Abstract:

The following contribution presents “Valencia as Palimpsest”, a gamified urban fieldwork experience designed for first-year students in the “Introduction to Architecture” course in the Fundamentals of Architecture degree programme at the Universitat Politècnica de València (Spain). The activity addresses two intertwined challenges in architectural education: the need to ground learning in direct and embodied encounters with the built environment, and the difficulty of motivating and supporting large cohorts at an early and vulnerable stage of their studies. By treating the historic city centre as a multi-layered palimpsest, the practice turns Valencia into a didactic laboratory where knowledge is constructed through real experience promoting collaboration and situated observation.

The full-day activity consists of an architectural gymkhana in which students, organised by teams, navigate different checkpoints associated with the different historical layers of the city where they have decided to study. Each station proposes short tasks of drawing, photography and written description that require students to observe, compare and interpret the built environment in situ. Some of the most relevant pedagogical objectives pursued are to foster critical observation of the urban context as an experiential learning laboratory; to practise urban and architectural “reading” or diagnosis on site, to strengthen collaborative work and group autonomy; to develop the capacity to interpret architecture as a cultural phenomenon linked to time, technique and place; and to introduce students to the professional sphere through a visit to the local architects’ association.

Gamification strategies are implemented through Microsoft Forms, which functions as the central game engine. Teams complete a structured sequence of mandatory and optional challenges, earning points, unlocking locations and receiving immediate feedback within predefined time limits. This digital layer is complemented by in-person control points staffed by faculty, where students receive formative feedback and narrative guidance that sustain engagement throughout the day. The activity concludes with an ephemeral artistic intervention in a public space, in which students collectively transform the site using their sketchbooks and visual records from the gymkhana, making learning outcomes visible and collectively shared.

Preliminary evidence from student reflections and analysis of the online responses suggests that the experience enhances students’ ability to “read” the city, recognise the superposition of historical layers and relate architecture to broader cultural processes. Students report increased motivation, a stronger sense of belonging to the discipline and the city, and a more concrete understanding of the professional role of architects and their institutions. At the same time, the game-based, active and experiential structure supports teamwork, autonomy and time management, key competences for meaningful learning and for preventing early dropout in the first year. The contribution argues that gamified, city-based experiential learning can align cognitive, affective and social dimensions of architectural education, reinforcing engagement while foregrounding the embodied experience of architecture.

Keywords:

Active learning strategies, field-based education, game-based learning, collaborative working, student engagement.