A Critique of the Live Project

Abstract: This thesis develops a critique (understood as “a detailed analysis and assessment of something,” Oxford English Dictionary, 2010a) of the live project by theoretically contextualising live project pedagogies. Unlike preceding doctoral research into the live project (Sara, 2004; and to a lesser extent Carpenter, 2004 and Findlay, 1996), this thesis does not adopt a position of advocacy regarding live projects; but considers them as opportunities for architectural educators to experiment with the discipline and its pedagogies. The empirical research approached a sample of pedagogical decision-makers - architectural educators - in order to solicit their opinions and lived experiences. Through this inquiry broader practices and cultures of architectural education may then be critiqued. The subject of the thesis, therefore, is not only the live project, but also architectural education as it is understood through the live project.