A maintenance contract for the architect\u27s degree - Concept, materialisation and post-occupancy

Today, architecture is confronted with changing concepts of time, space and place. These changes are largely induced by the advent of the information society and in turn induce the need for entirely new ways of conceiving architectural education. It is obvious, however, that architectural education does not hold absolute sway over the need for renewal, as other domains and disciplines too are confronted with the inevitable learning society: a society in which individuals, groups and companies are learning on a permanent basis. What architectural education does hold absolute sway over – or at least should be granted a patent for – is the unique way in which it used to prepare (and still prepares) its students for practice in the design studio. Therefore, instead of throwing out the design studio with the bathwater, we consider it as an outstanding lead for pursuing the learning society within the context of architecture. Furthermore, we see ICT not only as a cause of, but at the same time as an ally in this pursuit, as it allows reinforcing the studio as “espace transitoire”. To this end, we propose to literally connect the studio with the world of practice through an on-line platform constructed of concrete cases