6 January is a “historical” date on the Montessori calendar —  as it marks the opening of the first Casa dei Bambini in 1907.
 
What those first Case dei Bambini demonstrated so clearly, while Maria Montessori was developing her ideas, is that the environment is one of the major players in her approach. From the environment knowledge is taken and absorbed.
 
On 6 January 2022, the first AMI Talk of the year is featuring a great line-up: Supported by the Arthur Waser Foundation and realised together with AMI, architect Benjamin Staehli will discuss the Montessori architecture project he is driving together with his colleague, Steve Lawrence. Benjamin will give background on the design instrument they developed.
 
From Tanzania, we will  hear from architect Victoria Marwa, co-founder of Tanzania Women Architects for Humanity (TAWAH), and from the APC Team (Tanzania) about how they have been inspired to use Montessori architectural patterns in designing Montessori Children's Houses and schools. All of this work will show us how everywhere in the world we can build schools that live out the Montessori principles, and offer an environment where children can thrive.  We are sure you will gain some great take-aways that can be applied in your own countries.

Architect Benjamin Stæhli has worked as scientific team leader at the Future Cities Laboratory at the National University of Singapore and as town project coordinator at the Federal Institution of Technology, Zurich, Switzerland. He spent five years in Ethiopia, coordinating the implementation of a model town before joining the Arthur Waser Foundation in 2017. As a member of the Silentmusic Collective, he researches and lectures on educational and communal architecture.

Benjamin, together with Steve Lawrence, recently launched a book and an online tool called 'Montessori Architecture — A Design Instrument'. The instrument is to help in the worldwide design of schools based on the Montessori educational approach.
 
Architect Victoria Marwa (Tanzania) is co-founder of Tanzania Women Architects for Humanity (TAWAH), an NGO established in 2010 by Tanzanian women architects and engineers committed to empowering women and girls to spearhead the sustainable construction of quality, affordable, environmentally friendly housing and sanitary facilities.

If you would like to support our work in creating free educational resources such as this event, please consider making a donation. 
 

Do not hesitate to contact us in case you have any questions about this event.
 

Let us know what you think, share your ideas and support us through social media. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Spotify, SoundCloud, Apple and Google Podcasts.