Projects
The various activities and topics discussed within the EAAE and its academies have provided a basis for further project applications and funded research. The EAAE is proud to be a member or partner of such endeavours and welcomes future initiatives.
ARCHITECTURE’S AFTERLIFE – The Multisector Impact of an Architectural Qualification
Erasmus+ KA203; Coordinator: Royal College of Art, Partners: KU Leuven, Politecnico di Torino, University of Zagreb, Universitat Politecnica de Valencia, Universiteit Antwerpen, Associate partner: EAAE; 2019-2022
The Architecture's Afterlife study (AA) sought to identify the cross-sector employment destinations of graduates who did not remain in the architecture sector after graduation. A pre-research survey suggested that up to a third of architecture graduates choose careers other than architecture. Initially, the AA study study aimed to understand why this is. We were also curious as to whether architecture, by virtue of its inherent interdisciplinarity (being informed by social sciences, applied sciences, humanities, natural sciences, etc.), was predisposed to facilitate mobility across sectors. Therefore, in surveying architecture graduates who had moved to other sectors, we sought to identify which of the skills acquired during their training had proved most transferable and useful in their current jobs. This research could provide more general insights not only into which skills are transferable across sectors, but also into which sectors are most receptive to professionals with unrelated degrees, all of which has important implications for sectors facing skills shortages – within and beyond the construction industry.
Drawing on both qualitative and quantitative data, the AA study surveyed 2637 respondents living in 65 countries and conducted 49 in depth interviews with architecture graduates working as architects and in other sectors related and unrelated to architecture. While it has already been established that the majority of all graduates will work in sectors not directly related to their original degree subject, the research sought to identify which skills are most transferable across sectors – both those that are currently taught and those that aren't but graduates feel are needed. All of this has significant implications for sectors facing skills shortages – including and beyond construction – which assume that such shortages are due to the inability of higher education to produce qualified/skilled candidates, rather than the employers’ inability to recognise the skills candidates actually possess.
Architecture’s Afterlife book, Routledge, 2024
eFIADE – Exploring the Field of Interaction in Architectural Design Education
Erasmus+ KA203; Coordinator: TOBB University, Partners: EAAE, Universidade Lusofona, Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, TU Eindhoven, University of Zagreb, INSA Strasbourg; 2016-2019
The project explored the in-between activities bridging education and the profession, focusing on the final stages of architectural education before entering practice: the final design studio and internships. In its first phase, it mapped in detail the formats, goals and procedures of the final graduation thesis qualifying the student in attaining a degree, as well as mapped the role of internships in European curricula as well as conditions of entering practice and attaining qualifications.
Due to its in-depth analysis of outcomes mirrored in knowledge and skills tested through the final design studio, as well as experiences of practice and informal learning during study, it produced a qualitative view of learning outcomes and actual skills attained. Following this, the projects aimed to innovate the paths followed within in-between mediation activities occurring in these fields of interactions (methods, processes, and execution).
Within the project’s activities, an international student workshop titled “A School of One’s Own” ran for ten days in Istanbul in November 2018, followed by a conference “Thresholds in Architectural Education”. The final project results were presented alongside an accompanying exhibition during the EAAE Annual Conference in 2019 in Zagreb.
Thresholds in Architectural Education, ISTE-Wiley, 2020
eFAIDE Project Report O1 - Mapping and Analysis of Final Architectural Design Studios
eFIADE Project Report O2 - Mapping and Analysis of Internships
eFIADE Project Report O3 - Alternative Paths for Final Architectural Design Studios
Confronting Wicked Problems: Adapting Architectural Education to the New Situation in Europe
Erasmus+ KA203; Coordinator: AHO Oslo, Partners: Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Czech Technical University in Prague, Universiteit Hasselt, Universitá degli Studi di Genova, Politecnico di Milano, TU Delft, “Ion Mincu” University of Architecture and Urbanism, ACE, EAAE; 2014-2017
The Erasmus+ project´s point of departure is the acknowledgement that architecture as an education, a discipline and a profession has to redefine and release its potential for problem-solving and innovation within a new economic and societal context. This new normal implies that the knowledge basis, teaching methods and role models transferred in architectural education have to be adapted to a new reality. There is a strong demand for diversification both in architectural education and in practice.
Generally, the project raised the question of how to teach architecture today in Europe, and especially how curriculum and teaching, should be adapted to the new societal and professional situation. The project aimed at strengthening the architectural graduates´ ability to face this new normal and thus improve their social impact and employability.
Having run from September 1, 2014 to August 31, 2017, the so called “Wicked Project” has focused on certain aspects that play a substantial role in the present and near future of architecture’s teaching and practice, namely professional knowledge, heritage and sustainability. Results obtained by twenty-five researchers organized in three think tanks along with many stakeholders, have been condensed in a final report and eleven attachments. Based on activities and experiences from short-term intensive programmes, think tank members have discussed pedagogical methods, curriculum structure and continuous professional development within the aforementioned fields. The results were formally presented and openly debated in the specific event during the EAAE Annual Conference in Bordeaux in 2017.
Erasmus+ Project_CWP_01_Annexe T.1
Erasmus+ Project_CWP_02_Annexe T.2
Erasmus+ Project_CWP_03_Annexe T.3
Erasmus+ Project_CWP_04_Annexe T.4
Erasmus+ Project_CWP_05_Annexe T.5
Erasmus+ Project_CWP_06_Annexe T.6
Erasmus+ Project_CWP_07_Annexe H.1
Erasmus+ Project_CWP_08_Annexe H.2
Erasmus+ Project_CWP_09_Annexe S.1