CULTURAL VALUES OF EARTHEN ARCHITECTURE FOR THE SOCIETY OF THE FUTURE. WORKSHOPS FOR CHILDREN AT THE SUMMER SCHOOL OF THE UPV

Vernacular architecture heritage, both local and global, is one of the mainstays of cultural structure. This heritage is currently in a state of disrepair and abandonment, resulting mostly from a lack of awareness and good judgement on the part of the people. Therefore, one of the key actions for the promotion of proper assessment is education on cultural, social and environmental values. Educating the society of the future, our children and youths, is the key to success in this cultural recovery process.

Earthen architecture in particular is unknown to many and forgotten by others. However, it represents the history, the present, and the future of many different cultures. At times, this architecture is considered to be poor, uncatalogued and worthless. We have taken on the task of changing this perception, promoting this building technique and working towards earthen architectural heritage being recognised as part of our constructive knowledge.
This article presents the activities and workshops on earthen architecture held for children aged eleven and twelve at the Summer School of the Polytecnic University of Valencia (UPV) in July 2015 .

The content of the workshop was divided into four training blocks: earth, adobe, earthen architecture and adobe construction. Activities were divided into two sessions lasting an hour and a half each. The first two blocks were included in the first session while the last two were left for the second. Approximately two hundred students, organised into eight groups of twenty five children each, took part in these activities.

The block on earth as a material was the most theoretical in the activity. It allowed children to understand the properties of earth and its characteristics and to support this with their own experience. In the section studying adobe, children worked on the construction technique of adobe, raw earth brick, by making their own. When studying earthen architecture, students learned about other cultures and different geographical realities. In addition, students were generally able to identify earthen architectural heritage. Finally, by working on the block on construction with adobe, skills in the technique were improved. At the end of the session, students built a wall using their handmade bricks. This encouraged teamwork and an overall sense of belonging within the group.

During the activities, quotes from students included statements such as “We do not have to underestimate this architecture, even though it looks dirty and worthless. It requires hard work and many people have been involved”. This shows how the workshops made these young students aware of this architecture, an architecture which respects the enviroment and promotes camaraderie and creative work.