Mohamed Salem, Architecture & Design, CoSE*
Dave Beynon, Architecture & Design, CoSE
Andrew Harwood, Geography, Planning, and Spatial Sciences, CoSE
Soonja Yeom, School of ICT, CoSE
In recent years, there has been a significant architectural transformation in the socio-spatial structure of university campuses and their learning spaces. This transformation encompasses a wide range of concepts, such as informality and flexibility, driven by pedagogical theories and neoliberal forces. While universities aspire to foster impactful education, architects struggle to balance between architectural trends and educational needs.
Despite the scale of these changes, little research has been conducted to understand the experiences of various academic users, and how the diversity of campus spaces influences their perceptions and contributes to knowledge production. This workshop seeks to address that gap by exploring the needs, challenges, and opportunities for creating learning environments that better support educational outcomes across different pedagogical disciplines. Through group activities, participants will be encouraged to discuss how the specific needs of their disciplines relate to existing and future campus designs.
Focusing on the dynamic relationship between university architecture and knowledge production, the workshop will investigate how the social practices and spatial affordances of learning are experienced by academic users and how these experiences shape their work. The ongoing transformation projects at the University of Tasmania (UTAS) will serve as case studies, reflecting broader trends in campus architecture and learning space design.
By examining the gap between the design intentions of new campus spaces and the lived experiences of their users, this research aims to develop strategies to enhance the effectiveness of these spaces, ultimately bridging the divide between architectural vision and the real-world needs of academic communities.