Search results

After the COVID-19 epidemic, educational paradigms experienced radical changes, especially in the way that architecture was taught. This chapter explores how architecture education evolved because of the current economic crisis, and how COVID-19 has affected instructional approaches. The main goal is to expose emerging educational strategies and their consequences for encouraging flexibility and resilience in architectural instructors and students. The study used a mixed-methods research methodology to gather information from stakeholders, educators, and students of architecture by combining document analysis of academic theses and publications with semi-structured interviews. Data analysis techniques such as thematic coding and pattern recognition revealed distinct categories of influencing factors, such as technological advancements, pedagogical modifications, student engagement and support, curriculum changes, faculty development, resource allocation, assessment and evaluation, as well as global and cultural considerations. The results highlight the varied and dynamic character of the pandemic’s effect. The crisis sparked a faster adoption of digital technologies, bringing forth blended learning and novel pedagogical approaches. As a significant result, resilience helped instructors and students overcome uncertainty by enhancing flexibility and using transdisciplinary methods. It also demonstrates how architectural education has persevered in the face of the COVID-19 epidemic and has the potential to spur larger changes in education. The possibility of sample bias and the crisis’s dynamic character are limits, though. Future research might examine the long-term effects of these emerging methods beyond crisis situations to expand the study’s results and influence the ongoing development of architectural pedagogy in a continuously changing global environment.

This paper aims to contribute to the pedagogical field of architectural education by conceptualizing autobiographical spatial narratives as possible radical resources and avenues for participation. It seeks to advance a critical approach to the dominant canon of course contents and hidden local dynamics of exclusion and discrimination in architectural education.

The methodology is based on conceptual and critical analyses of feminist, postcolonial and radical architectural pedagogies, relating those with broader feminist pedagogies that question exclusion and discrimination mechanisms from the perspective of the radicality of emotions. As a second step, three experiments intentionally designed in academic courses to open space for autobiographical spatial narratives are analysed to extend the theoretical discussion into the specific local dynamics of exclusion and discrimination that have largely been ignored to date in Turkey.

Different pedagogical approaches and self-experiments have revealed that autobiographical spatial narratives are a type of resource that accommodates students' diverse spatial experiences including forcible displacement. Sharing that multiplicity creates opportunities for participation in the classroom and studio where different individualities, backgrounds and identities are made visible. These potential resources and participation are open to emotions and affects, are collective and transformative and, therefore, are radical.

Although research on architectural pedagogies is still limited, the current literature is constantly being empowered by new studies from various geographies and localities. The present study may facilitate future comparative readings and further research on radical architectural pedagogies, particularly within the Global South, where complex local dynamics might share commonalities dominated by the Western canon. It may also open new discussions on discrimination and the exclusion of silenced individuals in architectural education in Turkey and elsewhere. In the scope of this paper, however, the practical experiences and observations based on two years in architectural education may be too limited for a comprehensive analysis of the applications of autobiographical spatial narratives.

This paper offers novel strategies for creating inclusive, intersectional and decolonized perspectives for knowledge production and more equal spaces in architectural education.

Tracing the development of a parallel-engaged pedagogy of care that extended and adapted the critical and transformative pedagogies of Freire, De Sousa Santos and hooks to the South African context. The development of this transformative pedagogy addresses the local conditions of an architectural design studio at a postcolonial, post-Apartheid and post “Fees must Fall” protests South African university. This pedagogy used practice-based design research to build a more conscious, critical and careful design practice in both students and educators.

The pedagogy was developed through participatory action research, over five years, from 2019 to 2023 including two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. Parallel and active engagement of students and educators within a nurturing and caring environment evolved from year to year, through a conscious and critical reflection on the process. Student surveys, reflective essays and focus groups unearth the impact of the parallel-engaged pedagogy of care.

The parallel-engaged pedagogy of care was shown to support and scaffold students becoming more conscious, critical and careful in their design practices validating diverse lived experiences as generative for design and important for social justice and transformative equity.

The parallel-engaged pedagogy of care is part of a global shift to more transformative pedagogies that address student diversity and decoloniality.

Through dismantling traditional hierarchical teaching modes, the pedagogy is more student-led, agile and adaptable. Through centring and demonstrating care in the pedagogy, students are encouraged to develop both self-care and care in their design practice. This is especially critical in the South African context where the cultural capital of the institution, with its roots in colonial and Apartheid education differs from that of the majority of students of colour.

The purpose of this paper is to test a studio pedagogy that originates from an experiment of a collaborative design studio held between two departments of Architecture, as a useful way for students to learn mutually. Meanwhile, it aims to capture the effectiveness, efficiency and impacts of this collaboration.

This paper presents a qualitative research study to observe the role of collaborative design studio in the pedagogical structure of architectural education. It combines the conventional studio with live projects as a unique pedagogy within the studio of Architectural Design-I (AD-I). Primary data collected using open-ended questionnaires from students and focal studio tutors at both architecture departments generated results.

