UIA 2014 Durban - Student Debate and Charter

IS ARCHITECTURE [SCHOOL] REDUNDANT?
THE UIA 2014 DURBAN STUDENT DEBATE AND CHARTER ON ARCHITECTURAL EDUCATION
STUDENT DEBATE
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UIA2014 DURBAN Architecture OTHERWHERE
STUDENT DEBATE THE UIA 2014 DURBAN STUDENT DEBATE AND CHARTER ON ARCHITECTURAL EDUCATION
EDITOR
Samantha Rouche
CONTRIBUTORS
Olumuyiwa Adegun
Daniel Attoye
Jhono Bennett
Charles Bosumprah
Sinethemba Buthelezi
Westin Conahan
Matteo Defendini
Hugh Fraser
Marie Grützner
Bridget Horner
Cuan Hundermark
Ora Joubert
Mona Kuner
Onthatile Makgalemela
Mthembeni Mkhize
Jolanda Morkel
Peter Nguyen
Amira Osman
Samantha Rouche
Jaun van Wyk
IS ARCHITECTURE [SCHOOL] REDUNDANT?
DESIGN AND LAYOUT

Garth Walker
Hein Jonker
Mthandeni Zama
PUBLISHER
UIA 2014 Durban
© UIA 2014 Durban
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UIA 2014 DURBAN STUDENT DEBATE AND CHARTER ON ARCHITECTURAL EDUCATION
PUBLISHER UIA 2014 DURBAN

© UIA 2014 DURBAN
XXV WORLD CONGRESS OF ARCHITECTURE

INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION CENTRE, DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA
3-7 AUGUST 2014
DISCLAIMER
While every effort is made to ensure accuracy in this publication, the publishers and editors make no
representation, express or implied, with regard to the accuracy of the information contained in this
document and cannot accept any legal responsibility or liability in whole or in part for any errors or
omissions that may be made.
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UIA2014 DURBAN Architecture OTHERWHERE TABLE OF CONTENTS
FOREWORD 7
PREFACE 8
INTRODUCTION TO THE UIA 2014 STUDENT DEBATE AND CHARTER ON ARCHITECTURAL EDUCATION 10
TOPIC A | ARCHITECTURE IN AN ACADEMIC ENVIRONMENT 11

VITAL CHANGES TO ADVANCE ARCHITECTURAL EDUCATION IN THE DIGITAL AGE AND 12
DIVERSIFY THE PROFESSION
Westin Conahan
A FLYING CLASSROOM 13
Mona Kuner & Marie Grützner
DIVERSITY AND MULTIPLICITY WITHIN THE ACADEMIC ENVIRONMENT 16
Jaun van Wyk
PERSONALISE AND DEMOCRATISE ARCHITECTURAL LEARNING THROUGH EXPANDING 18
THE ON-CAMPUS STUDIO ON-SITE AND ONLINE
Jolanda Morkel
TOPIC B | ARCHITECTURE IN PRACTICE 19

MERGING OF THEORY AND PRACTICE IN ARCHITECTURAL EDUCATION: A MORE 20
FOCUSED APPROACH
Cuan Hundermark
THE EDUCATION OF THE ARCHITECT: DEFINING THE DISPARITIES, REDESIGNING THE 23
FUTURE
Daniel Attoye
ARE ARCHITECTURE SCHOOLS REDUNDANT? OR IS PRACTICE REDUNDANT? 25
FACE OF THE ENEMY 27
Hugh Fraser
A CALL FOR AN ADDITIONAL MODE OF SPATIAL PRACTICE IN SOUTH AFRICA 28
Jhono Bennett
TOPIC C | ARCHITECTURE AS A CATALYST FOR SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 30

ARCHITECTURE AS PROCESS 31
Peter Nguyen
THE AFRICAN RESPONSE TO A GLOBAL CULTURE: THE CASE FOR CONTEXTUALLY 33
SENSITIVE ARCHITECTURE
Charles Bosumprah
PARTICIPATORY DESIGN AS CATALYST FOR SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 38
Matteo Defendini
PEOPLE, PLACE AND PROSPERITY: ARCHITECTURE AS CATALYST FOR SOCIO- 41
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Olumuyiwa Adegun
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UIA2014 DURBAN Architecture OTHERWHERE TABLE OF CONTENTS
UIA 2014 STUDENT CHARTER ON ARCHITECTURAL EDUCATION 44
CONCLUSION 49
UIA 2014 DURBAN STUDENT DEBATE CONTRIBUTORS 51

Olumuyiwa Adegun 52
Daniel Attoye 52
Jhono Bennett 53
Charles Bosumprah 53
Sinethemba Buthelezi 54
Westin Conahan 54
Matteo Defendini 55
Hugh Fraser 55
Marie Grützner 55
Bridget Horner 56
Cuan Hundermark 56
Ora Joubert 57
Charlie Klecha 57
Mona Kuner 58
Onthatile Makgalemela 58
Mthembeni Mkhize 59
Jolanda Morkel 60
Peter Nguyen 60
Amira Osman 61
Samantha Rouche 61
Jaun van Wyk 62
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UIA2014 DURBAN Architecture OTHERWHERE FOREWORD
FOREWORD
I am pleased to present this publication of the International Union of Architect’s Student Charter on
architectural education. The Charter is presented as guidelines to the institutions of architectural
education around the world. This thematic publication is the result of the UIA World Congress 2014
Durban - ‘Architecture OTHERWHERE’ student debate on architectural education. The UIA Student
Charter on Architectural Education is the compilation of the debaters’ research, which took the
three sub-themes of the congress using the three topics: architecture in an academic environment,
architecture in practise and architecture as a catalyst for socio-economic development.
Preparing this publication has taken an enormous amount of time and effort. On behalf of the
institutions of architectural education, I wish to warmly congratulate and thank the UIA chair of
the local organising committee, Mr Hassan Asmal and his team, and also thepresident of student
committee, Sinethemba Buthelezi and her team. Finally I wish to express my gratitude to the host,
the City of Durban, eThekwini Municipality and its Mayor Councillor James Nxumalo.
It is my hope that all leaders of institutions of architectural education around the world, will take
time after receiving copies of this charter, to read it and participate by contributing in the exercise
of continuously improving the quality of education in Architecture.
Mthembeni Mkhize
Discipline Head - Architecture, School of the Built Environment and Development Studies, the
University of KwaZulu-Natal | Principal Director at Brink Stokes Mkhize Architects
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UIA2014 DURBAN Architecture OTHERWHERE PREFACE
PREFACE
On behalf of the Student Committee of the UIA 2014 Durban, it is my pleasure to present to you
the UIA 2014 Student Debate and Charter on Architectural Education!
The value and relevance of architectural education is becoming increasingly scrutinized in light of
pressing socio-economic conditions, which demand OTHERways of engagement and transformation
address economic inequality and social stigma, the very position of architects, their industry and
their contribution to vulnerable societies is being weighed and measured. Architectural education
would stubbornly resist change to its own detriment and at the risk of becoming a redundant and
the rules governing how one becomes skilled and work-ready are changing and architectural
education must change with it or risk irrelevance and ultimately, dissolution. Therefore, the
question that should be addressed is what a contemporary path of architectural education is and
what are its key components?
The new generation of architecture students is better positioned to give direction to the new path
system of education. It is this generation that carries the future of architecture. They have the
tools and means to question the status quo, in terms of relevance and are able to contribute
In the context of a rapidly globalising world where the gap between the developed and developing
countries is narrowing, there is a need to facilitate collective thinking around the future of
architectural learning. It is against this background that the UIA Student Debate is conceived as
a critical starting point for engaging with architectural education. It presents an opportunity for
students from various socio-economic backgrounds to engage with the very essence of architecture
as a tool for social development.
Lastly, the UIA Student Committee is testament to the role of students, in informing the future
of architecture. It is an initiative that should be supported and which has the potential of being
perpetuated. This report should lay a foundation for future discussions and ultimately, interventions
in architectural education. Fundamental issues are raised by this report. If architecture, as both an
academic and professional practice, strives to be taken seriously, the student proposals made in
this report need to be absorbed into mainstream contemporary debates.
The debate investigated three key issues architecture in an academic environment; architecture in
practice and as a catalyst for socio-economic development. As such the event offered opportunity
for architecture students to contribute to the debate on the future of architectural education in the
hopes of inspiring an improved and OTHERway forward.
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UIA2014 DURBAN Architecture OTHERWHERE PREFACE
These topics, within the broader Congress theme of ARCHITECTURE OTHERWHERE, inspired a
surprising outcome - one that challenged the concept of developing and developed contexts within
which architecture students work. The Student Debate illustrated, instead of vast differences
between the issues experienced by students and schools in these contexts, a great number of
similarities and further to them - a common theme in the solution of these.
It was inspiring and humbling, to have had the opportunity to work with the academics,
professionals and students who graciously gave of their time, their expertise and their energies in
the coordination of an event and the enthusiastic continuing of a conversation so pertinent to the
architectural profession today.
The Student Committee, thanks the UIA and the UIA 2014 Durban for providing the platform and
the support in realising this event and to Karen Eicker and Hassan Asmal, for their support and
guidance throughout this process, amongst others. We would like to express a deep gratitude to
Professor Amira Osman, Mthembeni Mkhize and Bridget Horner, for their tireless guidance and
collaboration on the Student Debate Brief; to Professor Ora Joubert, Jolanda Morkel, Hugh Fraser
and Jhono Bennett, who presented arguments from the opposite side of the institutional divide and
to the student debaters who brought a powerful voice to the failures and successes of architectural
education globally. To Olumuyiwa Adegun, Daniel Attoye, Charles Bosumprah, Westin Conahan,
Matteo Defendini, Marie Grützner, Cuan Hundermark, Mona Kuner, Onthatile Makgalemela, Peter
Nguyen and Jaun van Wyk, your energy and ingenuity is inspiring and stands as testament to the
unmoving activist of the architecture student.
We hope that this retrospective of the UIA 2014 Student Debate and Charter on Architectural
Education, may inspire innovations in approaches to education, practice and the social relevance
of our profession that will go to ensuring its ongoing relevance and capacity for the improving of
peoples’ lives around the world.
Samantha Rouche
UIA 2014 Durban Student Debate and Programme Coordinator
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UIA2014 DURBAN Architecture OTHERWHERE INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
The aim of the Student Debate was to continue and enrich the conversations on architectural
education already begun by associated institutions globally, namely:
RIBA: Architectural Education: Global Difference, 16 September 2011

