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UNIVERSITY of Universities [UOU]: Redefining the basis of International Teaching of Architecture Sánchez Merina, Javier1 1 Department of Graphic Expression, Design and Projects / Alicante University, Spain https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1973-690X jsm@ua.es Citation: Sanchez Merina J. (2021). “UOU Redefining the Basis of International Teaching in Architecture” UOU scientific journal #01, 6-11. ISSN: 2697-1518. https://doi.org/10.14198/UOU.2021.1.01 This document is under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license (CC BY 4.0)
#01 COMMONS UOU scientific journal 7
When thinking about teaching release from local constraint students began returning to
and knowledge exchange, is for a moment to allow students their countries for good as
it possible to enhance quality to be exposed to experts soon as news broke from
by using international online from different paradigms of their home country about
teaching? That is the aim of our architectural education in a pending lockdown. This
pedagogic project born out of different cultures. Each expert allowed us to foresee the
a lockdown affecting students brings his or her specialist need for three months’ worth
and teachers of Architecture at knowledge for all to share, of online teaching before it
home. From the combination regardless of the framework was compulsory. Beyond
of confinement and teaching, in which they normally teach. the virtual lectures, crits and
a brand-new initiative has It is a celebration of the fact tutorials, the submissions
been designed focusing on that architecture is a globally for the end of the year also
higher education: UNIVERSITY taught discipline and that it is needed to be redefined. We
of Universities. It is an good for us all to learn together. drew at least two remarkable
international project developed Therefore, it is important to points from this experience
by teachers of international state from the beginning, that that made our practice different
universities, starting the the online teaching demanded from colleagues working with
academic year 2020-2021. by a lockdown of our traditional a larger proportion of home
studios is just such a tool to students:
BACKGROUND reach that objective.
1. The importance of
March 2020 obliged us to stop INTERNATIONAL continuing the staff exchange
and reflect on our daily routines. between international
It was the beginning of a new DESIGN STUDIO
universities, despite the
way of thinking. If the pandemic The last academic year difficulties in travelling. Each
provoked instant changes in our 2019/20 finished with a debate student on exchange in (the
lives from its very beginning, between our colleagues, now virtual) studio was asked
with the passage of months it teachers of architectural design. to invite a significant professor
has become clear that many Many of them missed the from his or her home school
of these changes are not face-to-face teaching and saw of architecture to participate in
transient. They will remain with online teaching that tried to the final crit. In every sense, it
us as a “new normality”. mimic the studio as provoking was a priceless experience to
This text is a reflection upon a physical and intellectual have in the same crit twenty
the opportunities for the distance with the students. In ‘favourite’ teachers from all over
International Teaching of some cases that might have the world.
Architecture that have emerged impacted negatively upon
student attainment. But others 2. The importance of
out of the lockdown brought expanding the classroom;
about by the pandemic in saw some positive outcomes.
Many of us, working in design during the lockdown students
Europe and beyond. continued to work in groups
studios with an already strong
As academics running separate international emphasis, have in different scenarios. This
design studios, our objective seen not only highly valued time with a responsibility
established well before the results from our students, but that produced a new type of
pandemic, has always been also have also discovered, in a emerging architect, as well as
an internationalisation of natural way, a new pedagogy a different architecture from
architectural education. The that does not try to emulate that produced by working face-
internationalisation we speak face-to-face teaching. to-face. Now, they are much
of goes well beyond simply more autonomous, with projects
teaching through the medium of The fact that an important that materialise reflections
English to students on Erasmus part of our student cohort was over solutions, addressing and
exchange experiencing a new drawn from students on the proposing new realities.
local culture. What we mean Erasmus exchange played
somewhat in our favour. These As we reached the end of a
by ‘internationalization’ is a8 UNIVERSITY OF UNIVERSITIES [UOU] JAVIER SÁNCHEZ MERINA WORKSHOP #1 ARCH: architecture & food – an international buffet AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN DUBAI + EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY IN MADRID WORKSHOP #2 ARCH: architecture as the art of building communities UMEÅ UNIVERSITY + MALMÖ UNIVERSITY WORKSHOP #3 ARCH: cognitive mapping UNIVERSITY OF NICOSIA WORKSHOP #4 ARCH: elements of architecture for the confinement ALICANTE UNIVERSITY WORKSHOP #5 ARCH: architecture through language UWE BRISTOL WORKSHOP #6 ARCH: discover nature in our buildings ION MINCU UAU BUCHAREST Fig. 1 UOU Fisrt Semester 2020/21
#01 COMMONS UOU scientific journal 9
hectic academic year and the The ‘team’ of studio leaders the students are at the base
start of the next, 2020/21, we involved numbers about thirty- and the professor on the top.
