McBride Charles Ryan: Metaphors of Knowledge
What can architecture offer to education, beyond simply providing functional spaces that address different pedagogical requirements? The great body of educational architecture produced by McBride Charles Ryan (MCR) in Victoria over the past twelve years has pushed the limits on what architecture can dish up within the education sector. Regardless of budget, each one of MCR’s educational buildings is bursting with ambition and has its own distinct character. These buildings question the nature of educational architecture: how might architecture spark conversation, prompt questions about the nature of knowledge itself, create a unique identity for a school and provide an inspiring, reputation-building public front that connects with the community and broader context? Unashamedly figurative, delightfully coloured and reminiscent of a children’s library, MCR’s educational buildings unveil a series of narratives that aspire to ignite the imagination. These narratives broadly cluster into three types: big-picture ideas about knowledge (the macro narrative of knowledge), the use of specific elements associated with education (the micro narrative of knowledge) and civic narratives.
For Christine’s article on Architecture AU – https://architectureau.com/articles/mcbride-charles-ryan-metaphors-of-knowledge/
Published in Architecture Australia, July 2016.