Fieldworks

Initiated by staff members from the Department of A, this research and design project is a collaboration with the Faculty of Design Sciences of the University of Antwerp, and other Belgian societal partners. It explores new grounds and methods in architectural education. Students learn to work in-situ: ‘reading’ places, engaging with real-life issues, working with existing sites and conditions. The studio promotes experimental methods in ‘doing’ architecture by using film, drawing, photography, model making, writing, and performance. By locating architecture in real-life settings, the studio aims to explore multi- and interdisciplinary collaborations with other fields of knowledge, both within the school and with external partners and institutions. The studio will culminate in an exhibition.

The participating student will be assessed based on three main elements:

1. A fieldwork journal that documents the individual journey, insights and evolving ideas (15%).

2. A group project (3 students) that materializes the individual fieldwork study and shows analytical depth, creativity, clarity of communication, and technical skill (this can include writing, drawing, filming, photographing, script writing, model making and performance) (50%).

3. A group exhibition that reflects teamwork, integration of ideas, and interdisciplinary collaboration (35%).

Students pass the course with a 6.0 or higher. With a lower grade, the course can be repaired to change the grade into a pass. The repair is unsupervised and needs to be completed within 2 weeks after the end of the course. When the repair is unsuccessful, the student needs to follow the entire course again, or possibly another Q5 elective in the third education period.