Copyright 2012 James Benedict Brown - [email protected] A critique of the live project James Benedict Brown, BA (Hons) M.Arch Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Planning, Architecture & Civil Engineering Queen’s University Belfast Volume 1 Downloaded from learningarchitecture.wordpress.com Copyright 2012 James Benedict Brown - [email protected] Table of contents List of tables 5 List of figures 6 Glossary 7 Part one: Contextualising the critique 9 Chapter 1: Introduction to the thesis 10 1.1 Aim of the thesis 10 1.2 The social construction of knowledge: an epistemological lens 10 1.3 Pedagogy informing research and practice: a theoretical framework 15 1.4 The original contribution of the research 17 1.5 Structure of the thesis 19 Chapter 1 References 22 Chapter 2: Defining the live project in architectural education 25 2.1 Introduction 25 2.2 The live project: a review of the literature 25 The modern live project: Birmingham School of Architecture, 1951-1962 25 From modern to postmodern: Welsh School of Architecture, 1968-2002 31 The postmodern live project: Sheffield, London Metropolitan, & Portsmouth Universities, 1999 to date 37 2.3 The live project: the perceptions often architectural educators 45 Live projects and construction 47 Live projects and the client 49 2.4 Discussion 54 Chapter 2 References 58 Chapter 3: Defining the live project in other disciplines 62 3.1 Introduction 62 3.2 Planning 64 3.3 Medicine 68 3.4 Law 73 Downloaded from learningarchitecture.wordpress.com 1 Copyright 2012 James Benedict Brown - [email protected] 3.5 Discussion 77 Chapter 3 References 80 Chapter 4: The restrictions and limitations affecting architectural education 84 4.1 A review of the literature 84 Increasing participation 85 Lessening resource 88 The assessment of research activity 93 4.2 Perceptions of architectural educators 96 Increasing participation 97 Lessening resource 103 The particular requirements of architectural education 107 The increasing demand for research 109 4.3 Discussion 111 Chapter 4 References 113 Chapter 5: Towards complex pedagogies of live projects 118 5.1 Introduction 118 5.2 Complicated pedagogies 119 Reflection-in-action 119 The Experiential Learning Model 123 Learning from complicated pedagogies 131 5.3 Holistic pedagogies 132 Critical Pedagogy 133 Design Students and Physically Disabled People 146 The Women's School of Planning and Architecture 151 Learning from holistic pedagogies 153 5.4 Towards complex pedagogies 155 Architecture’s Public 156 Chapter 5 References 165 Part two: Methodology of the empirical research 172 Chapter 6: Methodology of the empirical research 173 6.1 Introduction 173 Downloaded from learningarchitecture.wordpress.com 2 Copyright 2012 James Benedict Brown - [email protected] 6.2 Designing the research 173 Questionnaires 174 Interviews 176 Other methods 178 Ethical considerations 180 6.3 The five phases of the empirical research 182 Phase one: building the sample 182 Phase two: building the interview schedule 185 Phase three: piloting and conducting the interviews 186 Phase four: coding the interviews 187 Phase five: ensuring reliability 196 6.4 Discussion 203 Chapter 6 References 205 Part three: A critique of the live project 208 Chapter 7: the live project and the student 209 7.1 Introduction 209 7.2 How do students respond to live projects? 209 7.3 The motivation of students to choose live projects 214 7.4 How students respond to the complexity of live projects 215 7.5 Supporting student reflection and criticality 217 7.6 Building knowledge differently 220 7.7 Supporting students’ transition from secondary to tertiary education 221 7.8 Summary 223 Chapter 7 References 226 Chapter 8: the live project and the educator 227 8.1 Introduction 227 8.2 The opportunity to “define pedagogies” 227 8.3 Architectural education and professional validation 228 8.4 Architectural education and the constraints of architectural practice 230 8.5 The relationship of live projects to professional architectural practice 231 8.6 Connecting architectural practice and architectural research 233 Downloaded from learningarchitecture.wordpress.com 3 Copyright 2012 James Benedict Brown - [email protected] 8.7 How architectural educators mediate between client and student 237 8.8 How architectural educators manage the live project 240 8.9 How architectural educators manage the complexity of live projects 242 8.10 Summary 245 Chapter 8 references 248 Chapter 9: the live project and the client 249 9.1 Introduction 249 9.2 How live project clients are identified 249 9.3 The conditions placed upon clients 250 9.4 Managing the expectations of the client 252 9.5 Managing the domino effects of live projects 253 9.6 The function of money in a live project 255 9.7 What makes a “good client”? 