Steve Lawrence – författare

Lying in the heart of the Nene Valley at Higham Ferrers in Northamptonshire, was a substantial Roman roadside settlement, excavated in part by Oxford Archaeology during 2002-3. Established along the eastern side of a road in the early 2nd century AD with an array of circular stone buildings, it underwent a significant transformation around 100 years later. A series of plots containing rectangular stone buildings was laid out on one side of the road, whilst on the other side was a monumental shrine complex containing hundreds of votive offerings. Although the shrine fell into disuse in the later 3rd century, the settlement continued to expand along the road until it too was abandoned during the latter half of the 4th century. No doubt the shrine played an active role in the economic lives of the inhabitants, but the evidence indicates an overwhelming agricultural economy - a community of native farming families with horticultural plots, small paddocks, nearby arable fields, and hay meadows on the Nene floodplain. This volume presents the results of archaeological investigations of this Roman settlement, along with other excavated prehistoric sites in the local area, including Mesolithic activity, a late Neolithic/early Bronze Age ring ditch and a middle Iron Age settlement.

The name Montessori is widely and inextricably associated with an entirely child-centered and careful pedagogy and education of children. Maria Montessori (1870-1952) was an Italian physician, reform educator, and philosopher whose ideas and work have remained influential throughout the world ever since the 1910s. Her educational concept covers entire development from infancy to young adulthood. It is based on the image of the child as a “builder of his or her self” and therefore uses for the first time the form of open teaching and free work in a prepared learning environment.Montessori schools became trend-setting educational institutions early on, and their concept strongly reflects in their architecture and equipment. Montessori Architecture is the first book that comprehensively addresses architectural design, construction, the use of materials in and the furnishing of educational spaces according to Montessori’s ideas. The book’s first part explores spatial and design principles that make up good kindergarten and school buildings. In the second part, nine case studies are featured in detail through photographs, plans, and concise texts. These examples are located in Europe (Netherlands, Belgium, Great Britain) as well as in tropical countries (Burkina Faso, Tanzania, Bangladesh, Sir Lanka). Thus, this highly illustrative volume offers practical advice and a wealth of information that is of utmost importance for the design of school buildings in general.