Education by means of art - A project of school of arts designed for the Alto da Cova da Moura neighbourhood

Abstract

This work will focus on three main approaches. First, we will look at various aspects of a problematic neighbourhood of the metropolitan Lisbon – the Bairro do Alto da Cova da Moura. We will examine fundamentally the problems inherent in the neighbourhood and its relationships with the society that surrounds it. Then, we will go on with a study based mainly on the work of Herbert Read, "Education through Art". After its reading we understand that one of the factors that influence the growth of the human being is related to our daily experiences and our ability to adapt to the environment in which we are inserted. The art arises here as a way to express feelings, to understand the world and to interact with it. In addition, it allows us to a better understanding of ourselves and facilitates the way we relate with ourselves. Therefore, we realize that education through art enables individuals with a higher sensitivity and a different understanding of the world. The two previous analyses lead us to the third part of the work: we understand that one of the factors that makes “ghettos” an evil of today’s society is the need to invest more in education through art. Thus, the solution that we present to fill one of the problems in the neighbourhood is the creation of social equipment that will grant children and young people a more human accompanying, and transmit knowledge and future opportunities that would otherwise be almost impossible. So, we developed an architectural design for an Arts School, aiming that this will be an example to follow and it can be looked upon a successful case, highlighting the importance of the Arts in the development of the individuals’ personality and its added value for the transformation of the society.