DIDACTIC PROJECT AND A COMPETITION FOR STUDENTS OF ARCHITECTURE AS A COOPERATION MODEL IN THE SCOPE OF PROJECT-BASED LEARNING

Silesian University of Technology is one of the leading educational institutions in Poland where as part of the teaching program some subjects are raised so that students can solve realistic problems in cooperation with external entities (such as entrepreneurs, municipalities, associations or foundations). In case of the Faculty of Architecture, these subjects include broadly defined problems of the architectonic and urban environment: ranging from interior details, through urban furniture, to buildings and urban spaces. One of the model examples of such cooperation between a higher education institution and external stakeholders is the Didactic Project and Students’ Competition called "Silesian Benches for Senior Citizens", the purpose of which was to seek out a project solution that would increase the accessibility of public spaces in Silesia - a post-industrial region in the south of Poland. The subject of the competition involved "senior citizens’ benches" - a term proposed to describe “perch benches” which would serve as places designed for a short respite in a comfortable position. The need for equipping urban spaces with such seats has been expressed repeatedly by Silesian seniors.

The Didactic Project was made up of the following modules: Knowledge, Experience and Practice. It was completed on the basis of a cooperation between the Faculty of Architecture and the Polish Ergonomic Association, the Foundation Laboratory of Architecture 60+ (LAB 60+), and FULCO company – a producer of urban furniture.

In the "Experience" module, workshops completed together with seniors who go to the Third Age University were a highly important event. Their task was to recognize the needs of prospective senior users in the scope of the elements of landscape architecture which are used for sitting down. During those workshops, students practiced the use of various methods, techniques and research tools, highly helpful in research done together with participants.

The article describes the methodology connected with the completion of a Didactic Project and the Students' Competition. It also presents one of the projects that had been awarded. The example of Project-Based Learning may constitute a model solution in which teaching is connected with solving realistic problems, in cooperation with external entities. Its subsequent stages, possible to be replicated in case of other projects, were presented in a tabular form.

To summarize: both the Didactic Project and the Student Competition yielded substantial benefits which might be described in three dimensions:
• Educational dimension of the project is aimed at: broadening the scope of knowledge in students in the scope of designing for users with varied capability; developing the design workshop for specific users.
• The practical dimension is aimed at: promoting the idea of universal design, attempting to create an element of landscape architecture that would increase the accessibility of Silesian cities.
• The experimental dimension is aimed at practicing the cooperation with external entities in the scope of teaching program at the Faculty of Architecture.