The Architectural Review: The Big Rethink Part 9: Rethinking Architectural Education, 28 September
2012, by Peter Buchanan
3rd International Architectural Education Summit: New Directions in Architecture Education,
Friday 13th September - Saturday 14th September 2013
Architecture + Design Scotland: The Big Debate - The Future of Architectural Education, Friday
17 January 2014
The 25th UIA World Congress of Architecture - UIA 2014 Durban, presented a unique opportunity
for students from around the world to debate the current state of architectural education, within
industry in transition and a system of education in need of innovative rethinking, if it is to stay

relevant and valuable.
The student debate was envisaged as a platform for students from around the world to engage with
the components and dynamics of their architectural education from their varying contexts. The call
aimed to open communication channels between students from developing and developed countries,
socio-economic contexts. The relevance of the current structure and content of both architecture and
architectural education is being questioned more frequently in these times of economic and social
upheaval in various places around the world. In response, the UIA 2014 Student Debate looked at
discussing and unpacking the perspective of those currently in the system with the objective to pave a
way forward that may ensure the longevity of the practice.
There were three topics that students had to select from namely: 1) Architecture in an Academic
Environment; 2) Architecture in Practice and 3) Architecture as a Catalyst for Socio-Economic
Development. Debaters represented various architectural contexts from both the developed world
and the developing world. Amongst others it included students from South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana,
Germany, France, USA and Australia. Beside providing a platform for vigorous debate on key issues
of architectural education, the debate also provided an opportunity for networking and the heated
exchange of ideas amongst peers.
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UIA2014 DURBAN Architecture OTHERWHERE ARCHITECTURE IN AN ACADEMIC ENVIRONMENT
TOPIC A | ARCHITECTURE IN AN ACADEMIC ENVIRONMENT
Vocational and simultaneously broad, with an impact that is as far reaching as it is specialised and
education is perplexing at best. From either a Generalist or Specialist perspective, debaters were
invited to present a brief overview of their curriculum, school and studio dynamics/culture and to
discuss the components of what they consider to be a valuable architectural education.
ISSUES TO CONSIDER
In preparing their arguments, it was suggested that the debaters consider the following:
How are the subjects currently being taught, relevant (or irrelevant!) and how do the supporting
Debaters were asked to substantiate a ‘wish list’ of the OTHERcomponents of architectural
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VITAL CHANGES TO ADVANCE ARCHITECTURAL EDUCATION IN THE DIGITAL AGE AND DIVERSIFY THE PROFESSION
Westin Conahan
Past President of the American Institute of Architecture Students, Washington, U.S.A.,
westinconahan@aias.org
Architecture in the academic environment for many years remained consistent. The studio
environment, or culture, required many long hours with students working throughout the night
architectural designers, banded together to complete projects through twilight hours and into
dawn.
But now, with the heavy introduction of technology that we have seen in the past 10 years, the
studio environment and culture have started to change. Many students are no longer spending
hours as slaves chained to their desks within the studio; many are taking their work to the comfort
of their homes, doing much of their work on a laptop computer. At least here in the United States,
we have started to see a shift in the studio environment. Beyond technology, we have started to
ask if this culture is conducive to a healthy lifestyle and if this format allows for those of all gender,
ethnicity and socio-economic background, to study to become an architect.
Many old-school professors shudder when they see students using technology to develop ideas
and argue that only great ideas can be created by the skilled hand on paper with pen, but as
a few universities have started to implement online studios and many others are considering
implementing similar systems, one would ask if the studio culture as we know it is necessary, or
redundant?
Ultimately, we would not argue that Architecture is redundant, neither is architectural education.
But there is the question on the table with regards to the delivery of knowledge. As technology
continues to take over, and continues to grow in its capability to deliver information (mostly for
free) for all those who seek it, will Architecture School become irrelevant?
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A FLYING CLASSROOM
Mona Kuner
Architecture Student, the University of Applied Sciences, Constance, Germany, mokuner@htwg-
konstanz.de
Marie Gruntzner
Architecture Student, the University of Applied Sciences, Constance, Germany, magruetz@htwg-
konstanz.de
Should we only be taught inside the university, or should we be able to choose our own learning
space?
The idea behind our learning and teaching method, is that a classroom doesn’t need a building. By
carrying and setting up folding tables and chairs, we allow every place to be our teaching ground.
Classroom is then a place where discussions can take place. Different characters and fascinating
and to connect the various memories we collect day per day. So in the end an archive of memory
talks. At the table everyone is a student and a teacher at the same time, anyone can learn from
each other.
Kästner, written in 1933. It tells the story of a teacher who creates an outside creative learning
space for his pupils. He transforms the standards of teaching in order to show them that a
classroom does not have borders.
The concept was initiated three years ago through a Summer School Programme which was
founded by Professor Myriam Gautschi. The Summer School started in Brazil because of her
together with students from Germany in order to engage with local students. On the campus the
group ran into the Brazilian architect Paulo Mendes da Rocha, who shared his knowledge with them
and started to discuss architecture. The good effects on both sides, students and teachers, made
Professor Gautschi think about starting a programme that allows the students an architectural
exchange between continents and cultures.
proposed. In the meantime it became an accredited and proper part of our learning system. But for
now it is only an additional programme that takes place once a year during non-lecture periods. It
was repeated in Constance, Germany, in the following year.
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classroom to South Africa. This time there were not only two but three different cities, on three
different continents which were involved in the learning process.
As a parallel programme at the UIA, we created a space for open talks between students and
different perspectives and statements regarding architecture. After the Congress we travelled to
Cape Town by bus in a group of 40 South African, Brazilian and German students and professors. In
one week we experienced various places that showed us the diversity of the country. The concept
the memories for yourself but also to present them in the group. This exercise helps us to extract
new knowledge from gained experiences.
The folding tables and chairs accompanied us to any place we chose to go. They formed a central
meeting and working point on the trip and gave us social cohesion.
The third and last week of the Summer School Programme is aiming for a conclusion of the journey,
including good and bad experiences, exchange, cultural differences, visions, ideas and the use of
knowledge.
teaching architecture completely?
is still a partly theoretical programme that needs to be converted into an applicable educational
system.
In which way does the concept integrate a structured system?
The whole concept is based on engaging and discussing on one hand and on the other hand, the
experience of space by discovering unknown places. A structured learning would require a forward
a logical order in their appearance. The contents should also build up one by another. It will require
a complex organization.
How can projects of a complex structure be developed with basic equipment?
The tables enable the students to combine theoretical and practical work. This week we are working
on a design project in Khayelitsha, Cape Town. Due to the limited resources we go back to hand
drawings and try to contribute the memories of the journey to the project. The tables become our
working space and a place for interaction through drawings and discussions. We produce a lot with
minimum expenditure.
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Students and professors can explore different destinations on foot. During our stay in Durban we
went on a walking tour through the city to meet the South African architect Doung on a rooftop in
his personal environment.
The Summer School Programme is supported through some sponsors for example, but the major
part is paid by the students themselves. In the future our aim would be to make the programme
accessible for everybody, without paying for it. That would create a chance for everyone to
get input of different thoughts and opinions on design and architecture. Every single student
contributes his personal, cultural background and enriches the group with his character. This can
includes knowledge of architectural aspects like climate, resources, materials and technology.
new impressions and architectural exchange.
The table talks give the opportunity to learn and understand the knowledge of architects of
and ecology extend the student’s horizon and support their inspiration. In addition to the
understanding of landscape architecture, open public space and interior design, the students get
a new perspective of dealing with architecture in general.
Our conclusion is that a student should be able to choose the place of their learning environment
and not only to be taught by one teacher. The way of teaching should arise automatically through
the discussion. Asking any question, learning from the people and listening to everyone’s stories
should be an essential way for architectural education. An important aspect for our profession is
the practice of interpersonal relations. The Summer School is a catalyst to improve this skill.
One of our visions is that the table will travel around the world and spread the concept of the
table talk. The system of the basic furniture is applicable to every country.
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DIVERSITY AND MULTIPLICITY WITHIN THE ACADEMIC ENVIRONMENT
Jaun van Wyk

Master of Architecture student, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa,
vanwykjaun@gmail.com
Within the multidisciplinary discourse of architecture, little progress has been made to address
its complex nature within the academic environment. Whilst the practice of architecture follows a
radical development successfully converging between other artistic and social genres, the teaching
thereof is expected to stay whole. This utilitarian and oppressive view on architectural education
deprives it of evolution, and constitutes an environment which has become nothing more than
a rigorous process, an attempt at the formulation of a precise methodology. This deliberation
sprouted from an increasing feeling of dissatisfaction with the role, the constraints and the formal
education.
Architecture is generally understood to be a multidisciplinary profession, one of extreme complexity
the themes of architecture, but concurrently within the individual who interprets them. Yet little
progress has been made in cherishing and developing the individual and their subsequent ability
to bring diversity to architectural discourse. Architecture is widely discussed as this autonomous
entity, yet behind every architectural intervention stands the individual. How can we then argue
congress, without primarily considering the individual and their subsequent culture of education?
It falls upon the individual to question these constraints posed upon them as architects and
subsequently architecture. In a context where design has become a mere gradual evolution out
of ‘mainstream’, a new emphasis falls on the individual and the value of individuality, unique, and
inimitable design. Thus the architect needs to reclaim his profession as an art, and reinstate himself
unique and cease to become monotonous, it strongly relies on individuality and ultimately the
design concepts are essential in design thinking, conceptual bridging and the creative design
process.
Architecture as art has to do as much with shelter and comfort as with the individual himself.
values need to manifest on a plan as to become a new calligraphy of architecture, an individual

unique calligraphy such as the work of painters, poets, sculptors, and writers.
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When critically investigating the architectural curriculum, at least within the South African context,
our educational methods have changed little. Any manifestation of the program takes place
outside of the curriculum. However, due to the temporality of such manifestations the impact or
potential of such activities hardly seize to culminate into something productive. It rather trickles a
deep-rooted fascination than developing such interests.
This paper proposes an essential break from strict institutional systems of education, ill adapted to
change. It demands an educational approach that is open, alternative, international, collaborative
and innovative. An educational platform of synergy, where architects, critics, artists, thinkers,
and discoveries. A place where forms of knowledge, different teaching methods, and local, national
and international experiences, converge. A place where open minds and independent thinking are
fostered.
“Architecture must no longer be reduced to a professional or specialized education: it is a discipline
2014: Online)
Such educational models do exist, and reassert the potential for other institutions to follow a
is not only a name but also rather forms the core concept on which the school’s pedagogy and
teaching is founded upon. This new school not only integrates new visions on and for society
but also incorporates new methods and contemporary tools linked to creativity, production and
communication. It aims to create previously unimaginable opportunities by questioning the implicit
limits of architecture. Thus constructing an unparalleled understanding of architecture at the
intersection of disciplines, and converging forms of knowledge, conception/production, different
teaching methods and the application of local, national and international experiences.
In conclusion, the paper would appeal architectural institutions to critically consider their academic
programs and whether these programs do indeed incorporate ideas such as resilience, ecology
and values towards the individual, not only the preconceived product they seek to cultivate. It
challenges institutions to incorporate diversity and multiplicity in an attempt to foster individualism
within architectural discourse and promote a more humanist ambition thereof. Simultaneously it
challenges the individual. For these radical movements towards the unique, the individual needs
to foremost accept his role as an artist and leave aside all notions of cowardice. The individual has
the responsibility, not only to himself but also to his art and artistic expression, to have courage
and confront the mythology of architectural institutions.
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PERSONALISE AND DEMOCRATISE ARCHITECTURAL LEARNING THROUGH EXPANDING THE ON-CAMPUS STUDIO ON-SITE AND ONLINE
Jolanda Morkel
Architect, senior lecturer at the Department of Architectural Technology in the Faculty of Informatics and
Design at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) and board member of OpenArchitecture,
Cape Town, South Africa, MorkelJ@cput.ac.za
Architectural education has remained in essence unchanged since the middle of the last century,
despite radical transformation of the way that architecture is practiced. There is an increasing tension
boundaries) and high demand for specialisation (into areas of BIM, environmental science, new
materials and construction technologies).
Studio as signature pedagogy, has become a model for the learning and teaching of disciplines outside
of architecture and design, including nursing, physiotherapy, engineering and others. However, the
physical on-campus studio methodology is being challenged by the escalating cost of education,
being questioned.
I propose:
- A blended approach to learning and teaching including learning on-campus, on-site and on-line
- Learning and teaching through Mastery by means of Cognitive Apprenticeship
- Curricula that involve not only knowledge and skill (epistemology) but also a sense of being and
becoming an architectural professional (ontology) as part of a lifelong learning approach through
continuous professional development
(social, self-directed and connected) learning and varying degrees thereof