found that the pandemic did five at the time of writing but But not only at the top; at the
not go away. But for us, that is ever growing. Each studio same time often well isolated
new year started by building leader has the trust of the from other colleagues. Now,
on our experience and with a entire team and the freedom to the educational model follows
will to expand the international, propose and direct a two-week a horizontal relationship;
online lessons we had learnt. online workshop, based on his everybody teaches, everybody
So, having detected the two or her specialisation, for all the learns.
very positive and unique points students of the different schools
noted above, our proposal for participating in the experience. At the end of the semester,
that new academic semester The other academic staff there was a series of six
consisted of organising a studio become tutors in the workshop. International Workshops
course built on a network of After these two weeks, another designed to work better online
studio-based academics from studio leader takes over with than face-to-face. And, just as
different worldwide schools of a new workshop, while the with the Surrealists’ exquisite
architecture with a triple aim: former director becomes a corpse game, every workshop
tutor of his/her students and was an addition to the former
1. To extend the reach of so on. That rotating leadership one. The whole becomes
our universities by bringing of the workshops maintains greater than the sum of its
together a coordinated team of the important studio role of parts, and that is reflected in
international teachers with their ‘supervisor’ supporting the the students’ portfolios.
specific research interests and ‘student’, but also provides
practice specialisms. And, of course, keeping in
close academic help for the mind the different academic
2. To extend the notion of the director of each workshop. calendars and engagements
classroom beyond its walls. For semester one 2020/21 the of the participants, each
By appreciating the ‘space for participating universities were: university participated in those
learning’ as being more than desired workshops, without
physical space but instead it Alicante University (Spain); it being compulsory to follow
being ‘a landscape of life’, we American University Dubai all of them. The menu is,
enrich the students’ cultural (UAE) + European University then, à la carte and can be
and learning environment. Madrid (Spain); Ion Mincu fitted bespoke to any student
Ironically, perhaps, we can University (Romania); Umeå working at the same academic
internationalise more by University + Malmö University level.
staying at home. As noted at (Sweden); University of Nicosia
the top of this paper, for us, (Cyprus); University of the West That first semester finished
‘internationalisation’ is not of England, Bristol (UK). fulfilling all the challenges both
simply experiencing English for students and teachers:
These multicultural workshops
language teaching in a new constituted an international THE STUDENT
local culture. exchange network of studio EXPERIENCE
3. To extend the international teachers interested in learning
from each other. In this way, Recognising the different
student experience, till
the staff participating have not nature of teaching in each
now mainly provided by
only been suggested by the university, and the fact that
Erasmus+, to a larger group
students, but also, they are students are engaged in
of students than would
teachers willing to accept this classes other than studio,
otherwise normally have been
basic concern for the exchange these workshops are designed
the case. And subsequently
of knowledge. And this is, in not to involve extra hours
be in a position to bring our
fact, one of the main values over and above normal
new experience to bear on the
of this pedagogic project: studio time for the students.
Erasmus+ programme once
to question the pyramidal The studio leader works
the pandemic has subsided.
