The Child's Eye: Architectural Expertise and Childhood Creativity in the Writings of Paul Ritter (1925-2010)

Abstract

This paper seeks to reveal how the concept of childhood creativity was woven into the fabric of architectural discourse in the mid twentieth century. It focuses on the architect-educator Paul Ritter (1925–2010), who taught at the Nottingham School of Architecture from 1945 till 1964 and was appointed as head of the City of Perth’s (Western Australia) newly formed Department of Planning in 1965. In his writings, Ritter combined emerging theories from diverse fields – psychoanalysis, educational theory, environmental education – in ways that were not purely theoretical, but rather that intended to be read as manifestoes for childhood creativity. This paper argues that a better understanding of select writings by Ritter and a comparison with educational reports produced by institutional reformers in the UK, sheds light on the educational climate of the late 1950s and 1960s and helps to uncover debates on how to train architects in a rapidly changing world.