- Project, problem and enquiry-based education that encourages inter-disciplinarity
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UIA2014 DURBAN Architecture OTHERWHERE ARCHITECTURE IN PRACTICE
TOPIC B | ARCHITECTURE IN PRACTICE
Are architectural students encourage to substantiate their work on the basis of largely socialist
developers bottom line, in the ‘reality’ of practice? Are students thus operating in practice in a
different way to what they have been taught in the studio? From either a Theoretical or Practical
perspective debaters were asked to discuss the disparities between architectural education and
practice.
ISSUES TO CONSIDER
In preparing their arguments, it was suggested that debaters consider the following:
How does architectural education fall short of preparing students for the reality of practice, thus
Debaters were encouraged to substantiate their arguments with precedents that describe the
place of the architect in society and how these disparities threaten or auger that position.
Issues: Theoretical vs. practical; virtual vs. real and developmental vs. community-based
approaches to education and practice.
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MERGING OF THEORY AND PRACTICE IN ARCHITECTURAL EDUCATION: A MORE FOCUSED APPROACH
Cuan Hundermark
Architecture Honours student, the University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa,
qn.hundermark@gmail.com
We as architecture students, enter the profession unprepared for what lies before us, generally
unable to meaningfully engage with other disciplines, resulting in us being seen as resource-
intensive and minimally productive. Experienced professionals need to engage with us on a
personal learning level, us students need to take greater responsibility for our learning, while
schools of architecture need to broaden the curriculum to afford us a better foundation with which
to reclaim an ailing profession.
Graduates require intensive input through personal training, guidance and supervision, unprepared
by the academic curriculum for the practical and professional work environment. This is observed
through certain practices’ hesitancy to take on students, along with a sometimes understandable
limitation in responsibilities. It would therefore appear that we are perceived, in South Africa at
least, as an expensive commodity, not on the basis of our salaries, but in the time taken to teach
and guide that has a low productive output for the company. I would argue that such an expense
is an important part of the learning process, and is part of the responsibility that professionals
should take.
In South Africa we have two primary modes of education – those of Universities of Technology with
a more practical-based training, and those of traditional Universities, providing largely theoretical
exploration, neither of which fully prepare us for the rigours of practice. The apprenticeship model
of old is primarily defunct or existing in forms that are not acknowledged by our professional
body, the South African Council for the Architectural Professional (SACAP), yet a recently begun
while one studies part-time. This latest mode currently allows for a nationally recognised diploma
practicing individuals to gain their necessary professional recognition.
Speaking from my personal experience of attending both the University of KwaZulu-Natal and
the University of the Free State, along with time spent in two practices, I understand that we are
taught a new way to think, investigate, and design at a university. This is an education that touches
on a variety of cross-disciplinary concepts, through courses that often provide us only guidelines
to work by as a basic understanding of the principles of other disciplines. Yet this does not allow us
to fully engage with other professionals or their practices and allows us to design fairly idealistic
solutions in the studio.
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Universities often push an agenda for the appearance of both a project and its presentation to carry
more weight than consideration of the practical issues such as site works, structural engineering
and outcomes. In this, there is possibly too strong a focus on product and a neglect of process, a
topic expanded upon by a few of my fellow debaters, especially Mr. Defendini and Mr. Nguyen.
Another sphere sometimes neglected was highlighted by Ms Makgalema in her debate statement
involving an empathy towards people, the users of our architecture. Her school, the University
a student will connect with and get to understand a community and their needs, desires and
aspirations. This also develops a better understanding of the practical and social issues that
restrict simply imposing an architecture on a people through a guided, practical exploration of
solutions. This was echoed by Mr. Adegun and agrees with Mr. Bennett’s argument against a “top
counterparts who run a temporary and public design forum and who commented on the learning
possibilities happening everywhere in a co-operative environment where all people should be
allowed input.
We are often exposed to a single teaching methodology as determined by the school of our choosing.
a bad thing – architecture would otherwise be very monotonous. In fact, I would encourage my
fellow students to stretch their thinking, to be challenged by attending a different university for
postgraduate studies based on the university’s principles, values and outcomes as shown in their
recent masters’ theses and curriculum structures. More often than not, we are unaware of what
implications these choices have on our acceptance into the profession, where some practices are
prejudiced against an assumption of what the students know because of the teaching to which
they have been exposed.
This theoretical, sometimes philosophical education, although valuable in shaping new thinking
- considering how something is physically put together on site. There is a disparity between
our understanding, for example, of architectural design and understanding of the construction
process, or the cost and time implications of design decisions. Here I will use my experience as
hanger for a custom roof design. After it was complete and sent to the manufacturer for a quote, I
production would have cost thirty times what it ought to have. I am fortunate that my employer
afforded me the opportunity to engage in such a process, and I would encourage other professionals
to do likewise with their students.
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By masters’ level, a student is expected to have gained at least part of this type of insight towards
developing a thesis. Where does this come from if not within our current education system?
Does this emerge from self-study or through exposure within a practice that is willing to grant
a student the learning opportunity? Or should we re-visit the idea of incorporating it into the
curriculum? This could be achieved through various means, possibly including a stipulated year of
work experience, proof of holiday work in a practice or, like the universities of technology, a guided
process of entering into practice for several months within monitored and willing practices. The
alternative is to have a greater engagement from experienced practicing professionals who might
design process while they impart knowledge from their practically-grounded experience. These
approaches do come at a cost and a large administrative duty, but I believe that it is important for
us as students to apply what we learn periodically and to be checked by the profession, thereby
creating a cycle of theory feeding practice and practice feeding theory, the latter especially within
an academic environment. Here, we as students tend to fail in taking responsibility for our own
further development, and must be careful not to hold the education system responsible for all
of our learning. While I might disagree to the extreme nature of Mr Van Wyk’s proposal towards
the direction of our education, not simply accepting what is laid out before us, but challenging and
questioning both the process and the outcome.
Other professions such as property developers, engineers and quantity surveyors frequently
assume the role of the architect. This often results in mundane or kitsch architecture that is socially
and environmentally unresponsive, with a focus on economical or rapid technical resolution over
design-based ideas of social construct, humane environments and other aspects of design that we
are taught in architecture school. These latter elements are important in developing architecture
that responds to society, location and climate. By not having a proper grasp on the practical
issues, not only do we students have a reduced employability, but ultimately we lose the weight of
meaningful dialogue with issues beyond the concrete constraints of construction.
We as young professionals need to engage more knowledgeably, forming strong synergistic cross-
disciplinary relationships. This needs to be both on a practical and academic level, while each party
but if the respect that is necessary in our relationships to other disciplines is not demonstrated
or considered, we miss an opportunity to fully embrace positive design contributions that could
enhance our built environment. Students are entering into a largely capitalist environment – driven
by low cost, high-speed output – yet coming from an idealistic, mostly socially-centred education
that at times focuses too much on aesthetic. We leave the academic environment without the
architecture. Thus, we need to either be better equipped in the academic environment or have
practices understand and adopt more of a nurturing role, to merge the aspects of good design,
practical considerations and economics – through exposure to, and better integration with the
profession at large, for the improvement of the built environment, for all of society.
22
THE EDUCATION OF THE ARCHITECT: DEFINING THE DISPARITIES, REDESIGNING THE FUTURE
Daniel Attoye
Master of Philosophy student in the Department of Architecture, Federal University of Technology in
Akure, Nigeria, danielattoye@gmail.com
It is pertinent to state, to start this debate, that a divergence between architectural education
and practice will ultimately lead to the futility of the former in real world scenarios, and the
ineffectiveness of the latter to solve future technical challenges. The demands of the real world
require an understanding of certain core skills prior to graduation to maintain effectiveness
and ensure relevance. However, to ‘recycle’ unimproved conventional design and construction
world with fresh challenges and complexities in the built environment.
Two critical disparities exist between the structure of architectural education and professional
world practice. Practice however focuses on the skill-set possessed by the architect. These may be
technical or organisational. The disparity is not that architectural education focuses on a curriculum
and practice on a skill-set. The disparity is a missing harmony required for professional symbiosis.
Set against the skill-set required for professional practice, the curriculum of our present scholastic
training of the student architect falls short. We may say it is without certain key ‘OTHERside’ skills.
Professional practice focuses largely on creative and technical skills, construction management
a conscious part of the academic curricula; being, creative and technical skills, and in some cases,
construction expertise. The ripple effect is a fall-out where many graduates are unskilled in project
awareness and construction expertise, effective entrepreneurship, and clientele management.
The second disparity relates to the driving force behind architectural education and practice; it
driving-force of any practice - and architecture is no exception. Generally speaking, practice

advances capitalist concerns while education has a more socialist bent. The balance however, is
the product of a socio-consciousness in practice and the creation of solutions to actual building
needs of the people. This will inadvertently create an endless market of eager customers. It will
of appropriate architectural practice. Therefore, students of architecture should be trained to

