IN-PERSON MADRID FOCUS ON PEDAGOGY. SECTION A

Abstract

Maintaining learning amidst the unprecedented challenges and revolutionary elements restructuring our existence is the defining characteristic of contemporary teaching. A key issue for survival and relevance within such a changing world is adaptability. While many challenges are universal, contextualized struggles are acutely felt in conflict societies. Teaching architecture in such locations, notably the Middle East and Lebanon, is increasingly demanding. The setting must balance engagement with international architectural discourses with its own profound history of conflict and current crises. Unlike many other disciplines, architecture is highly vulnerable to conflict as it is fundamentally enshrined in the cultural and the real—the primary targets of warfare. In this context, teaching architecture becomes an essential act of resistance and pedagogical renewal. This paper proposes it should be conceived as a form of dynamic critique that simultaneously asserts contextual relevance while working to decolonize the curriculum from its customary heavy reliance on Western influence. This process fosters clarity of thought against misinformation and anarchy and promotes indigenous knowledge and action. This paper will discuss the operational dynamics of a final year studio in Beirut. It will begin with an analysis of its preparatory theory seminar, which introduces students to the political ramifications of the discipline and promotes architecture as a method rather than an object. We will demonstrate how this approach encourages students to assume an active, critical role in the political, theoretical, physical, and social production of the city, thereby offering a pedagogical model for resilient architectural education and enhanced adaptability in times of radical change.