Positioning historical evidences in architectural education: review of methods and contents

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to position the evidence in the history of architectural education, which has contributed to the development of architecture as a discipline. The paper focusses on the transformational stages of architectural education through history. It builds on considering its evolution from informal stages towards formal educational discipline and then standardization as a curriculum-based model in contemporary times. Design/methodology/approach The research adopts a qualitative approach focussing on epistemological interpretations through triangulation. The qualitative data includes two main categories; first, historical research and second, interviews and focussed group discussions. It then adopts the triangulation method for the analysis of data. The exploration positions historical pieces of evidence encompassing important factors involved in the process that directed the changes while suggesting the modes of training of architects. The interviews and focus groups provide a valuable addition to historical data for connecting it to contemporary times. Significant modes examined include master pupil, apprenticeship and curriculum-based model, in addition to several fundamental skill sets such as drawing, painting and sculptures that remained constant in this process. Findings The historical pieces of evidence inform that architectural education has been inclusive and considerate towards cultural concerns throughout its developmental stages untill the currently adopted curriculum-based model. It concludes that the development of architecture as a discipline in formal education has been influenced by methods of disseminating knowledge, contents incorporated for teaching architecture, deliberate inclusion of relevant knowledge areas such as arts and cultural integrations of societies. Research limitations/implications This research is limited to a structured study to explore and position pieces of evidence in the history of architectural education considering its methods and contents. While it signifies the role of culturally sensitive contents in the architectural curricula, the scope of this research is not to focus on the development of any new theory, model or postulate regarding the inclusion of some specific contents. The implications of this research aspire to the best use of methods and contents deeply rooted in the development of the discipline, of architectural curricula in the future. It suggests the negation of possible overlooking of such content in curricula. Originality/value The study signifies the core argument of the relevance of architectural education to social and cultural concerns as an important facet in the developmental stages in the history of the discipline. The exploration of pieces of evidence is significantly important to avoid the inadvertent overlooking of the culturally sensitive content in architectural education in the future development of architectural curricula that were included purposefully.

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