Design Incubator : a vision for architectural education in the twenty-first century

Abstract

RESEARCH QUESTION: How can an architecture school redefine its image as a place to inspire its students, staff and the surrounding community, combining twenty-first century learning techniques to enrich the learning provided and encourage public involvement ?

ABSTRACT: Architecture occupies our lives and we occupy it. It is where we live, learn, work, and play. It gives us shelter and a place to call our own. Whether the place or space is mundane or completely captivating, someone has put their heart and soul into it for you to enjoy. Unfortunately the art and craft of architectural education is hidden behind closed doors, and the studio is deemed ‘creative’ and exclusive from the outside world.

Architectural education has not changed since the academic model was developed. It has been integrated into the campus and institutional facilities. This results in students being secluded from the public, considering architecture is all about the interaction and engagement of people it seems amiss that the ‘campus’ may not be a suitable model for an architectural institute.

This project will try to uncover why architectural education appears to be exclusive, and how the exclusive nature can be broken down to be more inclusive. In order to do this the project will aim to create a dialogue between the public, private and professional domains by placing the architecture school in the public eye in an urban context. This shift out of the campus facade will allow an exchange between the public and private on a face to face level. By achieving this, a creative dialogue will be met between the people who create and the people who occupy.