Refl ection on Practice: Integration of Participatory Design and Community Development in Alternative Architectural Education: Case Studies from England and Thailand

Abstract

        The wealthy classes have always been consumers of the art of architecture since the Egyptian, Mesopotamian and Greek epochs. Conventional architectural practice and education has long been limited to serving a minority of the world’s population. To engage architects in the design of people’s houses has often been seen as unnecessary or extravagant. This paper sets to present the gap between conventional architectural education and the majority of the population in Thailand, focusing on low-income housing and community development. Moreover, it presents challenges of alternative architectural education which integrated community development into its architectural programme, with case studies from England and Thailand. The author employed participatory observation as a method of this paper, in order to refl ect on the practice of the case studies of alternative architectural education.

        The paper divides into 4 parts – 1.) introduction, 2.) low-income housing, community development and architectural education, 3.) refl ection: alternative architectural education, and 4.) conclusion and recommendations. The case studies are an architectural summer workshop organized by Architecture Sans Frontieres (ASF) – UK, B.Arch in the International Development Studio: Shelter and Settlement after Disaster at School of Built Environment, Oxford Brookes University, M.Sc in Urban Intervention Studio: Shelter and Settlement after Disaster, Building and Urban Design in Development at Development Planning Unit, University College London and an architectural workshop “Sweet Dreams Community? Workshop”, in collaboration with Art4D Magazine, funded by Offi ce of Contemporary Art and Culture, Ministry Of Culture.