advance socialist ideals but they also need to be trained to become savvy in creating design
23
natural disasters of varying proportions, require rigorous academic inquiry leading to the formation
of sustainable design prototypes and reconstruction initiatives. Future scenarios also need to be
predicted and understood from an architectural point of view. This will ensure that the architect
remains the leader of the design team and the prime consultant in the building industry of the next
decade and beyond. These thoughts are here advanced because the relevance of any profession
communities to invest natural resources and develop a sustainable future is the architectural story
told over centuries from Lagos to Paris; and from New York to Dubai. This is our architectural
The future of the architectural profession requires that the education of graduates receives
workable solution requires the input of all concerned parties; being, schools of architecture, private
we are able to develop proactive and sustainable solutions. Indeed, we are each share a part of the
blame and must be part of the solution.
problem-oriented curriculum; design studios should therefore constantly focus on real social
cum environmental challenges. This ensures a clear understanding of the real-life demands and
impact of the profession while building technical and creative skills. Secondly, a synergy between
education and practice should be advanced. The discussion on how this can be done will go
(10) years of practice and above seven (7) employed architects should establish an educational
department, which liaises with schools of architecture to support the academic curriculum with
real-life challenges. Finally, national architectural organisations must consider a way to assist
the student architect to blend into the profession just like other top professional bodies do. For
school. I suggest an induction program for graduating student architects; a program that brings
the graduate face-to-face with the brass of the profession, inducts them into the organisation and
ensures that the future architects are not sideliners who create ideas at variance with the norms,
but who understand on-going challenges in the built environment and can create fresh ideas under
close mentorship.
Historically speaking, architects like Michelangelo and Bernini, Walter Gropius and Frank Lloyd
centuries. Today, sustainable community projects and initiatives echo the impact of the creative
minds of well-trained architects. Only when the real dimensions of professional practice are
merged with our academic curriculum can there be the birth of a generation of architects who will
bring about a sustainable future.
24
ARE ARCHITECTURE SCHOOLS REDUNDANT? OR IS PRACTISE REDUNDANT?
Senior tutor at the University of Johannesburg; Co-founder of ASAP ( Architecture Students &
Alumni Platform) and mentor for SaWomENG (South African Women in Engineering), South Africa,
makgalemelaonthatile@yahoo.com
however, needs to take responsibility in their profession and needs to constantly question the role they
play in society.
Social responsibility is all the rage currently in architecture schools; this can be traced in history to the
Ulm School of Design, the German institution that reshaped design education in the 1950s and 1960s.
ideals. This model of teaching is effective currently due to the social challenges facing countries.
This paper aims to question the relevance of the studio and what it holds for the graduate. Does the
model of architect and client?
climate. The years of apartheid have left several scars on the landscape and the built environment
cannot turn its back on these. All architects obtain their initial education from a university. The
profession as well as the social issues affecting their profession. This idea of addressing social issues
in practice has been a challenge in South Africa. This is due to the fact that practices still operate on a
ideals or rather realities. The built environment can be used as a powerful tool to assist society on
various platforms. When working within the client model, empathy towards the environment and the
projects, these operating structures allow for a bottom up structure which allows the community
projects to make ends meet.
I think a possible solution for all of this is that those who are in practice should teach and those
do not become redundant.
25
and documented an in-situ upgrading in the industrial area of Marlboro South. This was conducted
over 7 weeks and included heavy engagement from the students as well as the community. This
grassroots-based system built on face-to-face relationships facilitated by rural principal that land and
building rights are allocated within the community, by the community, using social criteria competes
directly with formal systems and is essentially an anti-bureaucratic system (Huchzermeyer and Karam
2006: 261) .
the client is the government and students need to be taught how to work within that mode.
lines. In spite of the fresh-faced enthusiasm of some, as collective elite they remain stuck in a rut,
unable to move the audience, sensing the growing alienation, fearing the same loss of legitimacy
therefore seemingly unable to avoid an impending disaster. The rut they are in is a classical capitalist
crisis.” Patrick Bond
There have been many discussions and written transcripts about architects and planners who preserve
in the dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty- Four by George Orwell, however it may still be quite prevailing
because it is dealing with issues of space.
26
FACE OF THE ENEMY
Hugh Fraser
Media manager for Paragon Architects, Johannesburg, South Africa, HughF@paragon.co.za
Commercial architecture is often seen as an easy target for the dilution of the urban fabric. Whilst
many buildings are deserved of this criticism we would like to be seen to challenging our genre of
architecture and indeed re-humanising it.
• How does architectural education fall short of preparing students for the reality of practice: the
• Substantiate with precedents the place of the architect in society : the apprenticeship
• Virtual vs. real: This is the area of change. The only element that separates an architectural
there is no blood or gnashing. Why then do they keep coming back? Because we offer them more in
return regarding their education.
them and us.
27
A CALL FOR AN ADDITIONAL MODE OF SPATIAL PRACTICE IN SOUTH AFRICA
Jhono Bennett
Part time lecturer at the University of Johannesburg, Independent Researcher and founder and
operations manager of 1to1 - Agency of Engagement, Johannesburg, South Africa
jhonobennett@gmail.com
With the 20 year mark of political and social freedom at our doorstep, healing the endemic social scars
of the previous regime. No-where is this more evident than in the most socially and economically
vulnerable sectors of the population made up of over 1.8 million informal settlements inhabitants
across South Africa.
The professions responsible for the design of the built environment play a critical role in shaping
the future re-development of sustainable human settlements in South Africa. Unfortunately these
professions continue to be characterised by a preoccupation with top down acute technical solutions
It appears though, that architects in particular have become a niche commodity; valuable a certain
While some Architects in South Africa have broken through this stigma, they remain largely the
their services.
The skills promoted by not only schools of architecture, but all spatial design disciplines (architects,
planners, engineers, industrial designer etc.) in evaluating, understanding and interpreting hard
that is developing at such a rate. The broad knowledge bases around the core issues in social and
and multi-disciplined issues affecting the most vulnerable parts of South Africa.
developing any form of understanding around the true nature of the issue.
eclectic and innovative nature of the South African built landscape.
28
By giving professionals a platform and the tools in their training to allow for the accumulation of
critical experience in working with and for engaged groups of vulnerable people, these individuals
will have an opportunity to expand their capacity to both the profession and our re-developing
country.
These spatial design disciplines lie in a critically unique position, being able to mediate the
technical interventions.
This more empathetic approach underlies a need for additional modes of practices to effectively
and sustainably effect the spatial re-development of South African cities.
29
UIA2014 DURBAN Architecture OTHERWHERE ARCHITECTURE AS A CATALYST FOR SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
TOPIC C | ARCHITECTURE AS A CATALYST FOR SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Before studying architecture one may assume the product of an architectural education is an
architect. However, through the work of organizations, practices and individuals around the world
this notion is being proved inaccurate and limited. Discuss the changing role of architecture and
architectural education and the potential architecture has to transform society across all socio-
economic groups.
How are architects uniquely placed/educated to add value to society and how far beyond the
design of buildings does architecture extend and how far should it?
Substantiate what you think the ‘products’ of architectural education are and the extent to
architectural design.
30
ARCHITECTURE AS PROCESS
Peter Nguyen
National President of the Student Organised Network for Architecture (SONA), Sydney, Australia, peter.
quang.nguyen@gmail.com
In his book Development as Freedom, Nobel Prize winning economist Amartya Sen stated that
removal of major sources of unfreedom: poverty as well as tyranny, poor economic opportunities such
as systematic social deprivation, neglect of public facilities as well as intolerance or overactivity of
repressive states” 1.
If we look at architecture being a catalyst for socio-economic development, then there is a major
we need to understand that it involves two parts: the product of architecture - which we are being
trained professionally - as well as the process of architecture.
In the process of architecture we are taught to investigate social, economic, and political realms and
in order to synthesise an assumed built outcome. Responding to a bickering couple, Architect Cedric
it would not powerful enough to save a marriage, but secondly that the architect could only reach such
a conclusion using his analytical thinking.
As a student participant at Global Studio 20123, our interdisciplinary team including architects,
designers and planners collaborated with an NGO and community members. We were to develop
a short, medium and long term visions for a primary school in Prempura, a peri-urban informal
we used a participatory approach, working with community members from different age groups,
genders, religious and socio-economic backgrounds. We developed 14 goals with the community,
rather surprising that only four of these goals required the product of architecture: a built outcome.
However it was only possible to come to this conclusion using our analytical thinking to synthesise an
outcome as Cedric Price once did.
So how do we stay relevant as a profession wishing to use our architecture as a catalyst for socio-
economic development? In my opinion, the lack of micro and macroeconomic education is quite
alarming, especially if we are aiming to address poverty - an economic problem itself. We need an
education system, which engages us with social and political realities across a variety of disciplines,
rather than limiting the conversation within architectural circles. We need an education system, which
31
1 Sen, A, 1998. Development as Freedom. 1st Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press. P3.
2 Hyde, R, 2012. Future Practice. 1st ed. New York: Routledge. P167.
3 http://peoplebuildingbettercities.org/
https://www.dropbox.com/s/e7kf3c5f0n2dxgv/8.%20GS2012_CHAPTER%206.pdf
32
THE AFRICAN RESPONSE TO A GLOBAL CULTURE: THE CASE FOR CONTEXTUALLY SENSITIVE ARCHITECTURE
Charles Bosumprah
Vice President of the Architecture Students Association of Ghana and Master of Architecture student,
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology – Kumasi –Ghana., ckbosumprah@gmail.com
In the introduction to the seminal book on Tropical Architecture 1, Fry and Drew draw our attention
human freedom and dignity in the process”(1964 – p.22).
later, the continuum has compounded raising critical issues of loss of regional identity, climate change
articulation of local systems to meet global programs and on the other hand address the relevance of
various binaries in our built environment.
its physical manifestation is the fundamental process of responding to the aspirations and culture
the embodiment of the life of a people, their behaviour, history, religion, politics and environment.
Consequently, it is essential to re-focus the education and practice of architecture in Africa to its
However, within the Department of Architecture at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and
rule, the then Gold Coast inherited various codes of professional practice, building regulations as well
as various institutions such as the Town and Country Planning Departments and the Public Works
Department from the British. However beyond independence on March 6th 1957, the Department of
trained for. Several award winning student schemes rely solely on mechanical ventilation, imported and
33
Regardless of this mishap, products of architectural training within the African sub-region are
Therefore, our architectural education needs to open up and engage its local as well as global
thereby African architects with considerable sensitivity for their context are able to appropriately
respond to the needs of its users that is the people, their cultural values, their geographical
location with its inherent geological, topographical, climatic conditions, amongst others 6.
architecture cannot be fully grounded without acknowledging the dominant and unstoppable trend
To this end, the response of the Sri-Lankan Tropical architect Minnette da Silva 7 still resonates
in the need to value traditional architecture without being oblivious to the urgent call to address
critical issues of today’s era using the technology and appropriate mechanism of modernity.
Therefore in today’s globalized world, the opportunities for collaboration and networking needs to
be harnessed with the overall objective of blurring the boundaries of modernity with tradition in
the African context 3,5, 11.
A consequence of this is seen in the Primary school in Gando, Burkina Faso, by Francis Kere,
where there is a synergy of traditional values with the rigour of modern ideals and mechanisms to
promote community building.8,
favourite past time to actively mitigate challenges of social deviancy, illiteracy and delinquency
among the youth.
unique response to climate change within a non-conventional setting. All the above mentioned are
good models which embodies local interventions within an on-going global discourse.
A global discourse regarding climate change, mitigating dynamic social challenges as well as
controlling an increasingly urbanized Africa. Through their individual interventions, the emergent
solutions have included;
- The establishment of socially integrated communities
change within that milieu.

