The school building conceived as an instrument for the teaching between 1956 and 1972 is the focus of a doctoral thesis .
"During this period, the school building enriched its quality and spatial diversity in order to enhance the educational experience," says Isabel Durá.
Isabel Durá has defended in the academic year 2012-2013 the doctoral thesis 'The construction of the active school in Spain, 1956-1972'. It is framed in the line 'History of Spanish architecture of the twentieth century' of the department Projects of the School of Architecture of the University of Navarra.
The work analyzes the development experienced by the school building in Spain between 1956 and 1972, a stage in which an ambitious construction program was carried out "that made possible the consolidation of a new model of school in the country," says the new doctor. "In that framework, a new subject of school building is identified, conceived as an instrument for the teaching, from which the concept of 'active school' is derived," she explains.
In this sense, he emphasizes that "during this period, the school building underwent a process of enrichment of its quality and spatial diversity in order to facilitate the educational experience".
"Spanish architects were familiar with avant-garde experiences and provided exemplary solutions that knew how to combine innovation and identity. The result is a new way of understanding the space dedicated to teaching no longer as a passive container, but as an instrument that participates in Education," he says.
Stays of research in London and Zurich
The research is divided into three parts. The first, 'The international discussion ', deals with the discussion on the subject in the main international forums, with emphasis on Spain. The second, 'An opportunity seized', covers the factors that drove the construction of schools in Spain. The third and last section, 'Towards an active school', presents the process of transformation of the typology through the analysis of projects.
During the course of her thesis , Isabel Durá has made two visits to research. In 2009 she was in London, where she consulted archives at Library Services of the AA School of Architecture and at the Royal Institute of British Architects. In 2011 she was a visiting scholar at high school for History and Theory of Architecture at the ETH Zurich.
In addition, between 2008 and 2013 she has been the teaching in the department of Projects of the School and has coordinated the journal report of Projects. His professional plans after the defense of the thesis are to combine the practice of the profession with the research and the teaching.