Experiential and Integrated Learning Environments – Teaching Urban Design Studio at Curtin University

Abstract

Experiential Learning and Integrated Learning Environments in Architecture is a pedagogic project based on action learning (Revans, 1980) that challenges the traditional design studio teaching approach to Architectural/Urban Design and builds on Dewey (1939) and Kolb (1984) theories of experiential learning. An innovative model of teaching Urban Design to Master of Architecture students has been trailed for the first time in 2018, when the studio was set in the City of Bayswater, and has been refined over the course of 2019 in two separate study periods – Study Period 1 (Rome/Milan Study Tour) and Semester 2. This model provides students with an opportunity to collaboratively learn from and re-design the existing urban environments by immersing themselves in the very context they are studying. The proximity of the classroom to the urban setting presented an opportunity for students to draw comparisons and analysis between national and international examples and that of the surrounding urban milieu. Additionally, advanced technology supportive of distributed learning environment and intense collaboration with industry such as Hassell, Element and The Office of the Government Architect (OGA), coupled with opportunities to visit various practices, provided deeper insights and an all rounded approach to learning and engaging with architecture. Keywords: experiential learning; collaborative learning environments; architecture, urban design