- The economic empowerment of communities through skill development and the promotion
of both a local materials’ industry and the architectural tourism of that locale among others.
34
In closing, the future of architecture in Africa still holds true to the ideal that “Architecture
economically. Thus its torchbearers should be sensitive to their environment and respond as the
call of their profession.
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
The framework for this submission has been established based on the overall goal of contributing
to the future relevance of the architectural education. Due to the varied background of its
contributors. This statement sought to highlight the importance of context to the discourse of
socio-economic development with architecture serving as the active agent.
The case for context sensitivity in architecture has not diminished in relevance though the same
cannot be said of critical regionalism; who championed this ideal. However, Ratti et al 5 have
to place-making. As a response, it appropriates global systems and mechanisms through local

networks. Thus an open community of regenerative networks is realized. However, this approach is
relational, as a result the creation of hybrid systems which bridges the divides of various binaries
11. Thus a network of informal and formal based contributors can form hybrid structures which is
a more dynamic intervention to the subject matter of context sensitivity.
The submission outlines a juxtaposition of the notion of the role of architects in a post-colonized
era1 with the relevance of contemporary architects as a means of emphasizing the unique roles of
sub-region 4
It goes on further to answer the question of architecture’s relevance within this context citing
which has led to socio-cultural transformations; most conspicuously noted is globalization through
architecture within this region, and this is evident through the low emphasis on contextually
responsive interventions by student’s design schemes2. Thus it is essential to make a case for the
prioritization of context in architectural education in the West African sub-region.
A consequence of this prioritization is the transformative effect of the architectural precedence

in Gando, Makoko and Oguaa all within the West African sub-region. Through the sensitivity of
the context in the design process, architects; Francis Kere, Joe Addo and Kunle Adeyemi have
propelled the socio-economic development of the setting of their buildings.
35
There is a connectivity of local and global networks which has resulted in a hybrid response of
meeting the immediate need of its locale as well as resonating its relevance beyond its boundaries
through the novelty of its response to global issues.
The case for context in the architectural process holds relevance to the longevity of a meaningful
environment. And its prioritization in the teaching and making of architecture is has been
emphasized in this essay, highlighting on various factors at play in the unique context of the West
African sub-region.
END NOTES
B. From discussions at the UIA Students Charter discussion, the following issues raised by
participants hold relevance to the onward direction of architectural education:
To begin with the view that the role of architecture is being skewed towards design and construction
however, beyond these paradigms is the emerging roles of the business of architecture, the essence
of understanding economics as part of the training, amongst others. Therefore, how these should
be prioritized in architectural training should be addressed moving forward.
Further on, the practice of architecture is growing exponentially, thus there is a need for
course content. There is also the urgent need for education to respond to the reality of its context
thus students are required to engage their locale at different stages of their process. This also
further integrates architecture into society, because the product of architecture impacts more of
its society whether positively or negatively than the process of architecture allows it thus there is
a need to open up the process to involve the community, the governmental organization and the
end- users in general.
Lastly, there is the need for re-assessment of the failures of architecture to serve as precedents to
at least improve on future failures
36
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Fry, M., & Drew, J., 1964. Tropical Architecture in the Humid Zones. New York: Reinhold. Pp. 22-
23
2. Intsiful, G.W.K., 2012. The Teaching and Making of Architecture in Ghana. The Ghana Architect,
Oct. 2012 (50th Ann Ed.), pp. 70- 73
3. Buchanan, P., 2012. The Big Rethink Part 9: Rethinking Architectural Education. The Architectural
Review. Available at http://www.architectural-review.com. Accessed on: 13 June 2014
4. Elleh N., 1997. African Architecture: Evolution and Transformation. McGraw Hill Publishers.
5. Ratti, C., Picon, A., Haw, A., Claudel, M., 2013. The Power of Networks beyond Critical Regionalism.
(Online). Available at http://www.architectural-review.com/view/the-power-of-networks-beyond-
critical-regionalism/8651014.article Accessed on: 13 July 2014.
6. Tay, K. S., 1990. Architecture and National Identity. (Online). Available at http://www.
akitektenggara.com/web/articles/nationalid.htm Accessed on: 14 July, 2014
7. Lefaivre, L., Tzonis, A., 2001. The Suppression and Rethinking of Regionalism and Tropicalism
After 1945 In: Tzonis, A., et al. (Eds.). (2001). Tropical architecture: critical regionalism in the age of
globalization. Chichester: Wiley-Academy/Fonds, Prince Claus Fund for Culture and Development.
Pp 32-35
8. Varanda, F., 2004. On. Site Review Report: Primary School, Gando, Burkina Faso. The Aga Khan
Foundation for Architecture.
Available at: www.akdn.org/architecture/pdf/2920_Bur.pdf Accessed on: 28 July, 2014
9. Hess J.B., 2000. Imagining Architecture: The Structure of Nationalism in Accra, Ghana, Africa
Today, Vol.47, No.2, Spring 2000 pp. 35-38. Indiana University Press.
10. Ikem S.O., 2002. Architecture, History, and the Debate on Identity in Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria,
and South Africa. Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, Vol. 61, No. 3 (Sep., 2002) pp
381-396. University of California Press.
11. Mehrotra R., 2014. Keynote Speech on Congress Sub- Theme: Ecology, 25th World Congress
of Architecture: Architecture Otherwhere – Resilience Ecology- Values. Durban, Republic of South
Africa. 3 -7 August 2014. UIA 2014 Durban - Durban.
12. le Roux H., 2003. The Networks of Tropical Architecture, Journal of Architecture, Vol. 8,
(Autumn, 2003) pp. 337-354. Available at:
pdf Accessed on: 11 July, 2014
37
PARTICIPATORY DESIGN AS CATALYST FOR SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Matteo Defendini
Bachelor of Architecture, ENSA Paris Belleville, Paris, France; Master of Architecture, Academy of
Architecture, Mendrisio, Switzerland, matteo.defendini@usi.ch
necessary to consider as fundamental – to quote the title of the 14th Biennale of Venice – the notion
of architecture as a “process” rather than a “product”. This meaning can be analyzed in two ways:
at a pedagogic level, as a system of design-build, open to the inter-disciplinary and interpersonal
discussion; and at another level of meaning related to the practice of architecture, as the spatial and
temporal succession of relations between different actors in which the built outcome, like the tip of an
The architectural project, as a dynamic reality, requires consequently, an engine to keep it running
through each phase, from the programme to the design and the construction. This engine could be
These days, architects are more and more frequently asked to engage directly with the different actors
of the whole design process, particularly with the users. But the participation of people in a project
occurs only during the initial conceptual phases and is usually limited to the ranges of consultation
and then of information. Before starting to think of an architectural project, it is responsible and
correct to involve the future users in order to understand their needs, wishes and preferences, so
as to materialize them in the design. However, through this process, the involvement of the users
usually turns into a passive presence addressing all of the information, reveries and tantrums about
the architectural products of the works.
If it is true that architecture has to keep updating itself in terms of space, form and construction to
be relevant, it is then fundamental to always keep in mind that it is not only about buildings but,
living, architecture must always pursue its primary aim, to “be-for-others” and not just “be-in-itself”
- often monolithic, self-referential and phenomenologically unreal. In “being-for-others” - whether
not true, architecture can revert into “be-against-others” - it is therefore necessary to involve the user
throughout the design process of the project, in recognising architecture as fundamental to identity-
making.
This approach to the participatory design of the built environment, should not only be adopted by urban
environment, where sadly students of architecture are usually kept far away from constructive dialogue
with the potential users of the projects they work on, throughout the course of their studies. Such
38
Therefore, how is it possible to shift this passive consultation to an active and continuous interaction
with users right into the design phase of the project?
(social, economic, political, cultural) and characteristics of each project (timetable, scale, type,
site etc.). But I believe that, keeping in mind the limits of one’s own capabilities, particularly spatial
representation and communication of a project, in order for it to be genuinely designed, elaborated,

understood and accepted by its users.
Universities, as well as architectural studios, are making use of more and more sophisticated
tools to represent a project, in particular through the digital representation of the physical and
functional characteristics of places (like the BIM process). The result is the production of fascinating
documents that however, cannot often be understood by the end-users, especially during the
phases of conception and the design development of a project because of their complexity and
Although nowadays it is necessary to adopt digital tools and systems as completing parts of
projects, it is equally important to maintain their communicative aspect, therefore the participatory
one, in their representation. In this direction, a proposal could be individuated developing, through
modern ways and starting from academic environments, the traditional but always current manual
express easily the space and the form of a project because they are tangible and observable in the
same way, obviously at a reduced scale, in which we look at the reality we live daily. Only by such
a tool and mode of representation and especially communication, is it possible to involve people
right into the design phase of the project in order to make its users participants and protagonists
of a shared process and not simply observers and customers of an imposed product.
In this way, through one such participatory posture that questions one’s own social, economic and
cultural responsibilities, architecture students as well as architects would become catalysts of a
process of socio-economic development ultimately made possible by architecture itself.
In closing, I would like to express a personal thought – that consequently doesn’t have the
presumption to be shared with every writer of this document – on the purposes of the “UIA Student
39
training of the youth, called more and more frequently to an international discourse. In this activity,
by internationalising education, a fundamental opportunity is afforded students who, by travelling
and conducting part of their education in different universities, cities and countries in terms of
global culture that is particularly rich and inspiring.
that characterise each place, permit one to avoid the risk, intrinsic in globalization, of losing the
singular regional identity. To be able to recognize, screen and design these regional identities
in a landscape that more frequently tends toward anonymity and the stereotyped reproduction
of spaces, I consider it one of the main goals of architectural education and so one of the most
important skills that the architecture student has to learn during their own academic training.
Having interacted with youth from countries, cultures and traditions different from my own, permits
us both to learn of various sides of the world in which we live and to know and understand better
and from a different point of view, one’s own territory and traditions in order to be able to translate
them plastically, into the projects that, as architects, we will be called to realise.
although addressed to universities of architecture around the world, although it is an international

vocation, it has to be screened through the socio-cultural environment and the academic tradition
a retrospective guide and to improve the teaching of the discipline, as well as to become a will in
which are guarded possible solutions for change and the hopes of architecture students about the
40
PEOPLE, PLACE AND PROSPERITY: ARCHITECTURE AS CATALYST FOR SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Olumuyiwa Adegun
Doctoral candidate at the School of Architecture and Planning, University of the Witwatersrand,
Johannesburg, South Africa, Olumuyiwa.Adegun@students.wits.ac.za
INTRODUCTION
Today’s social and economic scenarios challenge the architect to rethink h/her role in the production
of space. Nearly half of the world’s population – over 3 billion – are poor, with about 1.3 billion in
extreme poverty. The chunk of these low and no-income categories live in developing countries –
in urban centres characterised by high inequality as well as rural villages. In these urban centres,
urban poverty is expressed in run-down and disadvantaged areas generally referred to as slums
and informal settlements. Since these socio-economic conditions are manifestly spatial, and their
ways to learn, teach and practice architecture.
THEORETICAL UNDERPINNING: PRO-POOR ARCHITECTURE
It is important to acknowledge that socio-economic development cannot be separated from
process of creating and sustaining this physical space (which can be interpreted as place making)
involves formal and informal professional inputs of architects. Whether creating a building’s
blueprint, supervising its construction or specifying furniture; whether as urban designers or
expression of ‘capital’.
It is therefore imperative that architects pay attention not only to the rich and powerful that
have accumulated so much but to the poor, and make places for them. Since ‘cities are now seen
as providing the only possible opportunity to emerge from poverty and assume a path to a full
economic and social life. There is no more important design challenge today than the need to
The product of pro-poor architecture should not be understood to mean poor quality physical
spaces or places. Pro-poor architecture goes beyond a few social projects sponsored from the
crumbs falling off the plates of some corporate giants or through conditional international aid. Pro-
poor architecture does not imply an attempt to romanticise and perpetuate poverty. It also does
mean to say that the architectural profession needs to be pauperised.
41
waterfront developments in the Lagos city of Nigeria embody my explanation on a pro-poor

