© Andreas Rost
The integration of teaching and practice is a common principle in architectural education. To build a real building, however, by far exceeds the scope of a typical mandatory construction internship.
The fact that educators in architecture are engaging in development work is a good thing and a step forward. Within related university projects, students have the opportunity to develop buildings that people really need and to actually build them.
The agricultural school in Bella Vista, a small village in the Bolivian highlands serves as example: 40 students of the TU Berlin participated in assessing the site, creating design and working drawings and finally building the school with their own hands. The structure they created makes reference to the regional building traditions and features massive load-bearing walls and a light, double skin sheet metal roof.
The fact that educators in architecture are engaging in development work is a good thing and a step forward. Within related university projects, students have the opportunity to develop buildings that people really need and to actually build them.
The agricultural school in Bella Vista, a small village in the Bolivian highlands serves as example: 40 students of the TU Berlin participated in assessing the site, creating design and working drawings and finally building the school with their own hands. The structure they created makes reference to the regional building traditions and features massive load-bearing walls and a light, double skin sheet metal roof.