Swings + Roundabouts Spring 2021

Reggio Emilia is a name well known with New Zealand early childhood practitioners and many of our clients incorporate parts of the philosophy into their daily practice. For those who are unfamiliar with the name, the Reggio philosophy is a child centred learning approach, where children are encouraged to explore their own inherent interests, learning through experience of the senses and expressing themselves through many different mediums and methods. The approach was conceived and evolved in Reggio Emilia, Italy over many years under the guidance of Loris Malaguzzi, a teacher and theoretician, and has been developed into a set of principles or 'pedagogy' One of the guiding principles of this pedagogy is the acknowledgement of 'environment as the third teacher'. For us as architects this is the key concept that has set Reggio apart from all other early childhood educational approaches, as it has led to centre designs that are integrated with the pedagogy, creating spaces which enable education, social interaction, identity, openness, connection, culture, belonging and sense of community The Reggio philosophy has spurred many centre designs around the world, but perhaps its purest creation is still the Diana Preschool in Italy. This was a self-built project, created by Malaguzzi and the Reggio community and grew directly out of their then experimental pedagogy. The two most obvious points of differentiation in this design were the central piazza (square) and the art ateliers (studios). These spaces grew directly from the pedagogical requirements and have become central to all Reggio centres since. The central piazza space was derived from the simple idea of the town square (a familiar public meeting space in most Italian towns) and is used to facilitate relationships, foster encounters and allow group interaction. This was certainly ahead of its time and many modern offices now have similar spaces for the same reason (break out spaces or large public atria). This space was located at the heart of the centre both literally and metaphorically, and all but the most minor service rooms connect directly off it, again further enabling chance encounters and interaction between all users. Further interaction between children was encouraged by placing functions such as the dress-up area in the piazza. Reggio, done the New Zealand way By Phil and Tiffany Smith, Collingridge and Smith Architects (UK) Diana Preschool Piazza The art ateliers have perhaps become the architectural symbol for Reggio, featuring in pretty much all Reggio inspired centres around the world. In the Diana preschool these were designed as large art studios capable of holding at least 2 tables of around 6-8 children plus large storage areas for materials, particularly natural materials which the children often help to collect. They could be open as one or sometimes split into a larger and smaller atelier. The space allowed for adequate display of materials allowing children freedom of choice and enabled them to leave out their artworks over days or weeks meaning that they could experiment with their line of enquiry until they reached a conclusion they were happy with, frequently testing and reworking the initial works. In this article we will look at the concepts behind Reggio enabling spaces and examine how they can be used in a New Zealand context. September 2021 { 30 }