Sharing authorship and measuring influence in architectural training in neighbourhood communities

Abstract

In this paper, we address three contemporary issues currently being discussed in architectural education. The first issue is the hypothesis of domesticity as a suitable framework to acquire architectural abilities when students choose to focus their designs on ordinary issues from their childhood neighbourhoods. The second issue is that of shared authorship, whether it can make design more democratic and question the architect’s hegemony over other agents involved in the design process. The third issue is the use of new kinds of tools to understand the results and impact of architectural actions: a new user-friendly technological device, made as effective as possible, can replace sociologic satisfaction questionnaires, interviews or discussion groups. Sociological research applied to architecture offers us references, charts, rules of analysis and diagnosis. We describe two exercises performed in Alicante University. The first one was meant for a neighbourhood community that offered spaces, such as lobbies next to main doors and lifts, to install a shared wardrobe and other architectonic services including ironing, drying, and the folding of clothes. In the second one, housewives led a co-design process to redefine their homes and make them compatible with workshop activities.