256 9.8 How students relate to the client 258 9.9 The aspiration for a ‘level’ student-client relationship 259 9.10 How live projects support wider agendas of engagement 259 9.11 How live projects influence decision makers 263 9.12 Summary 265 Chapter 9 References 268 Chapter 10: towards future critiques 269 10.1 Introduction 269 10.2 The contribution of respondent validation 269 10.3 Blind spots of the research 272 10.4 Areas for future research 273 10.5 Pedagogical opportunities of the live project 275 10.6 Theorising live projects 278 10.7 Towards future live projects 281 References 285 Downloaded from learningarchitecture.wordpress.com 4 Copyright 2012 James Benedict Brown - [email protected] List of tables Table 2.1: Live projects as cited by respondents to the empirical research 46 Table 6.1: Comparison of different questionnaire formats 175 Table 6.2: Comparison of different interview formats 176 Table 6.3: Comparison of different interview techniques 177 Table 6.4: Comparison of other methods 178 Table 6.5: Potential risks and actions to address them 181 Table 6.6: Sample literature derivation of interview schedule questions, nos 3.1-3.5 185 Table 6.7: High frequency Concepts and Categories 194 Table 6.8: Statements as presented at the first respondent validation session 199 Table 6.9: Statements as presented at the second respondent validation session, and their origins in the thesis. 201 Downloaded from learningarchitecture.wordpress.com 5 Copyright 2012 James Benedict Brown - [email protected] List of figures Figure 1.1: Epistemological approaches to knowledge claims 12 Figure 1.2: Structure of the thesis 19 Figure 4.1: Total number of students in UK HE 1970/1 - 2009/10 86 Figure 4.2: Total number of students in UK HE 1995 - 2009 86 Figure 4.3: Total number of students in RoI HE 1979 - 2009 88 Figure 4.4: Total number of students and new entries to architecture 100 Figure 4.5: New entrants to RIBA Part I and Part II 100 Figure 4.6: New applicants to HE (RoI) 102 Figure 4.7: First preference applications to architecture courses (RoI) 102 Figure 4.8: Number of students per member of teaching staff 104 Figure 4.9.a: Student-staff ratio against overall course ranking (2011) 106 Figure 4.9.b: Student-staff ratio against overall course ranking (2010) 106 Figure 4.9.c: Student-staff ratio against overall course ranking (2009) 106 Figure 5.1: Kolb’s experiential learning cycle 125 Figure 5.2: Kolb’s representation of the ‘Lewinian’ Learning Model 126 Figure 5.3: Dewey’s model of experiential learning 126 Figure 5.4: Kolb’s representation of Piaget’s model of learning and cognitive development 128 Figure 5.5: Kolb’s diagram of similarities among conceptions of basic adaptive processes 129 Figure 6.1: The five phases of the empirical research 182 Figure 6.2: Postcard survey 183 Figure 6.3: The four stages of grounded theory: from codes to theories 190 Figure 6.4: Sample page of line by line coding 191 Figure 6.5: Transcription of hand-coded interview transcript 192 Figure 6.6: The establishment of new codes 195 Figure 6.7: Example Likert scale used in first respondent validation session 198 Downloaded from learningarchitecture.wordpress.com 6 Copyright 2012 James Benedict Brown - [email protected] Glossary AE - Architectural Education, the process of formal education and intermediate supervised practice experience necessary to practice as an architect. ARB - the Architects’ Registration Board, the statutory body for the registration of architects in the United Kingdom. Established as the Architects' Registration Council of the United Kingdom (ARCUK) in 1931, it now operates under the Architects Act 1997 (amended). The ARB prescribes architectural qualifications and keeps a Register of Architects. Design Studio - used interchangeably to describe both the physical space in a school of architecture in which design tutorials are delivered, and the pedagogical elements of the curriculum that take place therein. Live Project - (see chapter two for an exploration of definitions in the literature and contemporary teaching practice). HE - Higher Education (or Third Level, Tertiary Education), the stage of education that occurs in universities, further education colleges, and/or Institutes of Technology (Republic of Ireland). PBL - Problem Based Learning. Pedagogy - the method and practice of teaching, especially as an academic subject or theoretical concept. RAE - the Research Assessment Exercise, a national assessment of research activity in UK higher education institutions undertaken approximately every four to five years. Conducted on behalf of the four national research funding councils (HEFCE, SHEFC, HEFCW and DELNI) to evaluate research quality and assign a metric to that performance. Assessments have been undertaken in 1986, 1989, 1992, 1996, 2001 and 2008. Will be succeeded by the REF. Downloaded from learningarchitecture.wordpress.com 7 Copyright 2012 James Benedict Brown - [email protected] REF - the Research Excellence Framework, successor to the RAE, scheduled to be conducted in 2014 to assess research published between 2008 and 2013.