Jane Anderson is a champion of learning through practical experience. It’s a natural way to understand the complexities of working in the real world, says the Oxford Brookes University professor
For me, the thing that’s fascinating about live projects is that they’re such a natural way for students to get involved in the complexity and interconnectedness of real projects. Abstract issues that can be hard to teach – the weather, conflicts of interest, money, safety, physical labour – become accepted as things you deal with as a designer. And students realise that it’s not just about them – that design is a social activity, and people will respond to what they put out in the world. It can be inspirational seeing your very first project through from start to finish, witnessing its impact. In the process, you learn that it’s not you making up something on your own – you’re collaborating, learning how to talk and listen, to negotiate and compromise, but also how to take decisions and make things happen in your community. That level of trust and responsibility means a huge amount. Students take it seriously, trying to deliver their absolute best, and gaining experience and confidence for years to come.
Colin Priest and I set up the Live Projects Network in 2012 to provide much-needed information at a time when interest was growing rapidly. We thought, let’s gather these projects from around the world, see what they’ve got in common, and collate them online in an open, accessible way, so people can make contacts and explore different models. Despite their variety, all of them confront systemic issues of how change happens in society, and they are always current – whatever is going on in architecture is going on in these projects. Material reuse, for instance, is being explored by our Year One students, who are designing and making a building from ultra-locally sourced waste. And there’s always a need somewhere – communities are increasingly skilled in collaborating with universities to solve problems, offering their own expertise along the way.
Things have moved on since we started. For one thing, people who were taught this way are now doing the teaching, which I find amazing. In my experience, live projects can be incredibly powerful and formative for students, for their tutors and for communities.