Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/inside-out-making-connections/5022446/
Humans have, for millions of years, had a profound connection to nature and the out-of-doors. For almost as long, we have also sought shelter from nature’s harshest elements and attempted to cultivate and shape the natural world around us. Over time, the need to create shelter has evolved into Architecture and the desire to shape nature evolved into Landscape Architecture. That Architecture and Landscape Architecture have evolved as independent disciplines in many cultures has reinforced the separation between inside and out.
Creating play and learning environments for young children presents a special opportunity to influence the way in which they understand the relationship between inside and out and their relationship to nature. This spring’s Working Forum on Designing for Children conference in Rotorua, New Zealand, focused on understanding building and landscape as a connected continuum and taking inspiration from that experience. This article will explore the nature of connections between inside and out and look closely at two projects that take very different approaches to the transition between the two.
At the simplest level, connections between inside and out fall into one of two categories: they are either openings in a ...