Article Abstract

	Title:	Collaboration between architects and planners in an urban design studio: potential for interdisciplinary learning
	Author:	Sonia Hirt, Andreas Luescher
	Address:	213 Architecture Annex, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA. ' College of Technology, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH 43403-0301-01, USA
	Journal:	J. of Design Research 2007 - Vol. 6, No.4  pp. 422 - 443
	Abstract:	Design professionals need to acquire competencies in interdisciplinary, collaborative design practice. Proceeding from this assumption, this paper analyses a case study of a joint project between an architecture studio at Bowling Green State University and a planning seminar at the University of Toledo. Students working in extramural teams developed proposals for the revitalisation of a plaza in Toledo, a historic city in Ohio. The plaza, which in architectural terms represents a blend of Gilded-Age finery, high-order contemporary work and stretches of decay, is in the process of slow regeneration. The main goals were: 1) pedagogical – to enhance the students' learning experiences by providing them with the opportunity to work in interdisciplinary teams; and 2) research-orientated – to examine the differences, if any, in design approaches between the architectural and the planning students. Summary outcomes include an enhanced understanding of the architectural-planning differences and a greater appreciation of the potential for mutual learning.
	Keywords:	architecture pedagogy; collaborative learning; interdisciplinary education; Toledo; Ohio; urban design pedagogy; urban design studio; urban planning pedagogy; collaborative design; design teams; design education; architectural students; planning students.
	DOI:	10.1504/JDR.2007.016852
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