"but what are we saying to our kids"

The goal of this research project is to gain understanding into children’s physical and psychological perceptions of the built environment, with the intent of producing a set of design considerations that will equip architects to produce designs which consider children more responsibly than at present. In particular, this paper will be concerned with the design intent of the architect and its reflection in the understanding of the user, in particular, children. It will discuss and contrast the results of a study set in two different buildings, using techniques of drawing, observation and interview to investigate the spatial understanding of separate groups of adults and children. These results will then be compared to the recorded view of the architects. With current government legislation (United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, The Children Act (1998)), there has never been a more crucial time to respond, through design, to the physical and psychological needs of children who have been overlooked by much of the research sector in this area, with regard to the language of a building’s space and what it is saying to our kids.