The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is pleased to share the results of its first literary-focused project to introduce architecture to young people across the UK, coinciding with World Book Day 2022.
Reading Architecture is a project designed to help RIBA understand what architecture books should be recommended to children, young people and teachers, as part of the RIBA Learning programme.
Over the course of four months, RIBA teamed up with leading publishers to publicly review architecture books with school children. Over 650 students from 27 schools across England – from Northumbria to the Isle of Wight – were asked to read and review existing architecture books targeted at different age groups. The winners are shared below.
To celebrate World Book Day 2022 RIBA Learning has also launched free cross-curricular and literacy-focused learning resources, developed with John Keats Primary School in South London, to help primary school teachers and pupils explore and enjoy the winning books.
The winning books are:
Ages 5-7:
- Students' choice: Number 7 Evergreen Street by Julia Patton
- Teachers' choice: Number 7 Evergreen Street by Julia Patton
- Best family book: The House of Happy Spirits by Geraldine Elschner
We'd also like to acknowledge the positive response Eugene the Architect by Thibaut Rassat received from Special Educational Needs students and teachers teaching about personality development.
Ages 8-11:
- Best for budding architects: Cool Architecture by Simon Armstrong
- Students' choice: Step Inside Homes Through History by Goldie Hawk and Sarah Gibb. Read the reviews of Step Inside Homes Through History by participating schools.
- Teachers' choice: The Homes We Build by Anne Jonas. Read the reviews of The Homes We Build by participating schools.
We'd also like to acknowledge From Mud Huts to Skyscrapers by Christine Paxmann which came second in several categories.
Ages 14+:
- Best for aspiring architects: Making Marks - Architects' Sketchbook the Creative Process by Will Jones. Read the reviews of Making Marks by participating schools.
- Students' choice: Archi-Doodle by Steve Bowkett. Read the reviews of Archi-Doodle by participating schools.
- Teachers' choice: The Elements of Modern Architecture - Understanding Contemporary Buildings by Antony Radford, Amit Srivastava and Selen Morkoc
The new Reading Architecture learning resources are available to download here.
Ends
Notes to editors:
- Media Contact: Emily.Stallard@riba.org
- Press images can be downloaded here.
- Participants were a mixture of those interested in architecture and those who had never engaged with it before. Teachers were provided with lesson plans, review packs and video materials that were designed to help students write reviews for the books provided. Suggested architecture activities and challenges were also provided, which were all designed to help students engage with the books and the content in ways they would typically use books within a school. Pupils then read and responded to the books. Reviews were collated and books were scored according to the reviews submitted and a set criteria. For more information on Reading Architecture visit here.
- RIBA runs the first nationwide architecture schools programme to help children understand and explore the built environment. For more information about the RIBA National Schools Programme visit here.
- This project would not have been possible without the support of the following publishers:
