Architect Claims Plans for Schools Must be Flexible

The research secretary for the American Institute of Architects yesterday called for increased flexibility in the planning and construction of secondary schools to meet the necessities of educating the nation's youth.

Eric Pawley, speaking yesterday at a conference of the Institute's New England Regional Council in Allston Burr Lecture hall, proposed a strong liaison between educators and architects for future secondary school construction. "Educational equipment and methods of construction are the concern of school administrators," he continued, "but they are the professional responsibility of the architect."

In the afternoon's second session, Frank G. Lopez, an editor of the "Architectural Record," proclaimed the necessity for school facilities that will provide opportunities for individual expression, since "New England is known as the cradle of individualism."

Lopez contrasted large, multi-storied schools of today with a new conception of "schools within schools." These new schools within schools would be individual departments housed in separate buildings. But in this new type of secondary school, Lopez said, students would travel from building to building, "losing much of their individuality in the process." Instead, he proposed adoption of the "group type" school, where the students would remain in one classroom and teachers bring necessary facilities to them. In this manner, he continued, students learn from each other and more fully develop their individuality.

Walter F. Bogner, professor of Architecture here, is chairman of the conference.