Liveness

We use the term 'Liveness' to describe the University of Sheffield School of Architecture's approach to engaged learning and research. 

Through Liveness, our students gain experience in engagement, co-production and collaboration with community and civic partners in Sheffield and beyond. 

Liveness is a strategy that embraces ways of working that do not sit easily within established professional and academic structures. It empowers architecture students to test alternate forms of practice, operating in between and at the edges of more traditional architectural forms. Liveness embodies the social and political ethos of Sheffield School of Architecture.

Our Liveness Charter is an advocacy tool, to celebrate, connect and support all members of staff involved in live engaged learning in the School of Architecture.

The Charter seeks to share the ethos of Liveness with everyone in the School of Architecture, as well as our external partners, so that they have an understanding of the activities, values and aims of the Liveness approach. It is our aim that this will galvanise our work and articulate the benefits of Liveness to all stakeholders.

Liveness is not just one project or approach, but the embodiment of an ethos. Therefore examples of Liveness come in many different forms and are found in numerous places across the School's courses and activities. 

Liveness is characterised by:

• engagement in real world issues, contexts and sites

• collaboration with local community groups and city stakeholders

• a commitment to engage people who are usually marginalised and underserved within architecture and urban design

• a sense of accountability and responsibility to our external partners

• a desire to be situated, i.e. working closely with local people and places

We encourage our students and external partners to embrace Liveness as an opportunity for mutual learning, with the following benefits:

• an enhanced level of student engagement, sense of agency and employability

• direct improvements to community and civic space

• greater community capacity, resilience and aspirations for place futures

• creative and effective connections made between academia, community and decision makers

• opening up the processes of architecture and urban design to wider participation