Biourbanism: Towards a new epistemology in the architects’ education

Contemporary culture has generated new challenges for architectural education systems. Globalization, fast urbanisation, climate change, natural and environmental degradation, is a set of interconnected challenges. In the same way contemporary architecture has become part of the new global culture in which images have become a substitute for reality. According to Baudrillard′s terms, architecture could be seen as the supreme medium of contemporary visual culture, especially in its potential to influence the individual′s perception of reality as a component of the mass–media system. Social sciences studies demonstrate that contemporary architecture can affect negatively everyday urban life; Psychology and medicine show how space design can nurture or damage our well-being. The above challenges call for new epistemological and scientific foundations of architecture and urbanism. Education should be the first step to help us to produce really sustainable new design for the 21st century. In this paper, we argue that a new educational approach in Biourbanism has the potential to educate the next generation of architects and enable them to create original and human oriented designs. This paper describes how the integration of Biourbanism principles could improve the quality of architectural education; it will introduce you to the theoretical framework, such as the structural approach and the laws of form, and emergent fields, such as Neurophysiology and Environmental Psychology; it will show you some practical experiences applied by our team in three consecutive summer schools and in some modules taught in HE in the UK recently. The paper will discuss that, by embedding Biourbanism learning objectives in Higher Education today, we do not only set clear learning outcomes in specific modules and programmes, but also we can generate sound educational assessment methods guaranteeing focused future predictions of urban growth. The use of live projects in the delivery of modules linked to Biophilic Design and Biourbanism can offer us the opportunity to get educators from a variety of disciplines, from sciences, design and architecture. Hence, active learners should be able to morph the future of urban space by successfully inputting their educational experiences into innovative new designs governed by Biourbanism. Early investigation and research carried out during projects offers the opportunity to teachers and learners to share common experiences and evaluate important factors of anticipation of future events, such as the life span of urban areas and their future mutations; these processes are necessary to the survival and evolution of both natural and built environments.

Contemporary culture has generated new challenges for architectural education systems. Globalization, fast urbanisation, climate change, natural and environmental degradation, is a set of interconnected challenges. In the same way contemporary architecture has become part of the new global culture in which images have become a substitute for reality. According to Baudrillard′s terms, architecture could be seen as the supreme medium of contemporary visual culture, especially in its potential to influence the individual′s perception of reality as a component of the mass–media system.

Social sciences studies demonstrate that contemporary architecture can affect negatively everyday urban life; Psychology and medicine show how space design can nurture or damage our well-being. The above challenges call for new epistemological and scientific foundations of architecture and urbanism. Education should be the first step to help us to produce really sustainable new design for the 21st century.

In this paper, we argue that a new educational approach in Biourbanism has the potential to educate the next generation of architects and enable them to create original and human oriented designs. This paper describes how the integration of Biourbanism principles could improve the quality of architectural education; it will introduce you to the theoretical framework, such as the structural approach and the laws of form, and emergent fields, such as Neurophysiology and Environmental Psychology; it will show you some practical experiences applied by our team in three consecutive summer schools and in some modules taught in HE in the UK recently.
The paper will discuss that, by embedding Biourbanism learning objectives in Higher Education today, we do not only set clear learning outcomes in specific modules and programmes, but also we can generate sound educational assessment methods guaranteeing focused future predictions of urban growth. The use of live projects in the delivery of modules linked to Biophilic Design and Biourbanism can offer us the opportunity to get educators from a variety of disciplines, from sciences, design and architecture. Hence, active learners should be able to morph the future of urban space by successfully inputting their educational experiences into innovative new designs governed by Biourbanism. Early investigation and research carried out during projects offers the opportunity to teachers and learners to share common experiences and evaluate important factors of anticipation of future events, such as the life span of urban areas and their future mutations; these processes are necessary to the survival and evolution of both natural and built environments.