Learn-by-making and its role in architectural education – examples from Sweden and Australia

This paper presents a method of expanding the teaching of architecture through the act of building full scale permanent structures. It discusses some of the shortcomings associated with a purely theoretical approach to architectural education and presents the author’s model for the development of a Learn-by-Making (LbM) program to supplement traditional teaching and learning methods. A series of case studies from the author’s LbM experiences as an architectural educator in Sweden and Australia are presented. A range of outcomes are discussed along with both the opportunities and constraints that can exist in a LbM program. Each case study highlights a range of issues associated with adopting a LbM approach pertaining to various aspects of design, documentation and construction. The role that LbM has in connecting the act of design with the art of interpreting designs into their built form is also discussed.