Education - research - practice

Through this paper we will look at links between architecture education, research and practice, using a current project as a vehicle to cover aspects of building, pilot and live project. The first aspect, the building project consists of the refurbishment and extension of a Parnell Cottage for a private client and is located near Cloyne, in East Cork, Ireland. The pilot project falls within the NEES Project, investigating the use of materials and services based on natural or recycled materials to improve the energy performance of new and existing buildings. The live project aims to hold a series of on site workshops and seminars for students of Architecture, Architects and interested parties, demonstrating the integration of the NEES best practice materials and techniques within the built project. The workshops, seminars and key project documents will be digitally recorded for dissemination through a web based publication. The small scale of the building project allowed for flexibility in the early conceptual design stages and the integration of the research and educational aspects.

Communicating ecologically positive development

It is difficult to present a paradigm shift from resource efficient to ecologically sustainable design, when many students have not yet thought about what sustainability is, let alone what it implies for the design of the built environment ‘Positive Development’ requires students to think beyond green building to something that does not yet exist. The concept of ecologically positive development suggests a product, building, system or urban area that leaves the ecological base and public estate better off than if no development had occurred. For some years now, I have experimented with communicating this paradigm shift in design to students and professionals ‐ with mixed results. This paper discusses some of the challenges, failures and successes in shifting design studio work from environmentally‐sensitive to eco-positive. The framework underlying this exploration is action research. Conclusions about the success of the strategies used for overcoming perceptual barriers to new typologies of architecture are drawn from recent student feedback. The talk will show examples of student projects that attempt eco-positive development projects.

Beyond the walls of academia : architectural internships

A full architectural education typically involves five years of formal education and two years of practice experience under the supervision of a registered architect. In many architecture courses some of this period of internship can be taken either as a ‘year out’ between years of study, or during enrolment as credited study; work place learning or work integrated learning. This period of learning can be characterised as an internship in which the student, as an adult learner, is supervised by their employer. This is a highly authentic learning environment, but one in which the learner is both student and employee, and the architect is both teacher and employer; at times conflicting roles. While the educational advantages of such authentic practice experience are well recognised, there are also concerns about the quality and variability of such experiences. This paper reviews the current state of practice, with respect to architectural internships, and analyses such practice using Laurillard’s ‘conversational framework’ (2002). The framework highlights the interactions and affordances between teacher and student in the form of concepts, adaptations, reflections, actions and feedback. A review of common practice in architectural work place learning, internships in other fields of education, and focused research at the author’s own university, are discussed, then analysed for ‘affordances’ of learning. Such analysis shows both the potential of work place learning to offer a unique environment for learning, and the need to organise and construct such experiences in ways that facilitates learning.

A holistic model for blended learning

While the studio environment has been promoted as an ideal educational setting for project-based disciplines, few qualitative studies have been undertaken in a comprehensive way (Bose, 2007). This study responds to this need by adopting Grounded Theory methodology in a qualitative comparative approach. The research aims to explore the limitations and benefits of a face-to-face (f2f) design studio as well as a virtual design studio (VDS) as experienced by architecture students and educators at an Australian university in order to find the optimal combination for a blended environment to maximize learning. The main outcome is a holistic multidimensional blended model being sufficiently flexible to adapt to various setting, in the process, facilitating constructivist learning through self-determination, self-management, and personalization of the learning environment.

Transcending Boundaries of Creativity: Active learning in the Design Studio

This essay investigates the changing dynamics of interaction and paradigm of communication in the design studio. It analyses the process of practical implementation of interactive tools in architectural education which placed the
diversity of students’ cultural experiences, contextual awareness and individual interests as crucial resource for design innovation and inquiry. Building on Brian Lawson’s thesis on creativity in design thinking, this research project undertook
comprehensive investigation of students’ satisfaction of their roles in the studio and the room for liberal thought they are given to elaborate on genuine approach to architectural matters. The cyclical development of interactive learning strategy is explored through two different settings: first, it analyses architectural students’ position as passive/active in the studio, considering their relationships with tutors’ ideals; second, it reports on empirical strategy of students-led workshops at British schools of architecture, during which students have taken the lead of their creative design agenda. The practical implementation of interactive learning tools proved influential in helping students to personalize their design direction and to build a sense of confidence and independence.

New occupancy

The chapter is part of a book which has contributors from interior architecture education across the world. New Occupancy refers to the re use of existing structures in educational environments and how they can be successfully adapted and reinvented to accommodate new client requirements and also create exciting stimulating learning environments.

Hay critica de arquitectura en la red?