architectural product, and what might represent it is opposite. Makoko, a slum settlement, stands
out, and in contrast to the up-market Eko Atlantic city, located some kilometres away from it. While
Makoko has being designed as a place for and probably with the poor slum dwellers, the Atlantic
place only for the rich. Not much thought is given to the socio-economic development of the poor.
I am therefore arguing that since architects have a responsibility to respond to the poor, they
need to be appropriately educated to create spaces that foster prosperity for all as well as tackle
socio-economic inequality. This speaks to the need to tweak today’s architectural education - in its
content and contextualisation towards socio-economic development.
Pro-poor architecture also involves a process. Beyond buildings and place making, architects are
also uniquely placed to add value to the poor through people skills in the process of pro-poor
design. Architectural education and practice avails some exposure to diverse people skills, which
usually involves emotions, the senses and logic. These, translating into interpersonal intelligence,
position the architect for progressive socio-spatial engagement that catalyses socio-economic
development among vulnerable and low-income groups.
The prosperity of low-income groups, achievable through the emancipatory character of the design
process, is contingent on the process of negotiating power to produce urban environments (places)
that rationally responds to peoples’ aspirations and needs. This position is based on my experience
as an architecture student, research involvements in informal urbanism, and interaction with some
architect-led, grassroots-linked practices.
Experience shows that the product of an architectural education is not just architects, and ‘architects’
in the real-world context are not necessarily products of architectural education. Architectural
education therefore should inculcate the ‘attitude of learning’ rather than a ‘complete suite of
skills’, so that her products can operate professionally to catalyse socio-economic development.
REFLECTION ON THE UIA CONGRESS DEBATE
Participating in the UIA Congress was a great opportunity. My involvement in the student debate,
thoughts and argument on the place of architecture as a catalyst for socio-economic development.
architectural education in various countries in developing and developed countries emerged

strongly. Although, only some architectural schools in developing countries have in the recent
time incorporated design that engages with socio-economically disadvantaged groups.
42
The socialist ideals are however in contrast to the usually capitalist ideals that presently shape
the practice of architecture in the real-world. Graduates from schools of architecture have to cope
with this contrast, which to certain extent pose a challenge to catalytic potential of architecture in
socio-economic development.
Through the various sessions, it also became evident that architecture cannot catalyse socio-
economic growth for the poor alone, as I have argued for. It can help those who are already well-off
(middle and upper class) become improve in their socio-economic standing. My argument does
not focus on this dimension.
CONCLUSION
A new mindset is fundamental to fully realise the potential of architecture as a catalyst for socio-
economic development, and architectural education (and practice) progressively responding in
this regard. Getting people to think differently (along the lines I have argued) may not be easy. I
however believe it is possible and achievable.
C McCarty, Introduction, in Design with the other 90% Cities, Smithsonian, Cooper-Hewitt, National
Design Museum, 2011.
43
STUDENT CHARTER
44
UIA2014 DURBAN Architecture OTHERWHERE UIA 2014 DURBAN STUDENT CHARTER
THE UIA 2014 STUDENT CHARTER ON ARCHITECTURAL EDUCATION
The UIA 2014 Durban Student Debate, set out to bring architectural students from around the
world together, to discuss the current state of architectural education from a global, student
perspective. Originally, it was envisaged that the combination of students from developing and
developed countries would highlight a stark contrast between the practice and education of
architecture in these very different socio-economic contexts. In fact and surprisingly, the debate
accentuated the very similar issues, architectural students from around the world are facing today,
regardless of their contexts. The differences it did bring to the fore, were the varying degrees of
emphasis on the social agenda, inherent in curriculum from different countries around the world.
faced by students as they see them. The debaters also expressed very similar solutions to these
problems and innovative directions that architecture, in education, practice and socio-economic
development should move, in order to stay relevant and effective. These solutions - some
immediately practical, others more long-term conceptual suggestions - were collated to form the
UIA 2014 Durban Student Charter on Architectural Education.
ARCHITECTURE IN AN ACADEMIC ENVIRONMENT
1. We recognize that studio culture is integral to the value of architectural education, and
that advances in personal computing and related technologies are having a dramatic impact on
this culture. We propose that schools of architecture, must actively investigate ways of maintaining
studio culture, without impairing necessary technological progress
2. Architecture is both process and product with the outcome not necessarily a built product
or building. However architectural education is graded minimally on process and largely on product.
We believe more value needs to be placed on process in the grading of architecture students’ work
communication skills. Schools should facilitate the exposure of their students to OTHER cultures
and disciplines through travel and local community engagement
4. Both students and instructors of architecture should make every effort to capitalize on
available technologies, and their ability to foster communication and the sharing of resources.
Modern practices of digital communication promote local and global engagement; the expansion of
comprehensive knowledge communities; an appreciation of the educational potential beyond the
skills across cultures and disciplines
45
5. Architectural education is, for reasons of cost and time, an exclusive course and becoming
more isolated with further increases in fees – this needs to become more inclusive if architectural
education is to remain relevant - we propose that governments commit to subsidise more fees for
6. We recognise that architecture in practice relies on the knowledge of allied disciplines and
a career in the profession. A more person-centred approach to both practice and education is
imperative. As such it is believed that architecture schools should diversify curricula, while
encouraging the improving of students’ individual interests and talents by offering the option
to select electives from disciplines such as economics, business management, social sciences,
engineering etc.
of curriculum, location, cost and course duration and incorporate innovative ways of becoming
inclined
8. The study of architecture promotes complex, critical, and holistic problem solving skills
incorporating multiple interest groups within the practice and in the social environment. It would
architecture and design to have a more integrated presence in primary school curricula, developing
these skills at a younger age and allowing more room for growth as students progress through
their academic careers
ARCHITECTURE IN PRACTICE
unprepared for the realities of entry-level work in real practice. Curricula need to better incorporate
and emphasize topics like practice law; business, presentation and public speaking skills; and
understanding of associated professions, in order to remain relevant to today’s professional
environment
2. The frequent stand-off between practicing architects and academics is damaging to the
quality of education students are receiving. It is recognised that a closer relationship between the
profession and schools of architecture is imperative to adequately training students in a vocational
regularly, in studio by local professionals. Similarly, it is recognised that academic staff need more
time in practice. It is suggested to limit the amount of time academic staff may be out of practice
46
3. Based on precedents established in several of the world’s large professional societies,

the academy should also take an active hand in monitoring the work of students during their
internships and other work experiences, ensuring appropriate treatment of student interns,
productive and progressive skills training, and fair compensation for the work performed
process necessary to register as a licensed professional following graduation. It is suggested to

establish ways that professional registration be achieved within the post-graduate curriculum
5. For commercial reasons, architectural practice needs to stay up to date with the latest
design and technological advances whereas academia tends to fall behind. It is suggested that
the closer relationship between professionals, academics and students will improve the topical
relevance of architecture in academia
6. The past practice of working while studying part-time, produced technically and
theoretically well-rounded students with extensive knowledge of both the industry and it’s
theoretical underpinning. The value of such a system is recognised and it is suggested, that
required to perform these tasks effectively are built into the curriculum
8. We suggest a more specialist approach, that is tailored to the individual talents and
adopted
ARCHITECTURE AS A CATALYST FOR SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
1. The students recognise that it is not only pertinent to ask if architectural education is
order to stay relevant - both architectural education and practice must become more sensitive of
and responsive toward social issues
2. Both curriculum and outcome needs to be more regularly and rigorously reviewed to
ensure education remains aligned with both practice and the socio-economic needs of the society
within which it is practiced
3. We propose that the community/end-user that students are charged with designing for
should be involved in their design process throughout each stage of the project - as time is limited
for student projects, schools need to develop ways of facilitating these relationships between
students and their local communities.
47
It is suggested that working closely with students and academics from disciplines such as
anthropology and community development is integral to the success of such an initiative
4. If it is intended that architecture be responsive to social issues like poverty, urbanism, and
socio-economic development, , then it is imperative that architectural education include the study
of topics such as sociology and micro- and macro-economics, as a part of the curriculum
5. Architects have an ethical responsibility to act with empathy and be mindful of the social
context when working on project and this needs to be instilled at the academic level
6. Post-construction evaluations of buildings need to be more regularly carried out in

practice, in order to learn as much from our mistakes as we publicise our successes
7. Culture is an integral to the creation of good architecture. It is suggested that cultural

studies play a greater role in architectural education and in professional practice, most notably
when working on projects abroad or within foreign contexts
8. Schools of architecture together with the profession need to develop time and cost-
to the design of the built environment
community members in the grading, approval and realising of built works. It is suggested that the
grading of students’ work simulate a similar process by including all relevant stakeholders in the
and community representatives and end-users
10. Pro-poor architecture is undervalued and stigmatic - this needs to be addressed on both
professional and academic levels
11. There needs to be more awareness around the ability of the built environment to improve
people’s personal circumstances. Pro-poor approaches to design should respect and be sensitive
introducing entirely new and oftentimes, foreign concepts
12. Architects need to be trained technically, creatively and socially in order to respond more
realistically to real-life situations. We as architectural students, recognise that we need to learn
from others in associated professions and from society at large, in a humble manner, accepting
that we alone do not have all of the answers, but achknowledging that we too have a valuable
contribution to make to society
48
UIA2014 DURBAN Architecture OTHERWHERE CONCLUSION
CONCLUSION
The UIA 2014 Durban world architecture conference, cast the built environment spotlight on a city
on the fringe. In the focus of the architectural industry, Durban revealed itself as an eclectic space
able to bring cultures, races, nations and ideas together in way that accentuates and augments
history of a place that offers an alternate and distinctly South African African perspective on city-
making. What emerged from the conversation on Architecture OTHERWHERE, was a startling and
global consensus on the need for innovative thinking in approaches to the design and construction
education facilitated by the event.
The UIA 2014 Durban Student Debate and Charter on Architectural Education, brought students,
practitioners and academics together, with the intention of unpacking the current status of
course forward. The hope is that the guidelines to education, set out here, will ensure the relevance
and value of architectural education and in turn of its practice. The conversation highlighted the
similarities in the issues being faced by students, academics and institutions around the world
and in many instances, offered more convergent approaches to their solutions than what may
have been anticipated, from their divergent socio-economic perspectives. Students from both
developing and developed countries presented comprehensive arguments on the need for the
profession to commit to a more user-centred approach to design.
context of the current global socio-economic shifts; the emerging sentiment was one of a need
it (to quote Hugh Fraser of Paragon Architects); to diversify it and to place the user at the centre
of the design process. Perhaps the question is, how does the profession cater to the ‘other 95%’
skills our education equips us with? The guidelines suggested here, propose a step toward an
architectural education that is more closely aligned with the realities of practice and one that
49
CONTRIBUTORS
50
UIA2014 DURBAN Architecture OTHERWHERE CONTRIBUTORS
CONTRIBUTORS TO THE UIA 2014 DURBAN STUDENT DEBATE AND CHARTER ON ARCHITECTURAL
EDUCATION
OLUMUYIWA ADEGUN
South Africa
UIA 2014 Durban Student Debate Speaker
Olumuyiwa Adegun is a Doctoral candidate at the School of Architecture and

