WORDS Malibongwe Tyilo
The Reggio Emilia approach is an educational philosophy developed after World War II by teacher Loris Malaguzzi, alongside the parents in the villages surrounding the Italian city of Reggio Emilia.
When working on the 1 700 square metre King David Linksfield pre-primary school in Johannesburg, Gregory Katz Architecture, a Johannesburg-based firm, looked to this early educational approach as inspiration for the building’s design.
Some of the pillars of this philosophy are that children must have some control over their learning, and that they must be able to learn through their experiences: touching, moving, listening and observing. It also recognises the value of their relationships with other children, as well as material items.
Some of the highlights of the building in achieving this are standardised precast concrete elements of various shapes and sizes, which have been used to create window openings and hollow columns that mimic children’s building blocks, contributing to a fascinating play of light and shadows. This building block theme can be seen throughout the school; from its walls, through to the bathrooms and the school’s ‘climbing library’.
The school caters to nearly 500 children from play school age through to Grade R.
See more of Gregory Katz’s designs at gregorykatz.co.za.