Teaching

From October of 2009 through the end of 2012 I taught design at the Department of Architecture & Building for the Papua New Guinea University of Technology. Below are a few of the courses and projects I focused on.

Master Class

Ples Bilong Pilai (Place that belongs to play) was an intensive, one week workshop in which eighty architecture students, in eight teams, designed and built a playground.

The focus of this project was to challenge the preconceived notion that learning happens within the confines of the classroom by connecting learning to the act of play.

Research

As part of the students' senior research requirements they chose to research vernacular architecture of their own Melanesian culture in Papua New Guinea. Their research will better prepare them to design and serve their own communities as they become architects and stewards to their nation.

Together we developed a methodology for ethnographic field research which includes observation, interviews and documentation of the physical and social environment. The methodology was tested and revised so that it might be used by future students as a means for documenting that which is quickly disappearing. For an excerpt of the paper on developing this methodology please click on the image.

Image credit / Student Designer - Nimrod Torie, 2012

Advanced Presentation

For all three years I developed and taught a course on presentation and graphic design which focused on theory, technique and application. The semester-long project asked students to develop an advertising campaign to promote involvement and awareness to issues affecting their societies. For most students this was their first attempt at using graphic computer programs, such as Photoshop.

The purpose of this project is:

To become aware of the designer’s social responsibility to the public
To learn about an important issue and its impact on society, nature and human health
To understand how to convey a message graphically

St Peter's exterior.jpg — Magic school bus

Architecture History

Subjects taught: Western Architecture History, Eastern Architecture History, & Modern Architecture History

Admittedly, as a student myself, I didn't find history to be my favorite class but as a teacher in a non-Western classroom I found it to be thrilling. For the first time, not only did I teach, but I also learned about non-Western architecture. I approached each subject with the question, 'How can I make this applicable to my students studying architecture in Papua New Guinea and to their future as designers.

While my favorite course of the three was Eastern Architecture History because I learned so much, you can click on the image for an example of one day teaching Western Architecture History when the power went out.

design thinking

and thinking creatively

Studio

Over the three years I had the opportunity to teach a number of design studios, mostly second and third year students. I saw the classroom as a space for collaborative, explorative learning. My goal was to help students discover their own innate creativity, while challenging each to fulfill their unique potentials. To achieve this goal each lesson, assignment and project was designed to teach a process that can be used in all areas of life. The design thinking process is about discover, observation, question & analysis, research, ideation, prototyping, evaluation. But most importantly, it's about learning how to learn and being okay with failing.

Architectural Heritage Centre of PNG, Past present & future - Presented at the Pacific History Conference (2010)

Abstract: Architecture is a part of the cultural environment that we all experience, and, since the beginning of time humans have been constructing shelters for themselves. In Austronesia these diverse forms have more than just a physical presence in the lives of the inhabitants but a spiritual and social value as well. At present the majority of the ‘architecture’ being built ignores this heritage and even furthermore, ignores the climate. With the rapid loss of traditional architecture it is becoming more important to preserve the knowledge of the traditional forms. If sustainability is to be achieved it must be done through a combined effort of education, economic, social and cultural factors.