Space-places and third teacher: The issue of architectural space in the age of knowledge cities and schools 3.0

Abstract

Information and knowledge are not synonyms; rather they are quite distinct facts. As a form of knowing never separated from the critical processing of subjects, knowledge is sensitive to space. The city as a knowledge hub demands a dense exchange of context where urban morphologies cannot be replaced by dispersed relations allowed by ICT networks and smart efficiency. Symmetrically in school buildings, that is, the basis of knowledge infrastructures, learning architecture is not replaceable by an unstructured environment, mechanically derived from a new flexibility allowed by digital technologies and specific mainstream views on “innovative teaching”. This paper critically explores the role of architectural space in the age of 2.0–3.0 schools, discussing the relationship between transformations introduced by the unstructured classroom upgraded by digital technologies and new necessary experimentations on architectural space, the third teacher. Architectural space is not only an active player in influencing learning and development but is also a constitutive element in the formation of thought and a specific tool of critical, cultural and imaginative knowledge of reality. Organising space means organising the metaphor of knowledge.