 Architecture
Resource
Center |
We cannot diminish
the importance
of a partnership
between those
with vision and
those with the
skill to make
that vision
a reality.
Anna Sanko, ARC.. Executive Director..
Architecture is only one of the many
forces affecting the environment, but it is one of the most important. Today's architects are concerned with achieving and preserving quality in the environment.
For this to happen
on a meaningful
scale in the United States, there must
be a widespread
public expectation
and demand for
quality in the environment.
The American..
Institute of Architects..
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About ARC
The ARC’s mission is to increase general architectural literacy and design awareness and takes the stance that learning about architecture and design has many benefits, including but not limited to arts literacy, cultural literacy, community awareness, and environmental consciousness.
The ARC uses architecture and the design arts to interest students in learning, while instilling a sense of pride, self-empowerment and social responsibility.
Architecture and teaching
“Architecture, as an expression of culture and stages of human development in different times and places, coupled with the teaching and learning methods of the design process, is possibly the single most integrative tool available to instructors.”
– Ernest L. Boyer and Lee F. Mitgang
Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching
The Architecture Resource Center (ARC) was created in 1991 as the education component of the Connecticut Architecture Foundation, Inc (CAF). With the support of the the CAF, ARC received federal non-profit 501c 3 status in April 2006. ARC shares office space with the Yale University School of Architecture Urban Design Workshop in New Haven, Connecticut.
The ARC uses architecture and design arts to interest students of all ages in learning. An education program, the ARC provides creative learning experiences that are participatory, interdisciplinary and collaborative in approach. The interdisciplinary team teaching approach to math, science and the humanities helps students see the meaning in and connections among the disciplines. Students learn how to express themselves in two- and three-dimensional language, to communicate their ideas and to work in teams to solve problems and make new discoveries. In all ARC programs, teachers learn about the power of the arts to transform education and become comfortable working with the arts and arts language.
ARC Goals:
- To design participatory and hands-on programs that stimulate and foster creative, critical and problem-solving skills among designers, teachers and students;
- To transcend cultural and economic differences through local and socially relevant learning experiences;
- To promote a regional approach to planning and services;
- To establish partnerships among families, schools, communities and businesses;
- To encourage serious and meaningful design programs as part of basic education and to increase the effectiveness of teacher preparation and professional development;
- To foster equality in education (equal access for all students);
- To increase the transmission of the arts to all people in Connecticut;
- To fully integrate technology into ongoing operations and community outreach;
- To assure preservation of our diverse cultural heritage; and
- To encourage sustainable living and design.
ARC Programs and Services include:
- development of design curricula
- creation of design publications
- planning and design assistance
- implementation of design education workshops
Programs are Organized into Three Categories:
The ARC team provides teacher development and workshops for students of all ages in all categories. Grade level determines the complexity of concepts and problems as the designed world becomes the thematic foundation for all curriculum subjects.
Highlights since 1991:
- implemented more than 2,000 workshops for K-12 students, teachers and families
throughout the Northeast
- provided year-long programs for three major Connecticut cities:
Hartford, New Haven and Waterbury.
- published New Haven’s Cultural Landscape: its changing people and places,
currently used in seventy-five New Haven fifth-grade classrooms
- underway, Hartford Connection, a publication which will serve all Connecticut middle
school students and teachers.
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