What is ‘Europe’? What is ‘heritage’? And why is it relevant? For students, these can be rather theoretical and not very tangible questions. However, when taking a closer look at our immediate surroundings, it is possible to discover very concrete answers all around us. They are ingrained in our cityscapes, we walk past them every day without hardly ever taking note of them: They are the buildings we live in, we work in, we go to school in; they are the buildings tourists take pictures of - and which we as locals have not looked at twice. Taking buildings, taking architecture as a starting point, the project embarks on a European journey through time and travels to a number of different countries. During this journey, students will discover examples of culture, art, literature - all linked to architecture. Students will also discover connections between the fine arts and sciences, thus joining these two fields which are often seen as contrasts. By first looking at local examples and then comparing these with examples from the partner countries, students will discover historic and current trends that have quite literally shaped Europe. They will understand that cooperation in many fields (e.g. the arts and the sciences) has spanned across the European continent for centuries. Often enough, people tend to view their world defined by clear dichotomies of the Self and the Other. In the case of architecture, however, it is all one. Thus, it is possible to talk of a truly “European Heritage” - a heritage that unites people from all over Europe, showing common roots, interests & needs. Especially for younger students, this approach will make it easier to answer the question “What is Europe?” Major objectives of the project lie in the promotion of a common European identity & the promotion of skills in the STEM area. Participants will be students of different ages and from different types of schools. They will be 13-17 years olds from primary, middle, high & professional schools. We strive to use a variety of different activities & methods over the 2-year duration of the project. All semesters have individual topics that over time will provide a detailed picture of the topic. Quotes by famous architects about architecture from the different project countries will set each semester’s topic. The semesters have been laid out in such a way that they will also follow a timeline – from past to present to visions of the future. This structure has been chosen as the Erasmus+ project is a continuation of an eTwinning project that had solely focused on castles (thus past examples of architecture & the literature, legends and artistic representation in connection with these). Thus, first focusing on architectural examples from the past provides a smooth transition / continuation from the old (“narrow”) project to that with a far wider scope. As the semesters progress, the emphasis from history and art will gradually shift to sciences. However, all semesters will provide activities and methods from all of these subjects – and many more. Another underlying structuring principle is the ancient definition of architecture of “firmitas, utilitas, venustas” = Durability, Utility, Beauty. The aspect of durability again can be taken up by looking at buildings that have withstood time and lasted for centuries. The concept of beauty in architecture has changed continually over centuries – but does not vary that much in different countries all over Europe as there has been an ever growing exchange of ideas all over Europe. The principle of “utility” will be covered in detail when looking at environmental aspects of architecture, when looking at sustainability. In the course of the semesters, students will move from rather simple descriptions of examples of architecture (e.g. in presentation, podcasts, statistics) to playful interaction with architecture (games) to the envisioning & construction of architecture themselves (e.g. in large-scale murals and 3D printing & modelling). They will meet with experts that will provide them with input not only on architecture (for example in connection with the European Regional Development Fund), but also on Europe, its workings and effects for EU citizens. With this project, we plan to achieve improvements in the following areas: - increased knowledge of and care for local and European historic & cultural heritage - awareness of a common & uniting European culture & heritage - promotion of STEM, raising of interest for these subjects, creating connections between the fine arts & sciences - improvement of ICT skills - raising interest in language learning: improving skills in English as a lingua franca & languages beyond English - creation of a heightened environmental awareness/understanding of sustainability The positive effects of the Erasmus+ learning process are to be expected both with participating students and through multiplication and dissemination among fellow students & parents.
*Context of the project* What is ‘Europe’? What is ‘heritage’? And why is it relevant? For students, these can be rather theoretical and not very tangible questions. However, when taking a closer look at our immediate surroundings, it is possible to discover very concrete answers all around us. They are ingrained in our cityscapes, we walk past them every day without hardly ever taking note of them: They are the buildings we live in, we work in, we go to school in; they are the buildings tourists take pictures of - and which we as locals have not looked at twice. Taking buildings, taking architecture as a starting point, the project embarked on a European journey through time and travels to a number of different countries. During this journey, students discovered examples of culture, art, literature - all linked to architecture. Students also discovered connections between the fine arts and sciences, thus joining these two fields which are often seen as contrasts. *Project's objectives* By first looking at local examples and then comparing these with examples from the partner countries, students discovered historic and current trends that have quite literally shaped Europe. They understood that cooperation in many fields (e.g. the arts and the sciences) has spanned across the European continent for centuries. Often enough, people tend to view their world defined by clear dichotomies of the Self and the Other. In the case of architecture, however, it is all one. Thus, it is possible to talk of a truly “European Heritage” - a heritage that unites people from all over Europe, showing common roots, interests & needs. Especially for younger students, this approach made it easier to answer the question “What is Europe?” Major objectives of the project lay in the promotion of a common European identity & the promotion of skills in the STEM area. *Activities* We used a variety of different activities & methods over the 1.5 year duration of the project. All semesters had individual topics that over time provided a detailed picture of the topic. Quotes by famous architects about architecture from the different project countries were set as each semester’s topic. The semesters had been laid out in such a way that they also followed a timeline – from past to present. The project was stopped because of Covid-19. Thus the topic of "visions of the future" could not be covered. Students first looked at past examples of architecture & the literature, legends and artistic representation in connection with these. As the semesters progressed, the emphasis from history and art gradually shifted to sciences. However, all semesters provided activities and methods from all of these subjects – and many more. Activities did not only focus on architecture, but also always incorporated the European idea. Be it implicitly, by discovering similarities in the different countries involved; be it explicitly, by looking at the work of the EU in conserving buildings of the past and in creating the future by supporting local developments. Another underlying structuring principle is the ancient definition of architecture of “firmitas, utilitas, venustas” = Durability, Utility, Beauty. The aspect of durability again can be taken up by looking at buildings that have withstood time and lasted for centuries. The concept of beauty in architecture has changed continually over centuries – but does not vary that much in different countries all over Europe as there has been an ever growing exchange of ideas all over Europe. The principle of “utility” was to be covered in detail when looking at environmental aspects of architecture, when looking at sustainability (in the 4th semester which did not take place). *Results* In the course of the semesters, students moved from rather simple descriptions of examples of architecture (e.g. in presentation, printed posters, podcasts, statistics) to playful interaction with architecture (creation of their own games) to the envisioning & construction of architecture themselves (this latter point again was cancelled). They met with experts that provided them with input not only on architecture (for example in connection with the ERDF), but also on Europe, its workings and effects for EU citizens. *Expected longer-term benefits* - increased knowledge of local and European historic & cultural heritage - awareness of a common & uniting European culture & heritage - reinforcement of an informed, positive view of the EU - Acquisition of a more varied knowledge of ICT skills (advanced skills when working with photos, audio and video files, DTP, ...) - raising of interest for STEM, connections between the fine arts & sciences - raising interest in language learning: improving skills in English as a lingua franca & languages beyond The positive effects of the Erasmus+ learning process are to be expected both with participating students and among fellow students, siblings & parents.