建築と子供たちネットワーク仙台
Architecture and Children Network of Sendai
ABOUT
建築と子供たちネットワーク仙台は、建築やデザインの専門家を中心に1993年に結成されたNPOです。発足以来、市民センターやイベント会場でのワークショップや、小学校と連携した総合学習の協働授業を通して、都市や建築といった人工環境のデザインプロセスを応用した、子どもたちの創造性を培い、考える力を育むための教育活動の実践と普及を進めてきました。
活動の内容や方法は、「建築と子供たち（Architecture and Children）」（提唱者：アン・テイラー博士）や「まちづくり教育（City Building Education™ 現Design-Based Learning）」（提唱者：ドリーン・ネルソン氏）などの教育方法論をベースに独自に改良を加えたものです。
こうした活動とともに、仙台市内の旧奥州街道沿いの歴史的建造物を守り教育に活用する取り組みも行ってきました。街道北部の堤町では、2001 年、仙台の伝統的な焼物「堤焼」遺構の登り窯（杜の都景観重要建造物等指定建造物）や堤焼・堤人形を公開展示する「堤町まちかど博物館」を、持ち主の窯元に協力して開設し、焼きものづくりや絵付け体験など毎年実施しています。
一方、南部の南材木町にある江戸時代の古い町屋「旧丸木商店店蔵」（杜の都景観重要建造物等指定建造物）では、持ち主の協力を得て2005年から子供たちが修繕や掃除をお手伝いするなどの活動を実施してきました。これらの建造物は、東日本大震災によって、六連の登り窯の三連が崩落、店蔵の白壁が崩れるなどの大きな被害を受けましたが、子供たちと力を合わせ、2012年10月に復活した姿を取り戻すことができました。
現在、コロナ禍において対面での活動が難しくなっていますが、建築と子供たちデザイン教育体験ビデオ（スクールゾーンインスティテュート（テイラー博士主宰）制作）を活用したオンラインワークショップを実践しています。
また、堤町まちかど博物館や旧丸木商店店蔵において歴史的建造物を体感できる様々なワークショップも継続中です。
ABOUT
The Architecture and Children Network Sendai is a non-profit organization formed in 1993 by architecture and design professionals. Since its inception, through workshops at civic centers and event venues, and cooperative classes for integrated learning in cooperation with elementary schools, the NPO has promoted the practice and dissemination of educational activities to cultivate children's creativity and thinking skills by applying the design process to man-made environments such as cities and architecture.
The content and methods of the activities are based on the educational methodologies of "Architecture and Children" (advocated by Dr. Ann Taylor) and "City Building Education™" (currently Design-Based Learning)" (advocated by Doreen Nelson) with our own improvements.
Along with these activities, we have been working to protect the historical buildings along the former Oshu Kaido Road in Sendai City and educate people. In Tsutsumi-cho, located in the northern part of the highway, the Tsutsumi-cho Machikado Museum was established in 2001 in cooperation with the owner of the kiln to exhibit the remains of Tsutsumi-yaki, traditional Sendai pottery, including the climbing kiln (a designated Important Monuments of the Morinomiyako Landscape),Tsutsumi-yaki and Tsutsumi dolls.
Meanwhile, in cooperation with the owner, children have been helping to repair and clean the old Maruki Storehouse, an old Edo Period townhouse in Minami Zaimoku-cho in the southern part of the city (designated as an important landmark in the Morinomiyako landscape), since 2005. These buildings were severely damaged by the Great East Japan Earthquake, with three of the six climbing kilns collapsing and the white walls of the storehouse collapsing, but with the help of the children, they were able to regain their restored appearance in October 2012.
Currently, face-to-face activities under the Covid-19 pandemic are difficult, but we are practicing online workshops utilizing the Architecture and Children Design Educational Experience video (produced by School Zone Institute, led by Dr. Taylor).
We are also continuing to offer a variety of workshops at the Tsutsumi-cho Machikado Museum and the former Maruki Storehouse, where visitors can experience historical buildings.