Architecture Pedagogy, Cultural Identity, and Globalization

E-ISSN： 2473-5809|2|6|45-54

ISSN： 1833-1866

Source： The International Journal of the Arts in Society: Annual Review, Vol.2, Iss.6, 2008-01, pp. : 45-54

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Abstract

With Globalization, the cultural diversity and ideological differences that were once effectively and safely segregated in space and time, find themselves in close proximity, dialogue and potential conflict in both literal and virtual space. The consequent rapid pace of cultural change in all fronts, along with the new cross and/or inter-cultural nature of architectural practice in a global economy require a shift of emphasis in architectural pedagogy. This paper outlines a design studio pedagogy whose objectives are to develop a heightened understanding of the complex dialogue between culture and architecture, and foster the type of analytical, critical, and creative abilities that are essential to addressing cultural diversity and change. The essential aim of the proposed pedagogy is the education of a new generation of architects who, practicing within a global economy and faced with multiplicity and diversity of cultures, will not for lack of choice blindly facilitate the hegemony of their own (sub)culture, or what is not absolutely different reduce cultural and ideological differences to facile and stereotypical imagery in the name of regional identity. If we are to understand and respect cultural differences and cultural change in the face of globalization, it is essential to understand culture, not as form or region per se, but as a distinct set of rituals and experiences intimately linked to distinct settings that together perpetually transform a culture’s beliefs about the world into a factual experience of them, i.e., a world shaped and fabricated as it is by architecture as a cultural system.