Paper short abstract:

The paper attempts to critically evaluate the practice of collaborative, real-world oriented architecture education which has become popular in many British Universities. We argue that this mode of teaching 'produces' graduates who question the very foundation of how architecture is practiced in the UK.

Paper long abstract:

This paper investigates a process of collaborative teaching and learning in an architectural studio in the context of 'live projects'. For years architecture was taught in a very individualistic way, aiming to prepare students to become leaders and 'individual artists'. It was achieved in a context of artificial (or even 'esoteric' design tasks) invented by tutors. For several years now (especially after the 2008 crisis), more and more British architecture schools have adopted a teaching mode connected closely with a world 'outside academia', so called 'live projects'. These live projects often have an explicit political agenda and the pedagogic model has shifted with many schools stressing the need for collaborative design process and team work.

The paper argues that teaching focused on a collaborative mode of design solutions and engagement with the 'real world' changes fundamentally the perception of the role of architects by newly graduated professionals, leading to a model of architect-activist. This perception clashes with conservative structures of the architectural profession in the UK. On the one hand there is a need for architects who can work as team members and understand the practicality of the profession, however there is no need for young architects who question fundamental principles of how architecture is practiced in a contemporary, capitalist world. The paper attempts to critically evaluate the very idea of collaborative, real-world oriented architecture education and its role in preparing students for alternative practice.