Built on the analyses of the questionnaires, this paper answers the research questions based on the collaborative studio pedagogy for the course of AD-I and reports on lessons learnt from this collaborative experience. It proves that students can successfully work collaboratively and build confidence in their own abilities to solve a challenge and achieve a common goal through practical experience as well.

This research used a qualitative approach to evaluate the perspectives of 81 students and 6 tutors within a specific pedagogical approach. Given the small sample size and delimitation of the one-course approach, findings from this study are not generalizable to a broader population. Furthermore, a longer duration is needed to address collaborative learning challenges. Nevertheless, it provides valuable data for future studies and also offers pedagogical options for other schools to consider implementing and studying.

The collaborative pedagogical approach experimented in this study was the first initiative of its kind in Karachi, between a younger institution, AED-SSUET and a more established one which was DAP-NED. A four-week collaborative design studio exercise of AD-I engaging third-semester students of AED-SSUET[1] and DAP-NED[2] was a hybrid approach that combined conventional design studio with live project to promote a novel and effective collaborative learning method. In the process, students were encouraged to interact competitively with peers, facilitated by rigorous engagement of focal design tutors from both Architecture departments. It also influenced the active participation of experts from the industry and Architecture community and was exclusively designed to eliminate the pairing up of a single tutor with one student each. The students at AED-SSUET were also able to build a 1:1 scale project with an allocated budget and time-frame constraints.

The aim of this article is to develop an architectural pedagogy for the Anthropocene. The author reflect on a project within a postgraduate architectural theory module to address the following questions: How can architectural pedagogy articulate critical modes of production that contribute to quality education in the time of the Anthropocene? What are the ideas, values and practices needed?

The method employed is close reading of texts focussed on three areas: critical theory and pedagogy, political theory and the Anthropocene, and architectural theory and typological urbanism. These theoretical narratives are placed in dialogue with a reflection on a design research pedagogical project. The theoretical narratives and design research project seek to articulate the multidimensionality of critical education. The methodology enacted in the paper performs the pedagogy of the classroom.

The study yields compelling conclusions regarding the potential for rethinking the idea of typology under the pressure of the Anthropocene and of critical pedagogy combined with design research to take positions on urgent political and social matters. The author concludes with a toolkit of concepts, values and knowledge practices.

At a time when disciplines tend towards discrete specialisation, while the need for knowledge production is ever more transdisciplinary, this paper develops inventive techniques and conceptual frameworks for supporting approaches where different fields and ideas make contact as a collective task in the era of the Anthropocene. It updates theories of typology to address contemporary pressures.

The aim of this paper is to advance a critical pedagogical framework, combining critical pedagogy, design research, architectural theory and experiential learning. It addresses global challenges at the intersection between urban peripheries and the Anthropocene – the centre of the climate crisis is a spatial crisis – preparing students as engaged architect citizens capable of reshaping collective life.

The framework is examined through a case study of the author’s final year architectural theory module, “The Periphery as a Critical Project”, elucidating its theoretical underpinning and presenting a visual analysis of student projects. Methods include reflective module design, fieldwork, close-reading of literature across disciplines, design research, experiential learning strategies and an inventive “theorypractice”.

The research demonstrates that theorypractice articulates a transformative and experiential learning experience, articulating architectural education as a site for critical engagement with urgent challenges. The approach equips students with critical thinking and making skills, cultivates a commitment to civic responsibility and encourages alternative visions for the Anthropocene. The paper concludes with concepts and practices to define an emerging architectural pedagogy for the Anthropocene.

The research provides guidance for educators in architecture, aligning with RIBA reforms emphasising “history, theories, methodologies” and experiential learning in allied fields such as urban studies, environmental planning and social policy, focused on climate and social resilience, spatial justice and critical literacy. More broadly it aims at preparing engaged architect citizens who can work on and with the world.

This paper contributes an original framework and novel methodology, bringing together theoretical and design research from architecture, urban studies, design, critical pedagogy and environmental humanities to expand experiential learning within architectural theory, an underexplored position. It addresses urgent issues related to urban peripheries, climate change, and how we educate future architects in times of crisis, offering a model for allied fields facing similar societal challenges.

This study explores how transformative pedagogy enhances project-based learning in architectural education. It presents a studio case study implementing a process-based approach and a student-led design programme. It promotes creativity, critical thinking and autonomy while advocating for pedagogical adaptation towards dynamic, systemic learning experiences in architecture education.

This study employs a qualitative approach, drawing on a literature review and action research from the authors’ design studio experience. A quantitative component was included in the student feedback survey. The studio practice incorporates real-world market challenges in the Kosovar context into student-driven programmes, structuring the process through a problem-solving approach in a fourth-year design studio.

The results showed high student satisfaction with the process-based, student-centred approach, improving design initiatives, self-confidence and responsibility. Structured presentations and assessments support iterative improvements and reflection. However, workload management remains a challenge.

