Integrating disaster management perspective into architectural design education at undergraduate level - a case example from Turkey

Abstract

The paper highlights key points and problem areas associated with integrating management perspective into the architectural design education. Architects with appropriate training can easily broaden their traditional roles to enhance the capacity of the society to respond to disasters through efficient, sustainable, socially and culturally responsible designs. However, the number of undergraduate and post-graduate programs which integrate disaster management perspective into their curriculum as a long-term proactive strategy to build resilience is very low. Based on experience from a series of Construction Project Studios’ with different themes and scenarios at Istanbul Technical University, Department of Architecture, the paper compares the typical design process with a disaster-focused process to highlight the differences. There are a couple of key issues in the educational context to integrate disaster management perspective into the architectural education: a shift towards a more collective problem solving space in the design studio along with an intellectual familiarity with the problems of contemporary society; an understanding of the heterogeneity of the needs and characteristics of different vulnerable groups; an adequate background knowledge to filter and adapt common design principles and norms, so that they are relevant to disaster and project scenarios; and a familiarity with technical solutions patterns such as open prefabrication and adaptive re-use. The findings may show directions for future educational research, where little empirical evidence exists.