Planning, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. He is a Wits-Carnegie
PhD Award Holder and Student Project Assistant with WITS-CUBES node of the
International UrbanLab+ Network. He earned a Professional Master’s degree in
Architecture and later a Master of the Built Environment in Housing. Between and
the UACN Property Development Company in Lagos, Nigeria. In 2013, he spent

time in Berlin as part of the Robert Bosch Stiftung-funded Johannesburg-Berlin
development of urban human settlements, especially low-income informal

settlements.
DANIEL ATTOYE
Nigeria
In 2007, Daniel Attoye completed his undergraduate studies at the department

of Architecture, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Nigeria. During
Personnel at Shasam Designs as part of the academic curriculum. His master’s

degree from the Federal University of Technology, Akure, (FUTA) was completed
in 2011, with his research focus on ‘Reducing Global Warming through
Sustainable Architecture.’ His doctoral study in view, seeks to develop a new
and affordable way of harnessing.
-a Master of Philosophy programme in FUTA. He began work as an Assistant

Lecturer in 2012 and has since works as a Design Mentor, Juror to student
projects. His research interest is in Sustainable Design, Green Building and

Innovative Daylighting.
His professional practice as an architect involving a partnership with senior

colleagues has produced a modest design portfolio showcasing residential,
recreational and commercial projects. He has been a speaker at a Green School
campaign, participated as a Lead Speaker in a National Leadership Think Tank
project and is presently developing a completion-based training programme for
students of Architecture in Africa.
51
JHONO BENNETT
South Africa
Jhono Bennett obtained a Master’s degree in Architecture with design

distinction from the University of Pretoria, South Africa (2011). He completed
his undergraduate education in Architecture at the University of Kwa-Zulu
Natal with a supplemented semester abroad at the Carlton University, Ottawa,
Canada.
During his two year practical training in Cape Town, he worked in addition to
Hope Initiative, collaborating on the design for the Special Olympics Training
centre in Katatura, Windhoek, Namibia. Slovo Park, a student and community
research, design and in-funded construction project (2010), provided a critical
areas of South Africa. This was taken further in his Masters dissertation that
focused on design as a response to vulnerable networks through qualitative
partners, have formed a Section 21 collaborative that provides a design

based collaborative service between grass roots organisations, professionals,
academia and government: 1:1 - Agency of Engagement. Soon after, he began
working jointly as technical support to C.O.R.C, an NGO working under the
Shack Dwellers International South African Alliance while working part time at
various academic institutions in South Africa.
Jhono currently works at the University of Johannesburg as a part time lecturer

and Independent Researcher while managing the operations of 1:1 - Agency of
Engagement.
CHARLES BOSUMPRAH
Ghana
from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi,

Ghana. He completes a Master of Architecture degree from the same institution
in November this year.
As the Vice President of the Architecture Students Association of Ghana, he

actively engaged with fellow students in the year 2011 and 2012 to pioneer
Design Week, a platform for dialogue in rethinking the relevance of Architecture
in Ghana and currently seeks to continue this discourse.
52
SINETHEMBA BUTHELEZI
South Africa
UIA 2014 Durban Student Charter
Sinethemba Sade Buthelezi is a Masters candidate who is currently based in

Durban, South Africa. Sinethemba holds a Bachelor of Architectural Studies
from the University of Witwatersrand and in November 2014 will complete her
Master of Architecture (MArch) from the University of Kwa- Zulu Natal. Following
the completion of her undergraduate degree, Sinethemba worked as “architect
region. Her passion for architecture I gender I space I diversity I and the city
has driven her to serve on numerous student led organisations for architecture
and for women. In 2014 Sinethemba had the honour of serving as the UIA2014
Durban Student President. She was supported by 2 programme coordinators and
18 event coordinators, who together formed the Student Steering Committee for
UIA2014 Durban.
WESTIN CONAHAN
U.S.A.
Westin Conahan is currently serving as the President of The American Institute
organization based in North America. He is from Las Vegas, NV, and is currently
residing in Washington, DC. He is a graduate from The University of Nevada,
Las Vegas with a Bachelor’s of Science in Architecture and a minor in Solar
and Renewable Energy Policy. Serving as President of the AIAS, Conahan has
been heavily involved in representing student’s interests with regards to studio
culture, student loan debt relief through The National Design Services Act, and
the betterment of architectural education. He continues to provide the student
perspective in discussions regarding the future of architectural education and
professional practice in North America. Conahan is an aspiring architect by day
and a wannabe rock star by night.
53
MATTEO DEFENDINI
France
Matteo Defendini is a student with a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture. Born and
in his home area, where he discovered an innate predilection for Architecture.

Reached the high school Diploma in 2010, he moved to Switzerland to begin
his studies in architecture at the Academy of Architecture in Mendrisio. In an
undisputed center of cultural production and exchange as the Academy is
internationally considered, as well as in the travels he did so far around the world,
Matteo met great architects - like Mario Botta, Eduardo Souto de Moura, Sean
architecture. In September 2012, he moved to Australia, in Melbourne, to work

for one year in two established architectural and urban design practices: Peter
Elliott Architecture&Urban design and Di Mase Architects. Thanks to one of the
scholarships he received during his period of studies, Matteo moved to Paris
in September 2013 to complete his Bachelor at l’École Nationale Supérieure
d’Architecture de Paris-Belleville. During July 2014, he worked with other 12
students of ENSAPB in Durban on a project that calls into question the meaning
of the public space in the African city. In September 2014, Matteo will come back
in Switzerland to start his Master at the Academy of Architecture in Mendrisio.
HUGH FRASER
South Africa
Hugh Fraser graduated in architecture before computers were invented.

(Although he did lecture AutoCad 10 at university ). He has bravely weathered
the perfect storm of clients, contractors and computers. He has travelled to 80
countries to record the built environment. Seven years were spent at the Concrete
Institute and at Glass industries. He is currently the media manager for Paragon
Architects, which sounds like the Minister of Fun, but he deals with a wide range
editing, website and organising the Paragon Amazing Architectural Race. No fun.
MARIE GRUTZNER
Germany
Marie Grützner was studying in Constance at the University of Applied Sciences
For the summer time she is also taking part at the Summer School Programme.
After that she is going to continue with her master’s programme. During her
worked in is called ‘Polyform Arkitekter’ and is placed in Copenhagen. compared

to that one of the other cities in the world.
54
CUAN HUNDERMARK
South Africa
Growing up in KZN, South Africa, Cuan completed his undergraduate studies in

Architecture in 2010 at The University of KwaZulu-Natal. Two years of working
specialist hospital design and construction. 2013 saw his return to academia
at the University of the Free State where he is currently pursuing an honours
degree, and ultimately a masters degree, in Architecture.
BRIDGET HORNER
South Africa
UIA 2014 Durban Student Debate
Bridget Horner is an architect and Director of Space Syntax South Africa, she is
also a lecturer in the Architectural Post Graduate Programme at the University
of KwaZulu Natal. Bridget’s expertise lies in evidence based analysis and
strategic design advice empowering public and private agencies with the
tools to evaluate project proposals and participate in the development of the
design process. Bridget completed her bachelor degree in architecture at the
Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, in Port Elizabeth, South Africa where
she graduated cum laude and was awarded a Commonwealth Scholarship to study
at the Bartlett School of Graduate Studies at the University College London. After
development projects Bridget traveled extensively in Europe, Eastern Europe and

Asia. Upon returning to South Africa she registered as a professional architect
Space Syntax South Africa in 2005. She has lectured part time at both Durban
University of Technology and the University of KwaZulu Natal (UKZN) before
taking a full time lecturing post at UKZN in 2012.
55
ORA JOUBERT
South Africa
UIA 2014 Durban Student Debate Chairperson
Ora Joubert was head of architecture at two South African universities and the
recipient of numerous design awards, with her work published in more than sixty
national and international publications. She was also convener and editor of the
seminal compendium 10 years 100 buildings – architecture in a democratic South
African (Cape Town: Bell-Roberts, 2009) which received an award of excellence
from the South African Institute of Architecture. She is presently preparing a
companion to the latter, on the most meritorious student dissertations of the
last decade.
CHARLIE KLECHA
U.S.A.
UIA 2014 Durban Student Charter
Charlie is currently serving a one-year term as the National President of the

American Institute of Architecture Students, an international, student-governed
and design across the country and around the world. This position is a full-time
spokesman of the AIAS among the collateral organizations and other external
partners, and providing the central strategic vision for the organization. Prior to
this appointment, Charlie received his M.Arch from the School of the Art Institute
of Chicago, and holds a bachelors degree from the University of Michigan’s
School of Music, Theatre, & Dance in Lighting Design and Stage Management.
contributed greatly to his perspective on the architectural profession, and the
AIAS, he plans to return to his home in Detroit, to continue his advocacy and
engagement with the AIA and other local and national organizations, and to work
toward professional licensure.
56
MONA KUNER
Germany
Mona Kuner is an architecture student in third year, right before starting her
bachelor thesis. She started her studies in Constance at the University of Applied
Sciences in Germany in 2011. During her studies she is constantly working at
September last year until March 2014 she had the possibility to work abroad. She
was staying in Santiago de Chile and was working at ‘Panorama Arquitectos’. At
the moment she is taking part at the Summer School Programme 2014 together
with Brazilian and South African students to gain architectural experience in
South Africa.
ONTHATILE MAKGALEMELA
South Africa
Onthatile Makgalemela is currently studying towards her Mtech Architectural

Technology (Professional) at the University of Johannesburg. She sits on the
student faculty board as the departmental representative and is the department’s
senior tutor. She is one of the founders of ASAP (Architecture Students &
Alumni Platform), which is the department’s architecture society for students.
ASAP collaborates with 1:1 Student League, an agency that exposes students to
the social needs of the country. She is a mentor for SaWomENG (South African
Women in Engineering), an NPO which is committed to exposing high school
on- one mentoring as well as providing the learners with as much information
as possible before they leave matric. She is passionate about education and
exploring architecture in more than one dimension.
57
MTHEMBENI MKHIZE
South Africa
UIA 2014 Durban Student Debate Master of Ceremonies
Mthembeni Mkhize is one of the leading Business Executives in the Design,

Manufacturing and Services industry in South Africa. He has beaten all the odds
of his social background to contribute towards helping low-income communities
to progress from being unemployed and unskilled labourers to becoming a
researcher, intelligent transport systems (ITS) specialist, industrialist, trainer in

the technical profession and has been the key person in establishing numerous
businesses to alleviate unemployment within previously disadvantaged
communities.
In 1994, Mthembeni Mkhize was honoured as one of the few emerging leaders
throughout the world to be awarded the prestigious Eisenhower Fellowship,
which took him through approximately 45 cities and towns in the USA and
spent time as a visiting Professor at Schools of Architecture and Design in