This study’s context-specific nature suggests that future research could benefit from diverse educational settings to assess the generalisability of the proposed approach.

This research provides practical insights for educators to improve students’ autonomy and critical thinking through student-centred problem-solving approaches, enabling them to take greater responsibility for their design processes.

Student-led programmes help with social responsibility and ethical awareness, aligning education more closely with the complexities of real-world situations.

This study positions transformative pedagogy as a way to tailor educational practices, proposing an additional trajectory shaped by integrating student-led design programmes that echo real-world challenges and emphasise student-centred learning through iterative processes and continuous reflection.

In the wake of the Egyptian revolution, the role of the youth and their sense of belonging, the level of their understanding and responsibility have all been reevaluated in the society at large. It was a general belief that the youth were disconnected from the surrounding political events, their living environment, their history and any consideration of the future. The revolution challenged many of these convictions and this resonated in educational institutions. This paper presents a design studio experiment where students were given an area at the heart of the city, which carries historical significance, both in terms of events and its built environment. The area witnessed drastic change over the years, transforming it from elegance to chaos, where listed buildings have come to decay, occupied by ill uses. The area rarely attracts the youth who instead are attracted to emerging hubs in the city.

The paper explores an important pedagogical query; the capacity of the design studio to reinforce issues of identity, sense of ownership and belonging. It also raises questions of the role of the teaching staff in fostering cultural responsibility. Literature strongly recommends relating academic scope to the students’ surroundings and environment and for topics to be discussed in an integrated manner. It also suggests that the studio offers the ideal setting for integrating knowledge; where synthesis and application, reflection and action take place and where a student’s architectural identities develop. Less is mentioned in literature of a student’s cultural identity and sense of belonging.

Through a project in 2012, the students were divided into groups tackling four main aspects for a given location (the social, economic, physical and environmental aspects), then discussed and debated among themselves, facilitated by the tutors, in an active learning environment. Students collected their data using surveys, interviews, observations and document analysis which informed their design of a master plan and single buildings in the area. A critical pedagogy was adopted in the studio, encouraging students to think critically about the area reflecting on experiences and social contexts in which they are embedded. The studio experience was assessed using focus groups, interviews and individual project content analysis at two stages over the students’ final year. Assessing the learning experience over a long term, clarified the changes that occurred to the students’ vision towards the issues and problems that their design projects dealt with as well as their affiliation with the historic area. Results have implications both to the quest of identity and to the methods used to support a critical pedagogy.

The purpose of this paper is to determine the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on architecture education during the lockdown in Saudi Arabia, as well as the new normal that has emerged. This indicates the potential to develop frameworks and strategies for adapting architectural pedagogy modes to unexpected situations.

This study is based on qualitative research with phenomenological aspects, focusing on a phenomenon experienced by a group of people involved in a Bachelor of Architecture degree program. This paper uses data collected from a literature study, as well as interviews conducted at the College of Engineering and Islamic Architecture of Umm Al-Qura University in Saudi Arabia; the data sources include tutors, students and recent graduates with common teaching and learning experiences in design studios.

The study shows the feasibility of conducting part of the design course in a distance mode and the rest as on-campus attendance, to ensure effectiveness and to produce quality architectural designs with maximum detail. However, research reveals that both students and educators need greater awareness of the self-learning process.

The research value lies in exploring how the imposition of a distance architecture design studio due to the COVID-19 lockdown has potentially established a new pedagogical model for teaching architecture design studio.

The objective of this article is to articulate a research agenda in architecture and urbanism by reviewing the contributions to Archnet-IJAR: International Journal of Architectural Research from 2022 to 2024. The article aims to develop a robust classification into established, evolving and emerging knowledge spaces. Such a classification seeks to offer insights into the role Archnet-IJAR plays in shaping current and future global research trends in architecture and urbanism.

A combination of bibliometric and textual analysis was employed, utilising tools such as VosViewer and Infranodus to map thematic structures and research trends. The examined articles were categorised into established, evolving and emerging knowledge spaces to assess how the journal dynamically adapts to and reflects global shifts in architectural and urban discourse. This classification offers a strategic lens into the influence of Archnet-IJAR on research trajectories and shaping the future landscape of scholarship in architecture and urbanism.

The study identifies three primary areas of discourse: sustainability and resilience, technology and innovation, and community-centred design. Key trends include the rise of AI and smart technologies, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on design strategies, and the integration of SDGs into architectural education and practice. Established knowledge spaces such as urban morphology and cultural heritage remain foundational while evolving spaces such as sustainability and resilience are gaining prominence. Emerging spaces such as smart technologies and bioclimatic architecture appear to be the future trajectory of research in the field.

The study focuses on three years (2022–2024) of analysing Archnet-IJAR content within an overarching contextualisation over the past decade. However, this may not capture longer-term trends.

The study presents a critical classification of architectural and urban discourse, highlighting the evolving nature of the field in response to global challenges. The notion of the knowledge spaces as a unique conceptualisation that integrates various thematic areas is emphasised.