Socially situated Architectural Pedagogies

The project Socially Situated Architectural Pedagogies (SArPe) was conceived to address a shared need among European architecture schools to rethink education in response to contemporary social, environmental, and ethical challenges. Traditional architectural curricula often remain detached from real contexts and communities, limiting students’ ability to act as socially engaged professionals. The consortium identified a gap in pedagogical models that integrate critical, place-based, and participatory learning. SArPe therefore aims to explore and develop socially situated pedagogies that connect teaching and learning to real situations, stakeholders, and environments. By linking theory and practice through cooperation between universities and civil society organisations, the project responds to the urgent need for inclusive, sustainable, and context-responsive education that empowers learners and educators to co-create architectural knowledge with and for communities.

SArPe aimed to develop, test, and disseminate new pedagogical frameworks that position architecture as a socially, politically, and environmentally situated practice. The project sought to foster innovation in higher education by introducing approaches grounded in collaboration, care, and civic engagement. Its objectives were to: (1) theorise socially situated architectural pedagogies through comparative research and documentation of tools and methods; (2) experiment with these approaches in design studios, workshops, and blended learning activities across partner universities; (3) promote transnational cooperation between academia and civil society to strengthen the social role of architecture; and (4) disseminate results through open-access platforms, exhibitions, and international events. Ultimately, the project aimed to empower educators and learners to act critically and responsibly in their local contexts, contributing to more inclusive and sustainable forms of architectural education and practice.

From 2022 to 2025, SArPe implemented a wide range of transnational, local, and digital activities structured in four work packages. The consortium developed a theoretical framework through literature reviews, collaborative readings, and the creation of a repository of pedagogical tools and methods. Educators’ workshops were organised in Istanbul (2023) and Delft (2025), followed by three international Summer Schools: Pavia–Brescia (2023), Istanbul (2024), and Málaga (2025). Each school combined online and field-based learning involving over 100 participants. Partners experimented with situated design studios, blended teaching, and stakeholder workshops engaging local communities in Italy, Turkey, the Netherlands, and Spain. Dissemination included public exhibitions, open labs, conferences, and the launch of the open-access website www.sarpe.org and the Instagram channel @sarpe_network, ensuring broad outreach and visibility across Europe.

SArPe produced significant intellectual, pedagogical, and social outputs. It developed a comprehensive theoretical framework on socially situated architectural pedagogies (includingtwo open Zotero databases), and an online repository of tools and methods (which will be published also as a book in 2026), several reports and open access publications (booklets, toolkits and posters). Across partner universities, the project generated revised curricula, experimental studios, and blended learning modules integrating civic and environmental engagement. Over 100 learners and 40 educators participated in international summer schools, workshops, and training sessions. Public exhibitions and open labs were held in Pavia, Istanbul, Delft, Málaga and Seville. Dissemination activities resulted in conference papers, articles, open-access books (a book with Lettera22, the repository will be published internationally with OpenBook Publishers, several Journal and Conference papers at international level) and other media (local newspapers, newsletters and media). The project created a lasting transnational network and new pedagogical models for inclusive, collaborative, and context-responsive architectural education.