Context
The Education Reform of the Mexican Ministry of Education (SEP) led to the New Educational Model for Compulsory Education (2016). Considering that traditional infrastructure does not respond to the needs of the new Educational Model, the objective of this Semester i was for Architecture and Industrial Design students to design two types of solutions for this issue:
- Two adaptations in existing schools, which responded to furniture, equipment and infrastructure needs, consistent with the new educational model.
- Three generic models for new schools in the form of prototypes for different climate zones in Mexico.The education partner was the National Institute for School Physical Infrastructure (INIFED), who was very enthusiastic in the planning phase about collaborating on this challenge and receiving the results generated.
It must be noted that the original plans for this Semester i underwent significant modifications along the way, since it was around the time of the earthquake of September 19, 2017, so the education partners withdrew and the projects were adapted to the circumstances.
The first objective of adapting two existing schools was fulfilled as planned. The students worked with two public primary schools close to the campus (Escuela “Martín de la Cruz” and Escuela “Somalia”), to determine their current issues.
The second objective was modified after September 19. The three regional generic prototypes became three specific projects for three different schools that were severely damaged by the earthquakes in towns in Oaxaca, Puebla and
Morelos, proposing a new school on the same sites.
The SEP Office of Curriculum Development, through its director, Elisa Bonilla Rius, became the principal advisor after the earthquake, to make the proposals realistic, while the Grupo BAL foundation provided support given its interest in sponsoring some of the innovative proposals for some of the damaged schools.
One of the courses revalidated was Social and Civic Responsibility, which despite being a transversal course, was the cornerstone of the Semester i. The instructor of these modules was in charge of ensuring that the investigation conducted in the existing schools at all times focused on the importance of the social aspect and considered “others”, while also offering advice on the type of methodological instruments to be implemented to gather information on the schools. The students were in contact with all the players in these schools: directors, administrative staff, teachers, students, parents, etc. In addition, Ms. Bonilla Rius constantly reviewed the activities to assure that they were aligned with the strategies of the New Educational Model. Advice was also given by external experts, such as the architect Rosan Bosch from Copenhagen, Carmelo di Bartolo, Industrial Designer and innovation expert from Milan, Steel Case, Civil Protection, etc., to define the proposals.
Even though the earthquake was not part of the original program, it undoubtedly contributed significantly to making students aware of the damaged communities, particularly as the Tec Mexico City Campus experienced this tragedy firsthand. The students agreed to change the generic problems for real projects and their investigation rapidly focused on social needs.
Challenge
To design educational environments addressing basic education needs with a social, forward-looking and challenging approach, towards 2030*
*This challenge contributes to the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN Agenda: Goal 4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.
Intervention outcomes
The main results achieved during this Semester i were the set of preliminary infrastructure plans and mockups and the equipment prototypes for the schools, which were submitted in digital format to the Ministry of Public Education, the schools “Martín de la Cruz” and “Somalia”, and the BAL Group Foundation. The latter took up the information contributed by the project derived from this Semester i, for the subsequent development of a school in Ecatepec, in the State of México.
One of the most important outcomes was that students became aware and mindful of the country’s education problems, in particular in public primary schools. This was the result of the hands-on experience obtained in the visits to the schools “Somalia” and “Martín de la Cruz” and of what happened to the schools affected by the earthquake, which gave them greater insight into the need for their participation in the reconstruction of the affected schools and the transformation of the existing schools.