Teaching Beyond the Curriculum

Abstract

Conscious design practice is self-aware, deliberate, confident and reflective. Critical design practice adds criticality and positionality. Careful design practice adds both a concern for and an action of care in for the repair, maintenance and continuation of the life-sustaining web that is our world (Tronto,1990). The transformative pedagogical strategies that support conscious, critical, careful design practice, therefore focus on self-actualization, positionality within the institution and the wider discourse, and social agency in caring for our world. Students’ conscious design practice and self-actualization are supported through practice-based design research methods of personal spatial memories, narratives and (de)constructing their personal design archives. These develop the student’s own design voice, validating the diversity of design views, and sensibilities that students bring with them before they enter the design studio. Critical spatial practice is supported by assessing design and institutional influences on the (de)constructed personal design archive through group discussions and social reflection. The student develops criticality and external awareness of their situatedness within architectural design discourse. Careful practice is developed firstly through a parallel-engaged pedagogy of care (Freire,2017; Hooks,1994; De Sousa Santos,2014) demonstrating care in the studio between teacher and students, and collaborations between students. Care for our world focuses on the interrelated sustainability principles of economy, society and the environment as they are expressed in architecture through care for labour and makers of buildings, care for end-users of design projects, and care for the impact of buildings on the environment.