 Thanks to the powerful internet, voices that speak about architecture increase every day. This super-populated architectural Speaker’s Corner, is so noisy that it’s even difficult to listen what each speaker is saying. The possibility of saying has turned up to be more important than the relevance of what is actually said. It´s no longer important who says each thing. Our hope is that among all this shouting and screaming we’ll be able to extract something intelligible and able to construct a discourse for architecture. Is this the new format of architectural critic? Transparency is the fundamental value that rules over information transmission in the new digital universe. Transparency that intends to minimise all negativity. By definition it’s positive, operational, flat and sameness. It offers undoubtable advantages in terms of speed, accessibility and amount of information. However, theoretical knowledge must, also by definition, include negativity. And negativity slowens, blocks and limits. The goal of theoretical critic is to segregate, separate and differentiate. It searches a certain truth that is neither transparent nor positive. It must also operate and define what is false. Simple accumulation of information and communication doesn't search or achieve a true conclusion. This paper outlines a taxonomy of the different voices speaking about architecture in the internet. Even though these architectural nano-discourses declare explicitly that they don’t want to replace traditional critic, the role they play particularly in architecture education, is very similar. And their unequivocal search for transparency based on freedom of speech and information, pulls them away from the capacities of traditional critic, of course in terms of format, but also for reason of much deeper importance.

Taller integrado. Un nuevo espacio didáctico para la ejercitación dialógica de la arquitectura

Ponencia que explica las características del espacio didáctico que hemos denominado “TALLER INTEGRADO”. Extraídas a partir de los resultados de dos experiencias prácticas desarrolladas en la ETSAM durante el curso académico 2009-2010. Estas actividades se programaron en el marco del Proyecto de Innovación Educativa titulado: EXTENSION DE LAS CAPACIDADES CREATIVAS DEL AULA DIGITAL. 2ª Fase del Proyecto: ”Laboratorio-Aula de Producción Digital. Un proyecto transversal de Innovación Pedagógica” financiado por la Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. Un “TALLER INTEGRADO” es un Programa Activo de Educación . Es decir que responde a un modelo pedagógico que busca la comprensión y la creatividad, mediante el descubrimiento y la experimentación participativa.

Cabañas, cámaras y trincheras. Figuras epocales que problematizan la cabaña primitiva, la sensibilizan, la vuelven política y la hacen devenir territorio

Se presentan tres casos de estudio de cabañas, cámaras y trincheras y se confrontan con marco teórico donde se examina críticamente la rica historia del intercambio entre las nociones del buen salvaje, la cabaña primitiva y la arquitectura desde la Ilustración.

Ensino de construção de edifícios: FAUUSP x EPUSP

O reconhecimento das competências e habilidades necessárias ao exercício profissional de arquitetos e engenheiros civis brasileiros é adquirido em decorrência das formações que lhes são oferecidas. No âmbito da construção de edifícios, pressupõe-se que ambos os profissionais recebem formação equivalente na medida em que os respectivos conselhos lhes atribuem iguais direitos e responsabilidades para exercê-la. Com o objetivo de investigar tal pressuposto, esse trabalho se propôs a examinar a formação oferecida nesse campo aos profissionais oriundos de duas das principais escolas do país: da Faculdade de Arquitetura e Urbanismo da USP (FAUUSP) e da Escola Politécnica da USP (EPUSP). Por meio de análise das estruturas curriculares, de depoimentos docentes coletados em entrevistas, materiais didáticos empregados em aulas, registros de aula de estudantes no decorrer do curso e de acompanhamento presencial em disciplinas que versam sobre o assunto, essa pesquisa revelou que as formações oferecidas pelas duas instituições são profundamente distintas. Na FAUUSP, constatou-se que a formação voltada à construção de edifícios corresponde à abordagem apenas introdutória dos assuntos, fornecida por meio de disciplinas desarticuladas entre si e em relação às demais disciplinas constantes da estrutura curricular. Na EPUSP, em oposição, o tema inserese em conjunto intimamente articulado de disciplinas, as quais fornecem ao estudante intensa fundamentação científica para discussão dos assuntos envolvidos. O trabalho, portanto, reforça a ideia, que vem de longa data, sobre a urgência em se rediscutir a formação oferecida ao estudante de arquitetura e urbanismo na FAUUSP, e principalmente nesse trabalho, no que se refere aos conteúdos de incumbência do Grupo de Disciplinas de Construção do Departamento de Tecnologia da Arquitetura da Escola.

