One hundred ways of playing with space. The educational architectures of Giancarlo Mazzanti

Abstract

Giancarlo Mazzanti sees architecture as a game, in the broadest and most versatile sense of the term, as something that one plays. It is a space that can be shaped and transformed, and the more it is open to manipulation, the more fully it can be understood by its inhabitants. Mazzanti “plays” with composition as an open and participatory process. If this term cuts right across all the work of the Colombian office, it receives its particular application in the creation of educational spaces. Malaguzzi’s pedagogical approach guides the project: the space is a “third teacher” that forms a relationship with the children’s activities and their “hundred languages”, sharing in the educational processes. Drawing on the projects for some kindergartens built by the office, the article deals with the theme of educational spaces conceived as devices fostering growth. The value of educational spaces, especially in emergency contexts such as that of Colombia’s outer cities, leads to the conception of architecture itself as a discipline that seeks to create environments that are educational in themselves.

Keywords

• gioco
• co-creazione
• performatività
• modularità
• architettura relazionale