New York 2019
Education, Design & Practice

Understanding Skills in a Complex World
Event Date: June 17-19, 2019
Abstract Date: April 1, 2019
Keynote
Peggy Deamer. Professor of Architecture, Yale University, USA. Founder of the Architecture Lobby. Author of Architecture and Capitalism, Routledge. Recipient of the Architectural Record ‘Women in Architecture Award’, 2019

Call

The relationship between education and practice in any discipline is complex. In an ever changing world, it is also in flux. In a context such as the built environment, it is also interdisciplinary. Today, educators in the liberal arts still identify learning as an end unto itself, and designers still draw on ideas about intuitive knowledge. By contrast, the businesses behind urban development or city and regional growth call for graduates armed with the skills required in practice from day one. At the same time local government and cultural or city management firms need creative thinkers capable of continual adaptation. In the industries and sectors such as construction, transport and engineering, managers focus on a foundational baseline and value engineers and designers as both pragmatic problem solvers and visionaries.

These alternative perspectives have been reflected in multiple changes to the practice and structure of the education sector. One such example was the Boyer-Mitgang report which restructured architectural education in the US to reflect other professions. As in other areas, it resulted in a ‘degree arms race’, with MAs and doctoral programs multiplying more rapidly than the research and teaching methods they required. At the same time, the ‘widening participation’ agenda produced an explosion of research and funding for new pedagogical approaches and initiatives. Attempts to fuse education with the creative arts, industry and business through university led partnership schemes also proliferated. More recently, changes in the financing of the HE sector in places like the UK, mean universities now stress educational efficiency and guarantees of graduate jobs.

Working within this context, educators in sectors connected with the design, management and construction of the built environment have developed new and innovative ways to teach, they have embedded collaborative practices into their pedagogy, have forged unique partnerships across disciplines and outside the academy, and much more. However, research into best practice learning and teaching in the classroom is still evolving and educational initiatives can sometimes be seen as contradicting on-the-job realities in practice. The Education, Design and Practice conference explores this complex and contradictory scenario from multiple perspectives, seeking examples best practice teaching and critique in the design, management and construction sectors.

Disciplines

  • Architecture
  • Architectural Technology
  • Design
  • Planning
  • Urban Design
  • Sustainable Design
  • Building Science
  • Housing
  • Building Technology
  • Construction

Key Dates

Full Paper Submissions (where applicable)
30 August 2019
Feedback for publication
30 November 2019
Full Paper resubmissions
30 January 2020
Publication begins
30 March 2020

Themes

Pedagogy
Best practice pedagogy | Creative exploration in the design studio | Challenging norms through teaching and learning
Teaching Economics
Design as an Exercise in Finance | Economic frameworks of learning and professionalism | Competitive advantage in practice and pedagogy
Experiential Learning
Urban Regeneration and Cross Disciplinary Teaching | Experiential learning in the classroom and the workplace
Academia and the Workplace
Expertise and legitimacy for specialists and teachers | Collaborative learning and working behaviors | Upskilling the Industry and the academy
Continuing Education
Lifelong learning | Knowledge exchange and innovation | People and professionals in the built environment

Formats

The conference welcomes case studies; design proposals, research projects, investigative papers and theoretical considerations in various formats allowing people to write a paper, attend in person or present via film and have their presentation permanently available via the AMPS Youtube channel

Pre-recorded video (20 minutes)
Conference Presentations (20 minutes)
Written Papers (3,000 words) *

Publications

The publishers that AMPS works with include UCL Press, Routledge Taylor & Francis, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, Vernon Press, Libri Publishing and Intellect Books.

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Conference outputs include the AMPS Proceedings Series, ISSN 2398-9467; Special Issue Publications of the academic journal Architecture_MPS ISSN 2020-9006; Books with the publishing houses listed above and short films available on the AMPS Academic YouTube Channel.

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Written papers are optional.  If submitted they should be 3,000 word length. Formatting instructions to follow after the conference. All papers are double- blind peer reviewed for the AMPS Conference Proceedings Series. Subject to review, selected authors will be invited to develop longer versions as articles in the academic journal Architecture_MPS or in specially produced conference books.

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Image: Andrea Haase