Architectural learning networks: a study on eliciting the learning agendas of architectural schools

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how network theory and methods can provide insights into the forces shaping architectural learning agendas and knowledge construction in architectural schools.

Design/methodology/approach

The methodology involves conceptualising learning as a constructivist process and the agenda as an interconnected network of actors, concepts and relations. Network analysis techniques, including centrality and brokerage metrics, are used to identify roles and knowledge flows using the data locally collected from Turkish universities as well as from the OpenSyllabus open-source database.

Findings

The analysis reveals the enduring influence of early modernists, signalling imbalanced canon formation in the architectural learning system. However, marginal voices highlight struggles in integrating unconventional perspectives. Limited integration of local figures indicates a consolidation of Eurocentric epistemes. Identifying these hidden forces is vital for reimagining learning agendas and socio-culturally engaged forms of learning. Pioneering figures demonstrate potential for synthesis when situated as brokers, not bifurcated schools.

Research limitations/implications

The outcomes are limited by the geographical and temporal boundaries of the data and the analysis method employed. Despite limitations, the diagnostic network framework reveals architectural learning as an open, contested ecosystem demanding pluralistic pedagogies concerning not only the global but the local, both canonical and marginal. Further research covering more data could enrich the understanding of qualitative complexities.

Practical implications

The network perspective prompts critical reflexivity about power, ideology and exclusion in knowledge construction. Strategic inclusion and diversification of voices provide pathways to bridge divides and ground learning locally.

Originality/value

This research offers a methodology model to examine forces and influences shaping architectural education by elucidating hidden and remote roles and knowledge gaps in learning agendas. Extending the techniques more widely can enable strategic interventions toward inclusive, impactful learning across disciplines, time and geographies.

Citation

Baloğlu, M. and Demir, Y. (2024), "Architectural learning networks: a study on eliciting the learning agendas of architectural schools", Archnet-IJAR, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/ARCH-12-2023-0358