Engaging with site-specific design through experiential learning and case-based learning

Andrea Moneta

The exposition presents findings and outputs from a trans-disciplinary research project involving students and tutors of level 5 BA Architecture and Theatre design courses of NTU. The process of reading, understanding and interpreting the inner character and performative attributes of architecture, and in-depth exploration and expression of spatial practice, are essential aspects for any design intervention on existing buildings for site-specific performance, but they are not enough used for architectural design. The originality of the action research lies in its trans-disciplinary approach and methodology derived from theatre and performance design, aimed at helping Architecture students to engage with the character of architectural spaces as a propaedeutic step of their design. The final goal was not just the resolution of a specific didactic need, but also the realisation of a resource for educators and practitioners, so to fill a gap in the literature of site-specific design methodology. The academic literature regarding site-specific performance, in fact, is more oriented in depicting its historical background, describing past and current practice, than summoning up its methodologies and applications. For this research Moneta designed and planned a series of multidisciplinary learning activities (perception lab, mapping, dramaturgy of the place) using a constructivist approach, within a collaborative design project with level 5 BA Architecture and Theatre design students, involving the exploration of an historical building in Worksop (UK). The research utilised a combination of Active Learning approach, based on Kolb's Experiential Learning and Case-based learning (CBL); a final questionnaire measured the impact of the research: 87.4% of students agreed that this new methodology helped them to design for site-specific places. Moneta summoned the research in a resource for colleagues in the form of a Poster that explained its methodology, identifying nodal points and learning activities to improve design for site-specific in BA level design courses. The research was peer-reviewed as part of PGCAP final assessment, and the Poster was exhibited at TILT showcase 2019.

Kolb’s four-stage learning cycle

Kolb’s revolutionary Experiential learning approach involves learning from experience and could be defined as ‘the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience. Knowledge results from the combinations of grasping and transforming the experience.’ (Kolb, 1984)

Its theory goes beyond cognitive and behavioural theories, emphasizing how a series of factors influence the learning process including our emotions, the environment, experiences and cognitions.

Kolb’s first stage (concrete experience, learning by experiencing) involves hands-on experimentation, where students need to complete a task with practical exercises; in stage two (reflective observation, Learning by reflecting) students review what they have experienced, reflecting on what they practically did; in stage three (abstract conceptualisation, Learning by thinking) students combine what they have experienced with what they already know with literature, so to modify their knowledge. Finally, in stage four (Active Experimentation, Learning by doing) students put into practice what they have learnt in the previous cycles.

Case-based learning (CBL)

This is another interesting approach grounded in constructivism where students acquire new cognitions by interacting with their knowledge and the environment (Lee, 2012); applying their knowledge to real-world scenarios, they can promote higher levels of knowledge. Useful tools to develop this are brainstorming and story-telling. For my research project I used CBL to go beyond the history of the building using creativity and, during the workshop, to build stories that involved characters and scenarios related to the architecture. Each student, in this phase, had to alternate working independently and as a team on the given architecture, to produce a story that could act as a framework for their final design proposal, the Dramaturgy of Space.

For the initial exploration of the site I developed a methodology based on the use of a Perception Lab and a map, rooted in my professional practice -inspired by French avant-garde movements of 20th Century Lettrism and Situationism- that investigated the environment and its influence on people's behavior (V4).

To design the Map I was also inspired by the work of Guy Debord’s psychogeography movement (Home, 1996) studying the effects of geographical environment on individual behavior; as he explains in one of his essays, ‘Psychogeography could set for itself the study of the precise laws and specific effects of the geographical environment, consciously organized or not, on the emotions and behaviour of individuals’ (Debord, 1955).

The map that I designed for this project (Appendix 3) is structured in two sides: on one side there are the ‘Rules of the Game’ and ‘Guide for your personal journey’, a series of written information to allow the user (student) to engage with the place using perception; on the other side there is a simplified map of the site to be explored; the aim is to collect on this map all information coming from ‘experiencing’ the building (written, and visual), and to share these findings between all the students after the exploration.

This approach identifies ‘sensory mapping’ as a qualitative method of research (Powell, 2010), to evoke relationships between place, history, lived experience and community. Mapping acts as a methodological tool but also a powerful visual research tool to record the multisensory experience of the user.

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