council, the Sustainable Development Goals Commission and various work groups, including the Architecture for All work group with ACAA members Allen Kong (co-Director), Belinda Seale and Eric Martin all currently representing the RAIA. The Architecture for All program works collaboratively with other other work programmes to support the common aims of the programmes.

GOLDEN CUBES AWARDS

One of the main initiatives of the Architecture and Children work program is the Golden Cubes Awards. These triennial awards celebrate those preparing our children and young people to participate effectively in the creation and intelligent use of architecture that is humane, sustainable and respectful of its context.2

The Golden Cubes Awards (GCA) are now in their 5th cycle. The Awards honour people and organizations that help children and young people to develop a better understanding of architecture and the built environment. Entrants will be invited to submit entries describing activities or products designed to teach children and young people, from pre-school up to and including the age of 18, about architectural design and the processes by which our environment is formed.

PROJECT FOR CHILDREN WITH VISION IMPAIRMENT GETS SPECIAL MENTION IN 2020 GOLDEN CUBES

In 2020, a project from Puebla Mexico, where blind children learn about architecture and their city, was recognised with a special mention of Golden Cubes Award.

The project, titled “Tactile models for blind and visually impaired children" had team members Adriana Hernandez Sanchez and Christian Enrique It was submitted by Re Genera Espacio, De La Torre Sanchez. It involved a group of 20 young volunteers from 2017 to 2019. In total there were 240 children with vision impairment aged between 6 to 18 years old participating in groups of 12 over 20 working days.

In the submission for the Golden Cubes the Applicant described their project:

‘The project is based on tactile, three-dimensional models of the cityscape and the building as a basis for blind and visually impaired children to get to know their city. ‘They identify the obstacles that arise in their paths, as well as the streets where they can walk in peace. They acquire skills through touch and identify characteristics of a building as well as the city. Memory is an element that allows greater control of space. The approach of architecture to children with visual disabilities through tactile models increases their understanding of architecture with the identification of volumes and textures, in addition to their relationship with the auditory sense. It is a collaborative project where all those involved have joined forces to develop the project. The child is a person more sensitive to three-dimensional objects, memorizes space, identifies textures as well as tones depending on the degree of disability. This allows you to plan safe routes to reach the different spaces.

The material is didactic but at the same lime it is a playful element. This depends on who interacts with it, since in addition to helping the understanding of architecture, other cultural dissemination activities such as reading stories and tell historic events can be developed.'

We have been able to work with associations of blind and visually impaired people, such as Leyers Puebla, with the Puebla Science and Technology Council (CONCYTEP) and two local universities: BUAP and IBERO. We have also worked with people from different disciplines, including architects, graphic designers and psychologists.

It is a research project that has been an important process since 2017. It has involved collaborating with other entities such as laboratories and government programs for resource management.

OUTCOMES AND EVALUATION

The tactile models have undergone several evaluations, mainly through models that are being refined according to the recommendations of directors and professors of Leyers Puebla association and the comments and reactions of the children.

Questionnaires have been applied and various workshops have been carried out to show children the characteristics of the models. In the short term, it would be advisable to get more sponsors who support the printing of the models so that the result can be obtained more quickly. Since in this process it has taken us two years to obtain economic and material resources.

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