UIA Built Environment Education Network
The Architecture at School, Swedish Association of Architects website forms part of the International Union of Architects Built Environment Education (UIA/BEE) Network.
The UIA Built Environment Education (UIA/BEE) Network, home site, is an electronic portal designed to encourage the exchange of information and experience on teaching children about architecture.
The future quality and sustainability of the built environment will be determined by the children of today, who will be the clients, consumers and decision-makers of tomorrow.
Their ability to make sound, informed decisions will depend on the education they receive. Providing this education is a matter of Partnership between Architects and Teachers in collaboration with schools, parents, education authorities, cultural organisations and governments.
This is the challenge addressed by the UIA Architecture & Children Work Programme. The Work Programme has focused its activity on Built Environment Education (BEE), with the general aim of advancing architecture through the provision of resources and programs which enable primary and secondary school teachers and students to understand architectural design and the process by which the environment is shaped.
Websites within the UIA/BEE Network aim to provide architects and teachers with ideas, material and examples for projects designed to give children:
- Awareness of the spaces they move and live in
- An appreciation of their architectural heritage
- Awareness of roles, rights and responsibilities in the creation of the built environment
- Some technical and aesthetic understanding of the built environment
- The ability to read architectural drawings
- The vocabulary they need to discuss the qualities of buildings and places and how they relate to the life of a community.