Princeton University, Harvard School of Design, Howard University Washington
DC, Miami University, Philadelphia University, Pan State University, University
of California Los Angeles, Virginia University, Illinois Institute of Technology,
Howard University etc.
Industrial Research as project leader and Scientist in the Educational and Health
Facilities Program of the Building Technology Division. In May 1996, on an
invitation by the Minister of Trade and Industry (Mr Alec Erwin) in South Africa,
Mthembeni Mkhize was invited to attend the United Nations Conference on Trade
and Development. The focus of this conference was “liberalisation of global trade
In November 1997, he was selected by the DTI as a member of the 13 leaders of

South African Companies supplying components to the Automotive Industry, to
take part in the SEMA ‘97 International Exhibition in Las Vegas, Nevada USA. Since
then he is selected several times each year to participate in business delegations
led by the DTI representing South Africa all over the world to promote global
trade and export business for the South African industry. The aim of this is to
assist South African Industries to engage in growth that earns foreign currency
for South Africa.
In his 36 years in the industry, Mthembeni Mkhize has worked on numerous

prestigious projects including: 70 000 houses for Mpumalanga Province (BNG)
including Land Acquisition, Infrastructure and top structure development by
Mpumalanga Property Development Programme; Freedom Park, Pretoria – the
development of a museum exhibition space for a Centre of knowledge production
and possibly the most important cultural project underway in South Africa and a
part of a larger Presidential Project for receiving foreign dignitaries; FIFA 2010 –
Development of Public Viewing Sites (Fan Festival Parks) based on the German,
Korean and Japanese models – South African Ministry of Sport; Umlazi Highway
Development Corridor Project – University of Technology, which includes
students residences; Ladysmith Sports Complex Development – Mixed used
development and the Cato Ridge Inland Harbour and mixed-use development.
He is currently serving as the Head of the Department of Architecture at the
University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, South Africa.
58
JOLANDA MORKEL
South Africa
Jolanda Morkel, registered architect and senior lecturer in the Department of

Architectural Technology in the Faculty of Informatics and Design at the Cape
Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) holds a Bachelor of Architecture from
UPE, a Higher Diploma in Higher Education and Training and is currently engaged
in doctoral studies in Architecture at the CPUT.
Over a period of 20 years Jolanda has taught in undergraduate and Masters’

programmes at the University of Stellenbosch (TRP) and CPUT (Architecture),
focusing on history, theory and the design studio.
She is an Interim Board member of OpenArchitecture and CPUT coordinator

of the joint part-time BTech programme, teaching theory and design. Recent
responsibilities at CPUT include the implementation of a joint architecture
and interior design foundation programme, acting as work integrated learning
coordinator for the faculty and starting up the part-time BTech programme.
studio-based learning. The focus of her current doctoral work is online mediation
of conceptual design learning. She regularly presents at conferences, facilitates
online workshops and has co-authored three book chapters (one in press) on
sustainable design, urban design and learning design.
PETER NGUYEN
Australia
Peter Nguyen is a year-out student of architecture from Sydney, Australia.

He recently completed his Bachelor of Design in Architecture (Part 1) at the
University of Sydney in 2013 and is currently working at Johnson Pilton Walker, a
Sydney based architectural practice focused on public, cultural and commercial
projects in Australia and China.
In 2012 he was a participant in Global Studio Bhopal and worked in a

multidisciplinary environment using participatory processes as means to deliver
short, medium and long term goals to a government school in an informal
settlement. The results of this project were exhibited internationally in the
People Building Better Cities exhibition.
Peter has been involved extensively with the Student Organised Network for
Architects. He is currently the 2014 National President of SONA and is involved

with advocacy, events and competitions within the organisation. In addition
Peter has also been a panel member on two National Visiting Panels for the
accreditation of architecture courses.
59
AMIRA OSMAN
South Africa
UIA 2014 Durban General Reporter
Professor Amira Omer Siddig Osman is an associate professor in architecture at

the University of Johannesburg. Prior to this she worked as a senior researcher at
at the University of Khartoum in Sudan in 1988 and 1996 respectively.
Between the two Amira also studied at the Institute for Housing Studies (IHS) in
her PhD in Architecture at the University of Pretoria in 2004. Following this,

Professor Osman taught in various institutions for over 20 years (1988-2009),
11 of which were at the University of Pretoria in South Africa.
Professor Osman also worked as an architect in Khartoum from 1988 to 1997

and as a United Nation Volunteer (UNV) in Maseru, Lesotho between 1997 and
1998. She has participated in a number of projects in South Africa, including a
hostel upgrade and designs for social housing in Pretoria. Amira has collaborated
with various partners in research projects for a number of agencies and is a rated
NRF researcher.
Professor Osman has also presented numerous lectures, workshops and courses
nationally and internationally including in Khartoum, Durban, Dresden and
Bergen. She has presented courses for a number of agencies including the Social
Housing Foundation (SHF), the Centre for Housing and Land Development UP,
CIMPSEM, Dresden and the CSIR. Professor Osman is also a member of several
and competition juries internationally.
SAMANTHA ROUCHE
South Africa
UIA 2014 Durban Student Debate Coordinator
Samantha Rouche has recently graduated with a Master of Architecture degree

and currently works as a freelance candidate architect for Brink Stokes Mkhize
Architects and as a part-time lecturer at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in
Durban, South Africa. After completing her Bachelor of Architectural Studies at
the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Samantha moved to London where she had the
opportunity to work extensively on large-scale projects in the hospitality and
housing sectors.
On returning to study full-time in South Africa, Samantha was selected to

represent UKZN at the 5th FUCHS competition in her 4th year. She completed
her masters dissertation on the impact of the built environment on the process
of addiction treatment and was nominated for the regional Corobrik awards.
Samantha has been involved extensivley in the coordination of the UIA 2014
Student Programme and was invited to join the UKZN delegation to the ModelY20
Summit, to debate issues faced by youth in the G20 countries.
60
JAUN VAN WYK

South Africa
in architecture with Cum Laude from the University of the Free State after
which he worked for various internationally commended architectural practices,
galleries and architectural institutions in France, the Netherlands and the USA.
Among these, include internationally acclaimed Studio Odile Decq, Gallery
Polaris, Gallery Oniris, Dus Architects and the Southern California Institute for
Architecture. Locally he has worked with Johannesburg based architectural
practice Daffonchio and Associates and innovative developers Propertuity, with
particular focus on the urban development and transformation of the Maboneng
Precinct in downtown Johannesburg.
notable collaboration with Russian architect Inara Nevskaya was published in the
spaces through means of extrapolation’ was used as academic premise for the
In his personal work and research Van Wyk aims to not alter architecture as such,
but to reinstate his role as creative individual by undermining and exploding
that architecture today has become nothing more than a rigorous process, an
attempt at the formulation of a precise design methodology where engineers,
scientists and mathematicians are being seen as models to be emulated. Yet
this functionalist view on architecture deprives it of evolution; whilst other art
forms experiment and follow a radical development, architecture is expected to
stay whole. Thus, the architect needs to reclaim its profession as an art, and
future design to truly stay inimitable, unique and cease to become monotonous,
it strongly relies on knowledge and critical notions of history, theory, criticism of
architecture and urbanism, ecologies and economies of the built environment
and the multimedia.
61
62

UIA 2014 Durban - Student Debate and Charter

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UIA 2014 Durban - Student Debate and Charter

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IS ARCHITECTURE [SCHOOL] REDUNDANT?

DESIGN AND LAYOUT

UIA 2014 DURBAN STUDENT DEBATE AND CHARTER ON ARCHITECTURAL EDUCATION

PUBLISHER UIA 2014 DURBAN

XXV WORLD CONGRESS OF ARCHITECTURE

TOPIC A | ARCHITECTURE IN AN ACADEMIC ENVIRONMENT 11

TOPIC B | ARCHITECTURE IN PRACTICE 19

TOPIC C | ARCHITECTURE AS A CATALYST FOR SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 30

UIA 2014 STUDENT CHARTER ON ARCHITECTURAL EDUCATION 44

UIA 2014 DURBAN STUDENT DEBATE CONTRIBUTORS 51

RIBA: Architectural Education: Global Difference, 16 September 2011

industry in transition and a system of education in need of innovative rethinking, if it is to stay

TOPIC A | ARCHITECTURE IN AN ACADEMIC ENVIRONMENT

Debaters were asked to substantiate a ‘wish list’ of the OTHERcomponents of architectural

was repeated in Constance, Germany, in the following year.

teaching architecture completely?

In which way does the concept integrate a structured system?

How can projects of a complex structure be developed with basic equipment?

new impressions and architectural exchange.

DIVERSITY AND MULTIPLICITY WITHIN THE ACADEMIC ENVIRONMENT

Jaun van Wyk

Architecture is generally understood to be a multidisciplinary profession, one of extreme complexity

values need to manifest on a plan as to become a new calligraphy of architecture, an individual

“Architecture must no longer be reduced to a professional or specialized education: it is a discipline

(social, self-directed and connected) learning and varying degrees thereof

TOPIC B | ARCHITECTURE IN PRACTICE

MERGING OF THEORY AND PRACTICE IN ARCHITECTURAL EDUCATION: A MORE FOCUSED APPROACH

practicing individuals to gain their necessary professional recognition.

world with fresh challenges and complexities in the built environment.

driving-force of any practice - and architecture is no exception. Generally speaking, practice

of appropriate architectural practice. Therefore, students of architecture should be trained to

ARE ARCHITECTURE SCHOOLS REDUNDANT? OR IS PRACTISE REDUNDANT?

model of architect and client?

projects to make ends meet.

do not become redundant.

FACE OF THE ENEMY

them and us.

A CALL FOR AN ADDITIONAL MODE OF SPATIAL PRACTICE IN SOUTH AFRICA

eclectic and innovative nature of the South African built landscape.

TOPIC C | ARCHITECTURE AS A CATALYST FOR SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

human freedom and dignity in the process”(1964 – p.22).

various binaries in our built environment.

change within that milieu.

to place-making. As a response, it appropriates global systems and mechanisms through local

A consequence of this prioritization is the transformative effect of the architectural precedence

Available at: www.akdn.org/architecture/pdf/2920_Bur.pdf Accessed on: 28 July, 2014

pdf Accessed on: 11 July, 2014

PARTICIPATORY DESIGN AS CATALYST FOR SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

representation and communication of a project, in order for it to be genuinely designed, elaborated,

global culture that is particularly rich and inspiring.

although addressed to universities of architecture around the world, although it is an international

PEOPLE, PLACE AND PROSPERITY: ARCHITECTURE AS CATALYST FOR SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

ways to learn, teach and practice architecture.

THEORETICAL UNDERPINNING: PRO-POOR ARCHITECTURE

It is important to acknowledge that socio-economic development cannot be separated from

waterfront developments in the Lagos city of Nigeria embody my explanation on a pro-poor

REFLECTION ON THE UIA CONGRESS DEBATE

architectural education in various countries in developing and developed countries emerged

THE UIA 2014 STUDENT CHARTER ON ARCHITECTURAL EDUCATION

ARCHITECTURE IN AN ACADEMIC ENVIRONMENT

skills across cultures and disciplines

3. Based on precedents established in several of the world’s large professional societies,

process necessary to register as a licensed professional following graduation. It is suggested to

ARCHITECTURE AS A CATALYST FOR SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT