Ages 4 to 6Sensory Walk
3 to 4 hours total delivery time
In this project, the pupils become personally acquainted with their immediate surroundings through all their senses.
Arkki Australia
Finnish creative education, delivered in Australia.
A structured design and architecture pedagogy for ages 4 to 18, run by GLS in schools, councils and studios.
30+
Years of method development
300+
Projects in the global library
6,000+
Students reached in Australia
4 to 18
Age range supported
Schools
In-curriculum sequences, incursions and enrichment blocks.
Councils and libraries
Holiday programs and community workshops.
Childcare and OSHC
Age-appropriate design sessions for early learning centres, before and after school care and vacation care.
GLS holds the Australian operating rights and is responsible for facilitator training, quality assurance and delivery standards across every Arkki session run here.
The method
A pedagogy, not a craft session.
Arkki has been developed over three decades in Finland with a defined progression.
Learning by doing
Students build, test and rebuild. Understanding comes from the making.
Creative problem solving
Open briefs with real constraints, where more than one answer can be correct.
Design and spatial thinking
Scale, structure, material and site reasoned about physically.
Collaboration and presentation
Students work in teams and present and defend their decisions.
Progression by age.
Briefs, materials and expectations change with the cohort. The design cycle stays the same.
- Ages 4 to 6
- Little Architects. Play-led spatial exploration, large-format construction and storytelling.
- Ages 7 to 9
- Young Designers. Structured briefs, model making and first exposure to scale and structure.
- Ages 10 to 12
- Creative Engineers. Site-based projects, iteration cycles and peer critique.
- Ages 13 to 15
- Design Innovators. Extended briefs, negotiated group work and technical drawing.
- Ages 16 to 18
- Future Architects. Portfolio-grade outcomes, urban-scale briefs and public presentation.
Delivery detail
Delivery at a glance.
Students respond to an open design brief, sketch and test options, then build a physical artefact such as a tower, bridge, city block or future environment. Each session ends with a short presentation and critique.
- Year levels
- Years K to 10
- Settings
- School, studio, council, OSHC
- Mode and duration
- In person, 60 to 120 minutes or term-based
- Group size
- Up to 30 students per facilitator group
- Facilitator ratio
- 1 facilitator to 15 students, adjusted by year level
- Materials
- All model-making materials, tools and templates supplied by GLS.
- Space required
- A classroom, hall or library space with tables, water access and power.
- Curriculum alignment
- Mapped to Design and Technologies, Critical and Creative Thinking, Mathematics and Science, with a mapping document supplied at proposal stage.
- Problem solving
- Creative thinking
- Critical thinking
- Spatial reasoning
- Collaboration
- Systems thinking
- Metacognition
Delivery formats
Three formats, one session flow.
The same four steps run in every setting. Only the time allocation changes.
Schools
2 to 4 x 60-minute periods
Slots into your weekly timetable across the term.
Councils and libraries
1 x 2 to 4 hour workshop
A single immersive community session.
OSHC and childcare
1 week, 40 minutes per day
Short daily sessions over a single week.
01
Discover
Explore a creative challenge through stories, images and discussion.
02
Sketch and dream
Brainstorm, draw concepts and plan solutions before touching materials.
03
Build and create
Construct models and prototypes with real materials, testing as you go.
04
Present and reflect
Share the work and explain the thinking behind each decision.
Module library
24 documented project modules.
Each module carries a stated delivery time, curriculum areas and its own aims. Filter by age band, then open a module for the full brief.
Showing 24 of 24 modules
Ages 4 to 6
Ages 7 to 9Sweet Architecture
3 to 4 hours total delivery time
Using edible joints (marshmallows, gumdrops) and stick members (toothpicks, spaghetti), learners build towers and bridges, discovering how triangular trusses add stiffness.
Ages 7 to 9Floaty House
3 to 4 hours total delivery time
In this fantasy-framed activity, pupils sketch, prototype and build a scale model of a house (or village) that floats on water.
Ages 7 to 9Colourful Spinning Top
3 to 4 hours total delivery time
In this project, the pupils get acquainted with the Subtractive colour theory and experiment how to mix secondary colours from primary colours using pigmented paints.
Ages 7 to 9Geometric Ornament
2 to 3 hours total delivery time
In this project, the pupils study the use of ornaments in architecture, such as plant ornaments, animal ornaments, and especially ornaments based on geometric forms.
Ages 7 to 9Shadow Theater
3 to 4 hours total delivery time
In this project, the pupils learn about the art of shadow theatre and its history, starting from East Asia, hands-on.
