Research: Storytelling Part #1

I have found it necessary to research the topic of 'storytelling' as we have traditionally passed on knowledge through this medium, and the exchange of knowledge and trading of experiences comprises the basis for my whole project. Instead of referring to my architectural entity as a 'learning centre' or 'Paddington Learning Centre', I think 'Paddington Exchange' best describes what this entity will be, what it offers and conveys how integral it will be to the Paddington community (and it sounds good).

The following points about storytelling convey the important aspects of the past-time that are relevant to my project.

Storytelling is the act of conveying events in words, images and sounds.

Stories are shared in every culture as a means of:

•       Entertainment

•       Education

•       Cultural preservation

•       Instilling moral values

Earliest forms if Storytelling were primarily Oral, combined with gestures and expressions. Other methods include:

•       Music

•       Art and symbols

•       Dance

With the advent of writing and the use of stable, portable media; stories were recorded, transcribed and shared over wide regions of the world.

àwhich can and has resulted in the dilution of the meaning of stories and storytelling, and the loss of the ‘Human Touch’ and integral interaction necessary for positive social development

Oral stories continue to be committed to memory and are therefore passed from generation to generation, despite the increasing popularity of written and televised media.

àall the more reason to preserve, encourage and enhance this vital act of Storytelling in Architectural Entity

Traditional forms of Storytelling include:

•       Fairytales

•       Folktales

•       Mythology

•       Legends

•       Fables

Modern Storytelling includes these traditional avenues, however has extended itself to include:

•       The representation of history

•       Personal narrative

•       Political commentary

•       Evolving cultural norms

•       The addressing of educational objectives

Storytelling is a means of sharing and interpreting experiences.

Stories are universal and can bridge cultural, linguistic and age-related divides.

Storytelling is a method to teach ethics, values and cultural norms and differences.

It is believed that learning is most effective when it takes place in social environments that provide authentic social cues about how knowledge is to be applied. àunderlying purpose and aim of Architectural Entity

Stories provide a tool to transfer knowledge in a social context.

The mental and expressionary components of Storytelling include:

•       Understanding

•       Remembering

•       Narrating

Physiological and biological reasons supporting the necessity of Storytelling:

•       Humans are storytelling organisms that both individually and socially, lead ‘storied’ lives

•       Stories mirror human thought, as humans think in narrative structures and most often remember facts in story form

•       Facts can be understood as smaller versions of a larger story, thus storytelling can supplement analytical thinking

Storytelling is an effective educational tool as:

•       Listeners become engaged and therefore remember

•       Listeners imagine new perspectives which invites a transformative and empathetic experience àsee note after dot-points

•       Listening to a Storyteller can create lasting personal connections

•       Listening can promote innovative problem solving

•       Listening can foster a shared understanding of future ambitions

•       The listener can activate knowledge and imagine new possibilities

•       Together, the Listener and Teller can seek best practices and invent new solutions àultimate goal of Architectural Entity

àeducating people to be ‘Good Citizens’ – I think the loss/lack of traditional physical storytelling (due to reliance on digital media) has resulted in what I term ‘Bad Citizens’. ‘Bad Citizens’ have poor social skills, lack/can’t feel or understand the concept of empathy, lack morals and don’t understand ethical responsibilities, lack manners, common decency and courtesy, and don’t/won’t understand concepts of Right and Wrong. This term would (in the past) normally refer to psychopaths, sociopaths, schizophrenics, and other people with various negative mental disorders and an abhorrence for authority, however I think, due to the dramatic increase of people with these ‘social’ issues, and the wide age range that have these issues, I think this term can be applied to these people with the previously listed ‘social issues’ also. Maybe it should go: Good – Poor – Bad and these latter people can fall into the Poor Citizens category??

Stories are based on experiential learning, and often a person needs to tell a story about an experience in order to fully appreciate that experience’s true value.

The process of Storytelling is empowering as the Teller effectively conveys ideas and with practice is able to demonstrate the potential of human accomplishment.

Traditional oral storytelling is only kept alive by being re-told again and again. àexcellent opportunity for cross-generational interaction

Storytelling plays an important role in reasoning processes and in convincing others. àpurpose of subject theme and required outcomes of this project?

Each piece of the story should be enriching but not vital to the understanding of the story as a whole.

àperhaps each of the below listed physical spaces is a piece of the overall Story, and are enriching unto themselves, however when looked at together (i.e. As the whole design/site/entity) the Story becomes complete??

Need to:

•       Re-assess ‘Library’ space (ensure there are areas for multiple forms and arrangements of Storytelling)

•       Include ‘Reading/Story’ modules and zones

•       Include ‘Story/Gathering’ spaces in ‘in-between’ spaces (both indoor and outdoor – for campfire arrangements?)