Digital Empowerment for the “Experimental Bureau” Work Based Learning in Architectural Education

Abstract

This paper describes the concept of the ``Experimental Bureau'' as a didactic environment aiming to deal with real-life design tasks within the framework of architectural education. Its main focus lies on the specific opportunities for digital empowerment of students who learn about the design process-sometimes even in the role of contractors-in real-life oriented project work. Thus the following questions come under scrutiny and discussion from an angle of work based learning: What kind of design problems are tackled in a meaningful way by students through the utilization of a digital strategy? What kind of software (or software mix) is chosen and what problems are addressed by the choice and handling of these digital tools? These questions are answered in a different way applying the format of the Experimental Bureau, driven by its real-life projects and client communication, in comparison to largely artificial tasks confined to the academic realm.