At the School of Architecture, University of Tasmania, we have a module called Learning By Making or LBM for short. Sometimes I feel it should be called Learning By Making Mistake.
Russia during the 70’s was a quiet period for many architects. Due to the social climate of that era, architects could only design buildings that never got built. Hence, the term ‘paper architecture’ is commonly used to describe the designs of those architects as they tested their ideals and dreams in competitions abroad many of which would never get built.
To a certain extent, there can be no architecture without paper and pencil. Designers often start thinking about a problem and finding the solution through sketching. We test our ideas and learn through our mistakes for what appears to be the perfect solution often ends with nasty surprises.
The actual hands on building and construction in the module does not limit the design to become bland and practical. This process actually widens our vision and knowledge and helps us to solve future design problems creatively using the tools available at hand. At least for once during the course, students have a chance to create something tangible and not ‘digital architecture’ with the predominance of 2D and 3D CAD modelling in design.
As I make the transition from student life to the working world, the stress of getting good grades suddenly seem so immaterial as I reflect on how far I’ve come and the things I’ve still got to learn. No more paper or digital architecture for me. It’s going to get exciting and I’m looking forward to the challengers ahead. Wish me luck…
[…] Learning By Making Learning By Making December 24th, 2007 At the School of Architecture, University of Tasmania, we have a module called Learning By Making or LBM for short. Sometimes I feel it should be called Learning By Making Mistake.Russia during the 70’s was a quiet period for many architects. Due to the social climate of that era, architects could only design buildings that never got built. Hence, the term ‘paper architecture’ is commonly used to describe the designs of those architects as they tested th […]