Strengthening Architecture and Built Environment Research Erasmus Project

Project Title

Strengthening Architecture and Built Environment Research

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for higher education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2017

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Regional dimension and cooperation; Research and innovation; Entrepreneurial learning – entrepreneurship education

Project Summary

Architecture and Built Environment disciplines have been taught at European universities for over a century. Still the situation bears many of the characteristics of an emerging field of knowledge: it lacks recognition for specific research outputs; it lacks sufficient research funding; it has only recently started to gain acceptance of design as an academic activity; and the esteem of the doctorate title remains comparatively low. A deeper embedding of Architecture and Built Environment research into higher education institutions, as well as outside academia, has therefore not yet been developed sufficiently.

Objectives:

• Enable exchanges between those involved in education, business, policy-making and research & development in the field;

• Establish partnerships for transnational research and innovation partnerships among higher education institutions, industry partners, professional communities, and local as well as regional authorities;

• Raise awareness of the value of research and entrepreneurship in the field for the wider benefit of the economy, society and cultural life;

• Extend role of research outcomes in the field within the marketplace, i.e. creative industries, construction industry, policy-making bodies, government, public and professional bodies, and make them more relevant to research funding organisations;

• Open knowledge and information exchange between researchers in the field at various different stages of development in their careers, both in academia and in practice;

• Expand innovation culture in the field, including improving research infrastructure (facilities, education programmes, equipment, research centres).

The project was developed jointly by the four partners: Chalmers University of Technology, Department of Architecture; Delft University of Technology, Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment; Technical University of Munich, Department of Architecture and University College London, The Bartlett Faculty of the Built Environment – with input also from ETH Zurich (associate partner) and stakeholders from industry, practice, professional organisations, and public administration bodies. The composition of the alliance is such that the partners will each bring individual strengths to the project, creating added value.

There will be a wide range of participants in the project activities. Our target groups are staff, students, researchers, and external stakeholders drawn from industry, practice and public administration bodies. A total number of 300 people will directly be involved; roughly 300 other people will benefit indirectly.

Project Results:

1/ European PhD Core Curriculum for Architecture and the Built Environment: This output will share existing courses among the partners, adopt high-quality courses from other European universities, and create new courses or rework existing courses into open formats (i.e. MOOCs);

2/ Architectural Entrepreneurship: This output will establish a test-bed and model for adapting fast-track educational formats from other fields (e.g. management/engineering/design/business), as well as for linking academia and construction/creative industries;

3/ Making the Knowledge Triangle Work: This output will develop, elaborate and refine a method for collaboration on real-world problems, called ‘Design Dialogues’, by updating and adapting knowledge/methods for different societal situations across European countries;

4/ Applied Research in the Marketplace – Architectural Design Research: This output will focus on design research going on in architectural practices, showcasing housing projects for London and Gothenburg by use of online Design Research Folios.

Impact:

The project will result in stronger transnational research partnerships among higher education institutions, industry, practices, and local/regional authorities, by looking at current real-world challenges and increasing the potential for research, innovation and entrepreneurship. It will foster the exchange of information, data, knowledge and policies between researchers and practitioners in Architecture and the Built Environment at various career stages in both academia and industry. The aim is to show how research can play a larger role within European construction/creative industries, and address the needs of public policy-making and professional bodies, as well as research funding organisations.

Long-term benefits:

The project outputs will provide students and staff/researchers with skill-sets that allow them to succeed in a complex, dynamic and uncertain marketplace, and to open up a more diverse range of employment opportunities. The outputs also aim to aid higher education institutions in promoting research and innovation, specifically through regional networks. All materials will be freely available on Open Access platforms.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 275132 Eur

Project Coordinator

TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITAET MUENCHEN & Country: DE

Project Partners

• TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITEIT DELFT
• CHALMERS TEKNISKA HOEGSKOLA AB
• UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON