A Focus on Pedagogy

Abstract

Through a reflection on pedagogical projects conducted through the creative practice research community Spacious1, in this paper sited experimentation is explored as a tool for architectural research, design and pedagogy. Architects, both inside and outside academia, are more often than not bound to the design studio which, in a globalized practice, is almost always located miles away from the building site. The goal oriented work ethos that takes place in these sealed-off design offices or faculty buildings distance us from the dark, dirty and wild aspects of everyday life. However, to study the architectural experience shouldn’t imply a withdrawal from society. Instead, it should include the moving body and a direct collaboration with the environment itself. Through a five stage reflection on the workshop “Walking Through Doors”2 sited experimentation is studied as a tool to abandon this de-natured white lab coat approach to spatial design and connect architects to their practice in a different way. Each stage reflects on different aspects of the design process: (I) “Spatial Door” discusses sited experimentation as a way to increase spatial sensitivity and learn how to sense yourself sensing, section (II) “Wicked Door” discusses sited experimentation as a way to study procedural interventions, section (III) “Not Yet Door” discuss the importance of playful experimentation, section (VI) “Concept of a Door” discusses sited experimentation as a tool for high context learning, and section (V) “Forgotten Door” discusses sited experimentation as a tool for establishing a meadow of knowing about/as sited awareness. In a sited experiment one intervenes in the fabric of the real by means of means of 1:1 performances and interventions. This allows one to move beyond stereotypical knowledge and preconceived ideas. In that sense, sited experimentation becomes a tool for discovery and growth, for development and emancipation in the architectural studio.