system of education, where his/her studio around the10 UNIVERSITY OF UNIVERSITIES [UOU] JAVIER SÁNCHEZ MERINA WORKSHOP #1 ARCH+ARTS: the space for learning as a landscape of life ALICANTE UNIVERSITY WORKSHOP #2 ARTS: maps of memory ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS MUNICH WORKSHOP #2a ARCH: treatment BOLOGNA UNIVERSITY WORKSHOP #2b ARCH: permissive city ENSAP BORDEAUX WORKSHOP #2c ARCH: architectural narrative – event LONDON SOUTH BANK UNIVERSITY WORKSHOP #3a ARCH: psychoanalysis of the design process UNIVERSITY OF LINCOLN WORKSHOP #3b ARCH: ephemeral architecture: urban follies ÉVORA UNIVERSITY WORKSHOP #3c ARCH: evolution of forgotten UNIVERSITY OF NICOSIA WORKSHOP #4a ARCH: homeland miniatures MEF UNIVERSITY ISTANBUL WORKSHOP #4b ARCH: pop up WROCLAW UNIVERSITY + YASAR UNIVERSITY IZMIR WORKSHOP #5 ARCH + ARTS: competition / research: marble ALICANTE UNIVERSITY WORKSHOP #6 ARTS: small scale and isolated occurrences FINE ARTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PORTO WORKSHOP #6a ARCH: the ‘review of reviews’ UWE BRISTOL WORKSHOP #6b ARCH: sharing the voids UMEÅ UNIVERSITY + MALMÖ UNIVERSITY WORKSHOP #6c ARCH: rivers BUDAPEST UNIVERSITY WORKSHOP #6d ARCH: housing Europe IUBH HAMBURG WORKSHOP #7 ARTS: moving bodies – on art and walking ICELAND UNIVERSITY OF THE ARTS WORKSHOP #7a ARCH: the existent and the non-existent ION MINCU UAU BUCHAREST WORKSHOP #7b ARCH: inside outside UNIVERSITÀ DI REGGIO CALABRIA WORKSHOP #7c ARCH: spatial agency: a detail KULEUVEN BRUSSEL WORKSHOP #7d ARCH: architectural cornerstones GERMAN UNIVERSITY IN CAIRO Fig. 2 UOU Second Semester 2020/21
#01 COMMONS UOU scientific journal 11
workshops. Whilst, because Evora University (PORTUGAL); from International Schools of
of staff availability, the normal German University in Arts: Academy of Art -Therapy
weekly studio timetable might Cairo (EGYPT); Ion Mincu – Munich (GERMANY); Porto
be adjusted, the cumulative University (RUMANIA); IUBH University – Facultade de
hours of activity required Internationale Hochschule Belas Artes – (PORTUGAL);
of a student is not altered. Hamburg (GERMANY); KU Reykjavik University of Arts
The opportunity to work with Leuven Brussels (BELGIUM); (ICELAND)
academics from a wide range of London South Bank University
universities, backgrounds and (UK); Malmö University This is what we call the
cultures greatly enhances the (SWEDEN); MEF University UNIVERSITY of Universities
international feel of the degree İstanbul (TURKEY); Reggio and lays the foundations of a
programme. As the outputs Calabria (ITALY); Umeå proposal for a EUROPEAN
and confidence grew this University (SWEDEN); UNIVERSITY that completes
experience became more and University of Lincoln (UK); the ERASMUS programme.
more enriched. University of Nicosia https://uou.ua.es
(CYPRUS); Uwe Bristol (UK);
THE STAFF Wroclaw University (POLAND; It is our intention that this
EXPERIENCE Yasar University Izmir pedagogic initiative will
(TURKEY) continue running over the next
Staff exchange has always academic years, even once
been an integral part of the This was a fast increase in the pandemic has passed. But
Erasmus+ programme, but quantity that also intensifies the to maintain this experience in
clearly is limited to those quality of the project: firstly, due time, we do need to work up
able to travel abroad in to the diversity of international a research project capable of
normal teaching times. universities, a range that goes constantly feeding us.
The development of digital from Sweden to Portugal,
architectural workshops opens and from Turkey to Iceland. This has been precisely the
up the possibility of teaching But also, since now there are origin of UOU scientific
students in other institutions more workshops than teaching journal. A biannual publication
to many academics who have weeks in the semester, the where every issue will underline
never had the chance to do so students can afford to choose a specific topic that has been
face to face. It also allows them between a range of offers. That addressed in the series of
to help colleagues deliver each means that they design their workshops developed every
workshop through their roles own education. According to semester by the professors
as tutors. The exchange of personal interest, each of the and students participating in
pedagogical ideas was a major students is able to select up to UNIVERSITY of Universities.
outcome of that pilot year. 10 workshops, just keeping in UOU scientific journal will
mind that they don’t coincide in have a different Editor in Chief
What started with 6 universities
time. for each issue, the directors of
in the first semester, just a few
months later multiplied by 4 This is a new role for the the different UOU workshops,
the number of collaborators. students, who is hence much who will take the research
We began the second more active in this educative of this journal as a precious
semester 20/21 with 24 system, where they define what opportunity to go beyond with
schools of architecture: kind of architects they want to our teaching.
Alicante University (SPAIN); be. In addition, the Schools
American University Dubai of Architecture always have
(UAE); Bologna University valued an intense collaboration
(ITALY); Budapest University with artists. Therefore, we
of Technology and Economics included in this fresh vision to
(HUNGARY); ENSAP Bordeaux UOU an exchange of ARTS
(FRANCE); European workshops, each of them
University Madrid (SPAIN); directed by different teachersYou can also read