Ages 7 to 9Snow Castle
2 to 3 hours total delivery time
This project provides an introduction to brick building techniques.
Ages 10 to 12The Tower
3 to 4 hours total delivery time
In this project, the pupils are introduced to the concept of diagonal brace in engineering, and the significance of the diagonal beams bracing rectangular structures to withstand forces called the compression and tension forces that affect structures.
Ages 10 to 12Lego Mega Building
3 to 4 hours total delivery time
A festival-style studio where visitors build imaginative buildings from LEGO at 1 : 100 or 1 : 500 scale and place them on a giant city map.
Ages 10 to 12Pop-Up House
2 to 3 hours total delivery time
Learners transform a single A4 sheet into a three-dimensional pop-up house.
Ages 10 to 12City Skyline Painting
2 to 3 hours total delivery time
In this project, the pupils experiment with three-dimensional forms and test how three-dimensional forms cast different two-dimensional shadow footprints depending on the position and distance of the light source.
Ages 10 to 12Block City
3 to 4 hours total delivery time
The Block City project introduces the basics of urban planning.
Ages 10 to 12Triangular Towers
3 to 4 hours total delivery time
In this project, the pupils learn about physics and structures with interesting and fun tests and experimentation.
Ages 10 to 12The Room Of My Dreams
2 to 3 hours total delivery time
In this project, the pupils imagine, design, and build their own dream rooms.
Ages 10 to 12Interior Design And Furniture
3 to 4 hours total delivery time
In this project, the pupils design a complete interior with furniture.
Ages 10 to 12Optical Illusions
1 to 2 hours total delivery time
In this project, the pupils practice painting techniques and revise their knowledge about classical colour theory, primary and secondary colours, analogous colours, and complementary colours.
Ages 10 to 12Animal-Shaped House
3 to 4 hours total delivery time
In this project, the pupils learn hands-on the concepts of cross-section and elevation by designing and constructing a model of an animal-shaped house.
Ages 10 to 12Architectural Comic Strip
3 to 4 hours total delivery time
In this project, the pupils create and present an idea or a story as a comic strip.
Ages 13 to 15Green City Design
3 to 4 hours total delivery time
Pupils imagine and build a sustainable, inclusive city of tomorrow.
Ages 13 to 15The Temple Facade
3 to 4 hours total delivery time
In this project, the pupils study temple facades and become acquainted with history, traditions, the concept of symmetry, as well as details and structural elements in the temple facades and the terms related to them.
Ages 13 to 15Marble Track
3 to 4 hours total delivery time
In the Marble Track project, the pupils construct a functioning marble track game inspired by rollercoasters and slides.
Ages 13 to 15Me At A Scale - Sculpture
3 to 4 hours total delivery time
In this project, the pupils study human proportions and scales.
Ages 16 to 18Recycled City
3 to 4 hours total delivery time
The Recycled City project introduces the basic concepts of urban planning.
Ages 16 to 18Axonometric City Drawing
1 to 2 hours total delivery time
In this project, the pupils learn about different types of axonometric projections: isometric, dimetric, and trimetric, and learn how to draw their own isometric projection.
The published library is a selection, not an even spread. Coverage is deepest for ages 10 to 12 and thinnest for ages 4 to 6 and 16 to 18. Modules outside the published set are scoped on request.
Where Arkki comes from
Finland, 1993.
Founded in Finland in 1993, operating internationally since 2013, now running in 11 countries. The motto has not changed: Play, Create, Succeed.
Finland flag
Australia flag
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What the curriculum is based on
The Arkki curriculum is based on the National Core Curriculum of Basic Education in Architecture and Arts, issued by Finland's Ministry of Education and Culture in 1993. Being based on a curriculum a ministry issued is not the same as being endorsed by that ministry, and GLS does not claim otherwise.
Finnish recognition. Arkki Australia is an affiliated partner of Arkki International, delivering the Arkki program in Australia under that affiliation. GLS does not claim endorsement or certification by any Finnish government body.
Bring Arkki to your school or community.
Schools, councils, childcare and OSHC settings are scoped and quoted by GLS against your cohort, setting and dates. Tell us the age groups, setting and timeframe and we will return a scoped Arkki program with facilitator and materials detail.
Request a GLS proposal
Tell us the age groups, setting and timeframe through the GLS contact form. We will return a scoped Arkki program with facilitator and materials detail.
Go to the contact form- info@glslearning.com
Interested in operating Arkki in your region?
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