The purpose of this conference is to bring together international scholars working in the field of educational architecture in the broadest sense of the words. This could include (pre)schools and universities (colleges), but also playgrounds, theme parks and children’s libraries; all are constructions which have educative and civilizing purposes. We want to discuss the past, present – and the future of such constructions.

Drawing on current as well as past transformations, the working conference aims to answer the following questions: What does the field of educational architecture look like in and across different national contexts – how do we understand past and emerging trends and their possible future educative and civilizing impacts? How do we move closer to an understanding of transformations and constants in educational architecture in the past, present and future; and how do we understand changing relations between architecture, politics and pedagogy? Finally, how do we describe and document agency and architectural processes within cultural, educational and social contexts?

The three-day conference program has been carefully structured to encourage mutual inspiration and fruitful debate among researchers. The first day will be centered on three distinguished keynote speakers and in-depth discussions of presentations. On the second day, we will  take a working tour of some of the most interesting educational architecture in the Copenhagen area. Finally, on day three, we return to base for new discussions of what we have seen and heard and how this might influence further research within the field.

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