Researchers from the Laboratory of Child Development at the MCU’s Research Institute of Urban Studies and Global Education provided scientific support for the architectural Bureau Druzhba and the “Designing a Schoolyard with Children as Co-Authors” community to launch The Green Garden project which aims to apply the principles of participatory design in the development of schoolyards.
The schoolyard of The Pavlovo School in the Moscow Region has served as a testing site for the project. School students, their parents, and school teachers contributed to The Green Garden with the options for yard improvement. The renewed schoolyard will initiate changes for the gymnasium as the method of participatory design aims not only to enhance the environment but also to improve the relations inside the school. The method creates a united community with participants who have different issues but share common values and goals.
Tatiana Le-van, a leading research fellow at the Laboratory, commented on the objectives of the schoolyard:
It is crucial to develop great potential when designing a schoolyard so that it serves as a learning environment, promotes values, and fosters the development of all the participants of a school community.
See how to enhance an environment following the principles of participatory design and download the guidelines “How to Design a Schoolyard”.
