Unnecessarily Beautiful Spaces for Young Minds on Fire
Part of the 826 Valencia Tenderloin District space in San Francisco
Kids are used to cinderblock walls, plastic chairs, and industrial wall-to-wall carpet. So many spaces for kids are designed to withstand their presence, as opposed to celebrating it. Sterile, brutalist learning boxes can suffocate the mind and make a young person feel they are being contained, instead of being set free. If we want to foster creativity and sensitivity and students, we must surround them with a necessary, even extravagant beauty.
An inspired learning environment sets the imagination on fire and makes a young person feel loved. This is true: they feel loved, sensing the encompassing affection and respect that went into the creation of that learning space. And with beauty all around them, they will want to make beautiful things, too.
An inspired learning environment sets the imagination on fire and makes a young person feel loved. This is true: they feel loved, sensing the encompassing affection and respect that went into the creation of that learning space. And with beauty all around them, they will want to make beautiful things, too.
Dave Eggers, introduction to Unnecessarily Beautiful Spaces for Young Minds on Fire (McSweeneys, 2008).