Abstract:

This paper contributes to the research on the challenges of teaching and learning interdisciplinary collaboration in architectural education. It reflects on an experimental master’s studio design project at Victoria University of Wellington; addresses the challenges associated with the successful integration of different disciplinary design perspectives, pedagogical and conceptualization approaches; and reflects on cultural and disciplinary domains that enabled authentic learning in design education.

The studio project was run in three parallel classes from Architecture, Interior Architecture and Landscape Architecture disciplines. The complex design brief asked students to explore how design could encourage Maori coastal farmers to adapt to sea level rise. The different world-view (Matauranga Māori) provided a programmatic foundation for cross-disciplinary exchange. Weekly studio preparation assignments (SPA's) acted as an interdisciplinary-specific framework for the students. Weekly ‘Marketplace’ studio sessions enabled the students to engage with the other disciplines by seeking out similar projects and discussing how to integrate their approach to the brief. A series of ‘events’ staged throughout the semester served to further reinforce the authentic learning environment whereby each learner was expert of their disciplinary design actions and at the same time consultant to the other learners interdisciplinary design endeavours. The structure enabled interdisciplinary collaboration rather than forcing it, and was responsive to the needs of students as they arose.

The specific cultural ground proved an excellent ‘place’ for the interdisciplinarity to operate. As master’s students, they had already formed a strong foundation in their own discipline, and were able to engage from a position of strength to reach a higher level of engagement from a much more autonomous learning platform. Barriers to learning evolved around three main areas; the extent of cultural immersion, the cohesion of the SPA’s across each discipline, and the strength of the connections made within the Marketplace.

Keywords:

Interdisciplinary Teaching, Collaboration, Authentic Learning.