This article seeks to augment an emerging interest in education policy research in enactment theorising, to explicitly consider the role and contribution of materiality in this theorising. Guided by the notion of policy "matters," the article takes as its empirical context a major policy initiative, the Building the Education Revolution…

The question of remodeling an existing house to make it wheelchair accessible or building a new barrier-free house is a difficult decision. This article presents some initial questions and considerations followed by a list of pros and cons for remodeling an existing house vs. building a new house.

In closing his 2008 Myer Lecture, the scientist and environmentalist Dr. Tim Flannery said that this century will be defined by the search for sustainability. How perilous therefore that nowadays there is so much overuse of the word "sustainability" that it has become a cliche. Today's tertiary students studying architecture and…

When one thinks of 21st century schools, one thinks of geometric modern architecture, sustainable building materials, and high-tech modular classrooms. It's rare, though, that a district has the space or the money to build that school from the ground up. Instead, the challenge for most is the transformation of the 20th century architecture to…

This article describes how Beverly and Martin Ryfa, working with an architect who specializes in accessible design, were able to build a house that is handicap accessible for their 9-year-old daughter, Danielle, who suffered an intraventricular hemorrhage when she was three days old. The article describes the features of their house that make…

This article tracks the generative role of research and fragmentation as a means for integrating technology and form within an architecture technology lecture class and a co-requisite design studio. The complexity of teaching building systems integration within a design studio context is achieved by removing any expectation of building design…

This article discusses the process of a study designed to develop university students' sketching skills in schools of architecture. Acknowledging the relationship between cognition and writing, it aims to investigate the role of writing in learning sketching among architecture students and to examine how students regulate their thoughts by writing…

Students of Architecture and Building Engineering Degrees work with Computer Aided Design systems daily in order to design and model architectonic constructions. Since this kind of software is based on the creation and transformation of geometrical objects, it seems to be a useful tool in Maths classes in order to capture the attention of the…

Sustainable design is a philosophy adopted by people concerned with the health of society and the natural environment. The practice of sustainable design works toward the improvement of the quality of the built environment, while reducing or eradicating the negative impact on the natural environment (McLennan 2004). It is a philosophical approach…

Art and art education are open to broader definitions in the twenty-first century. It is time that teachers seriously think about including built environment design in K-12 art education. The term "built environment" includes interior design, architecture, landscape architecture, and urban planning. Due to increased exposure to built environment…

Although the quality, performance and future of public library services in the UK is a matter of debate, there is little doubt that in recent years, despite claims relating to the emergence of a cyber-society, interest in library buildings and the library as "place" has been intense, almost matching that seen during the Carnegie era of…

The purpose of this research is to examine the effect of integrating the digital media such as mobile and CAD technology on designing process of Malaysian polytechnic architecture students in producing a creative product. A website is developed based on Caroll's minimal theory, while mobile and CAD technology integration is based on Brown and…

This article presents an activity that allows students to use mathematics and critical-thinking skills to emulate processes used by the ancient Egyptians to prepare the site for the Pyramids of Giza. To accomplish this, they use three different methods. First, they create a square using only simple technological tools that were available to the…

Laurie and Jeff Schutz can't imagine how they ever survived. It was not that long ago that the Schutz family of five was living in an 1,100 square foot, two bedroom house. Under normal circumstances, this would have been cramped for any family. The Schutzes, however, have a son with cerebral palsy. Laurie Schutz had about as normal a first-time…

The aim of this study is to identify features of change in the recent design of school buildings in Iceland, and how they might affect teaching practices. Environmental and architectonic features characterising school buildings designed and built at the beginning of the 21st century are examined in light of challenges involving architecture,…