(Re)Designing Climate(s): Power, Culture & Exchange in Architectural Education

This online workshop explores the reciprocity (or lack thereof ) between educators and students within architectural education; focusing in particular on integrating climate resilient design within that structure. It will explore potential asymmetry in education as moments of an unbalanced power exchange, which speaks to wider inequity in architectural culture, and questions how such settings may need to be designed and redesigned to provide more equitable learning climates and contexts. It provides space to reflect on the role of personal values and ethics in architectural education and explores what this might mean in context of climate, design and wider architectural culture.

The ignitor for this workshop is research which the facilitator, Sarah O'Dwyer has completed exploring the integration of climate change design in architectural education, primarily with Ireland as a focus. Earlier stages of this research included individual interviews with educators across Irish Schools of architecture. This workshop will feature these research findings and explore in particular how it might resonate (or otherwise) with a view to informing overall findings..... As such the workshop itself is a symbiotic relationship between participant and facilitator.

Participation in this workshop is free, though you are asked to sign up at the 'book here' link provided (also given below) to help us keep track of numbers.

Whilst the workshop is open to anyone who is intrigued or interested, Sarah is particularly interested to hear from those involved in architectural education (to any extent, in any jurisdiction)and who are experiencing trying to integrate climate issues to education.

This event is organised by Sarah O'Dwyer as part of her ongoing PhD research in climate and architecture. Sarah is an architect and Senior Lecturer focused on research and teaching responding to climate change design issues. Previous research projects include an Erasmus+ funded project "Arch4Change" (https://www.arch4change.com) with 4 partner European universities; exploring the co-creation of an architectural climate emergency curriculum. Her current research also explores methods for integrating whole life design and climate change design theory into architectural education, and she has published her research and presented at numerous conferences. She leads an interdisciplinary MSc distance learning programme on “Environmental Design of Buildings” in Cardiff University, where she is also a Senior Lecturer; in which she addresses climate and whole life carbon design processes and strategies. She is currently a member of the RIAI Sustainability Task Force in Ireland, having previously served as both Vice Chair and Chair.

(Re)Designing Climate(s) sign up link