Compilation & Text | Lin Yi-Hsiu

The Taichung Green Museumbrary stands as Taiwan’s first integrated structure that merges a municipal art museum with a public library. Crafted by the SANAA architectural team, it combines various architectural forms and materials, creating a boundless, fluid environment where once separate public spaces interact. As people, architecture, and the natural surroundings become interrelated and influence each other, it fosters fresh spatial experiences and innovative modes of interaction. Beginning in September 2024, the Taichung Art Museum, currently in the preparatory phase for its opening, has collaborated with Sisi Creative Art to focus on exploring the architectural design and aesthetic aspects of the Green Museumbrary. Under the theme “Open Museum,” architectural lesson plans for students from kindergarten through high school have been jointly developed.

Architectural Education as the First Step to Introducing the Art Museum

For Sisi Creative Art, “architectural education is about engaging children in issues related to the real world, knowledge, and narratives within environmental and spatial design contexts. The journey begins by teaching children to consciously expand their awareness of the spaces around them, encouraging them to consider various subjects.” Unlike abstract artistic concepts, the tangible nature of architecture allows children to directly experience the elements of light and spatial configurations, making it a more accessible aspect of their daily lives. This architectural education program guides children to observe problems from different perspectives and understand how spatial design provides solutions. When developing architectural education programs in partnership with the museum, curriculum planners faced the challenge of nurturing a three-dimensional imagination and fostering an appreciation for art spaces in children. Essentially, “Open Museum” aims to cultivate a meaningful connection between children and the Taichung Green Museumbrary.

“Open Museum” focuses its curriculum plans on the architectural design of the Green Museumbrary. Building on various architectural elements considered by SANAA in creating the Green Museumbrary, it targets four age groups, from kindergarten to high school, addressing increasingly complex topics in spatial education. It includes four themed lesson plans centered on architectural creation, transforming the building’s features contents that children of different ages can comprehend and recreate in the classroom. In this regard, the Taichung Art Museum shared, “Architectural education can connect not only with art lessons but also with other subjects, such as read, life sciences, social studies, and even mathematics. For example, before exploring the Green Museumbrary, it is crucial to understand an art museum’s societal role or to consider how museums operate in today’s technological landscape.” This year, in addition to ongoing efforts to engage nearby schools, they plan to invite students to experience the museum’s architecture once it opens at the end of the year. By exploring the building firsthand, children can connect physically and sensorially with the architecture and observe the relationship between the space and its surroundings. Through direct observation and engagement, they will understand the thinking behind design choices, such as window placements, material selections, and the layout of connecting bridges throughout the building, thereby introducing deeper architectural concepts to young students.

What Have Children Perceived?

The “Open Museum” program serves four distinct age groups, requiring lesson plans that reflect how children perceive space at different developmental stages. Taichung Art Museum shared, “For kindergarteners, we focus on physical and sensory experiences. Teachers guide them in observing the surrounding architecture to understand what architecture is. This stage emphasizes sensory experiences, learning about materials and shifting perspectives. We aim for children to be aware of how their views change when looking through windows or the expanded metal meshes of the Green Museumbrary. In the elementary lessons, we explore the relationship between the surrounding environment, architecture, and the dynamics of space and people. Teachers encourage children to design their own paper models and use passageways to connect with those by other students, creating interlinked spaces that form a larger architectural unit. For junior high and senior high school students, the lessons expand further, encouraging them to think about the relationship between architecture and its environment and the interaction between architecture and society. We encourage them to address broader societal themes and consider how museums can be designed to harmonize with the natural environment and foster open spaces. These various stages of exploration reveal that children’s imaginations and architectural perceptions are often richer than those of adults.

In addition to the lesson plans implemented in schools, the museum and Sisi Creative Art also host teacher training workshops that invite educators from various institutions to discuss integrating architectural education into their teaching practices. These workshops are thoughtfully designed to not only embody the architectural philosophy of the Green Museumbrary but also provide teachers with handson experiences, including museum visits and the creation of architectural models, helping them fully understand the process from spatial awareness to architectural design. Through these workshops and practical lessons, teachers are encouraged to weave architectural education into their everyday curriculum, enabling more children to appreciate the connections between architecture and their daily lives while gradually learning to interact with the space around them. For the planning team, the goal of “Open Museum” extends beyond simply introducing children to the upcoming Taichung Art Museum. It also aims to help them adopt the perspective of space users, reinterpret their observations, and cultivate unique spatial insights, fostering the development of diverse ideas and perspectives about the real world.

References｜Sisi Creative Art, “Architectural Education as Children’s First Step to Entering Museums”.