Beyond the Bauhaus : Cultural Modernity in Breslau, 1918-1933 /

The Breslau arts scene during the Weimar period was one of the most vibrant in all of Germany, yet it has disappeared from memory and historiography. Breslau was a key center for innovative artistic production during the Weimar Republic; recovery of its history will shed new light on German cultural dynamics in the 1920s. Such a study has art historical significance because of the incredible extent of innovation that occurred in almost every intellectual field, advances that formed the basis for aesthetic modernism internationally and continue to affect the course of visual art and architecture today. Architecture education, just one example in many, is still largely based on a combination of the Bauhaus model from the 1920s and the model developed at the Breslau Academy of Fine and Applied Art. The exploratory attitude encouraged in Weimar era arts endeavors, as opposed to the conformism of academic art, is still a core value promoted in contemporary art and architecture circles. Given the long-lasting influence of Weimar culture on modernism one would expect to find a spate of studies examining every aspect of its cultural production, but this is not the case. Recent scholarship is almost exclusively focused on Berlin and the Dessau Bauhaus. Although both interests are understandable, the creative explosion was not confined to these cities but was part of a larger cultural ethos that extended into many of the smaller regional centers. The Expressionist associations the Blaue Reiter in Munich and Brücke in Dresden are two well-known examples. Equally, innovation was not confined to a few monumental projects like the Stuttgart Weissenhofsiedlung but part of a broader national cultural ethos. The dispersion of modernism occurred partly because of the political history of Germany as a loosely joined confederation of small city states and principalities that had strong individual cultural identities before unification in 1871 but also because of the German propensity to value and take intense pride in the Heimat, understood both as the hometown and the region. Heimatliebe translated into generous support for cultural institutions in outlying cities. Host to a roster of internationally acclaimed artists and architects, major collectors, arts organizations, museums, presses, galleries, and one of the premier German arts academies of the day, Breslau boasted a thriving modern arts scene until 1933 when the Nazis began their assault on so-called "degenerate" art. This book charts the cultural production of Breslau-based artists, architects, art collectors, urban designers, and arts educators, who were especially interesting because they operated in the space between the margins of Weimar-era cultural debates. Rather than accepting the radical position of the German avant-garde or the reactionary position of German conservatives, many Breslauers sought a middle ground. It is the first book in English to address this history and presents the history in a manner unique to any studies currently on the market. 'Beyond the Bauhaus' explores the polyvalent and contradictory nature of cultural production in Breslau in order to expand the cultural and geographic scope of Weimar history; the book asserts a reciprocal dimension to the relationship between regional culture and national culture, between centers like Breslau and the capital Berlin. With major international figures like the painters Otto Mueller and Oskar Moll, architects Hans Scharoun and Adolf Rading, urban planners Max Berg and Ernst May, collectors Ismar Littmann and Max Silberberg, and an art academy that by 1929 was considered the best in Germany, Breslau clearly had significance to narratives of Weimar cultural production. 'Beyond the Bauhaus' contributes the history of German culture during the Weimar Republic. It belongs alongside histories of art, architecture, urban design, exhibition, collecting, and culture; histories of the Bauhaus; histories of arts education more broadly; and German history. The readership would include those interested in German history; German art, architecture, urban design, planning, collecting, and exhibition history; in the avant-garde; the development of arts academies and arts pedagogy; and the history of Breslau and Silesia.

Redefinição de uma metodologia de projecto à luz de uma estrutura fenomenológica

Dissertação de Mestrado para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Arquitectura, apresentada na Universidade de Lisboa - Faculdade de Arquitectura.

Introduction: the drawing bazaar

Introduction to the research book explaining the reasons behind the need of this publication in the context of architectural education, highlighting the double value of drawing for architects: instrumental as a fundamental tool that qualifies the design process; and autonomous, contemplating the drawing of the architect as a final product in itself beyond the mere illustration and documentation of the project of architecture.

An urban informatics approach to smart city learning in architecture and urban design education

This study aims to redefine spaces of learning to places of learning through the direct engagement of local communities as a way to examine and learn from real world issues in the city. This paper exemplifies Smart City Learning, where the key goal is to promote the generation and exchange of urban design ideas for the future development of South Bank, in Brisbane, Australia, informing the creation of new design policies responding to the needs of local citizens. Specific to this project was the implementation of urban informatics techniques and approaches to promote innovative engagement strategies. Architecture and Urban Design students were encouraged to review and appropriate real-time, ubiquitous technology, social media, and mobile devices that were used by urban residents to augment and mediate the physical and digital layers of urban infrastructures. Our study’s experience found that urban informatics provide an innovative opportunity to enrich students’ place of learning within the city.