Designing a Lifelong Learning Environment

Abstract

Lifelong Learning can be defined as learning that can take place in a more flexible, diverse, and available way, at different times and places, and beyond traditional schooling and throughout adult life. A lifelong learning environment is one that would fit the needs of an education defined as such. The focus is on, learning to learn continuously and the ability to keep learning throughout a lifetime, supporting creativity, confidence, and initiative in a holistic way. A lifelong learning culture would ideally be equally available to everyone, become the norm for a large part of the population. The behavior setting of the learning environment does not teach directly, however, it can facilitate or hinder learning directly and symbolically. The effects of the physical setting on learning are not universal, but are moderated by the social and educational context. No single learning setting is best, as material, goals, and all users have to be considered. Although it is often neglected, learning is maximized when the physical setting is considered. Environments designed for lifelong learning, are an essential element that provide not only a background for learning, but act as a resource and an active participant in learning. In this study, the interdisciplinary nature of interior design education is discussed. The lifelong learning approach that needs to be a part of the profession of interior design, interdisciplinarity, and the significance of adaptive reuse provided in the first years of interior design education is believed to equip students with the necessary skills to be competent in their profession. The interior design project of a lifelong learning environment that is given to the second year Interior Architecture and Environmental Design students at Izmir University of Economics is presented in this paper as an example. In this project, students were asked to understand the idea of lifelong learning, select a theme and target group for the education to be given in the particular space, and complete the interior design according to the unifying interior concept. The building was chosen as the Women's Producers Bazaar in Urla, Izmir, Turkey. This was a building that had multiple uses in the past, and was appropriate for this project in that, it already had a similar purpose belonging to the municipality and being used as a community center in which a variety of activities took place. The high ceiling enabled using the volume of the space more generously, enabling creative mezzanine floors and other three-dimensional manipulations in the space. The students also learned about adaptive reuse of a historical building with specialists from this area. Projects ranged from, lifelong learning environments that aim to teach about space and physics to women's empowerment, mathematics, and marine life, and have gained skills about designing inclusive learning environments that are sensitive to the historical context that will last them a lifetime.