Urbanisation is a social phenomenon that is experienced in many cities all over the world. In Johannesburg, millions of people migrate into the city daily with hope for a better life, improved living conditions, work opportunities, sufficient public resources and facilities. The city is under pressure to provide adequate public resources to cope with the high influx of people moving into the city. As a result many resources and facilities, especially in the education sector, have experienced a decline in the quality of education and appropriate spaces for learning in the city. In trying to respond to the inclining population of the city, urban schools have been established in the Johannesburg. Urban schools are faced with many challenges such as: over-crowding, inadequate spaces for teaching and learning, lack of spaces for extracurricular activities and recreation, thus resulting in most learners performing poorly in their schooling careers. In most cases urban schools occupy old office buildings, which were not designed for the purpose of nurturing a young mind through education and recreation. These buildings serve as part of the problem with education and educating in the city. These buildings offer poor light quality, ventilation, and inadequate spaces critical for a well-functioning school and engaging with inquisitive young minds. The 21st century also presents a lot of opportunities and challenges for public education. The current South African public education system is still based on the early 19th century educational model, which was conceived and designed for the success of colonisation. Fix the next sentence about today... Though, the OBE system was recently introduced, but that has hasn’t had a great impact on the built environment of schools as it mainly continued using the old schools. Through re-conceptualising spatial environments that evoke the students’ engagement, enthusiasm and performance, the urban public school has the potential to make education more appealing and exciting to Johannesburg urban youth.

M.Tech. (Architectural Technology) / The inner city space is a living and working locale for diverse population groups. The central business district provides job opportunities for a multitude of skilled and unskilled workers who either live in the city or who commute from outlying areas and suburbs. In other words, it serves many purposes for many people. Yet it is rarely acknowledged as an appropriate space for young children. Reality, however, shows that children should and are accommodated within the inner city. They are part of the families that engage with the city on a daily basis. The research question addressed by this study mainly concerns how the architecture should respond to a situation which acknowledges the presence of children in the inner city in a way that is not only safe and secure but also draws on the unique learning experiences that the city offers. In this respect there are endless possibilities for discovery and sensory exploration. The city is a sensory cornucopia, of sorts. The challenge is therefore to create a relationship between the pre-school and the city that is symbiotic. Because life is the generator of the city, children add another layer to its intriguing complexities. In return, the city provides exciting educational experiences which "have the potential to ensure that memories are made and remembered. An urban preschool is not typified by the way it mirrors the urban context or incorporates it thematically, but by the way it engages and becomes part of its pattern language. Existing boundaries which are often restrictive and prescriptive are deconstructed and reconstructed, and, in doing so, the identity and the conventional stereotype of the urban preschool is redefined. The challenge that this study purports to address is to create a balance between two realms: the preschool as a place of ultimate safety and the public realm as a place of ultimate freedom. It takes into consideration how these issues have been addressed locally and overseas from the point of educational principles and, specifically, how the architecture supports and incorporates these principals within the urban context. Such an exploration of factors that typify an urban preschool (as opposed to the more familiar suburban model) will culminate in the development of a preschool that is completely context specific, especially with regard to the sensory references in the city.

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1991. / Odd-number pages numbered; even number pages blank. Pages 170 and 171 blank. / Includes bibliographical references. / The intent of this work was to explore an additive working method as a way to generate building form. It was initiated without any preconceived ideas about the project's final outcome. Instead, it focused on observations, associations, and attitudes of existing experiences and information. Working from the position that "one perception must immediately and directly lead to a further perception," a decisions were made. The design of an elementary school was the vehicle for the process. / by Mark Daley. / M.S.