Developing a Curriculum Model for Architectural Education in a Culturally Changing South Africa

Abstract

Through education, a society hopes to reproduce itself, and through architecture a society reveals it’s values, aspirations, norms, beliefs and its cultural composition in the built environment. The first democratic elections in 1994 marked the end of the apartheid era and the beginning of the definition of a new era that would represent the new aspirations of all the people of South Africa. These fairly recent changes are important for the reshaping of the architectural profession as it seeks to interpret new meanings, views and aspirations of the new South African society in the built environment. A starting point in the transformation of the architecture profession is the development of a curriculum model in schools of architecture that will ensure continuous adaptation to the changes in society. The study reviewed and categorized the contemporary curriculum models as used in the South African schools of Architecture according to an array of philosophies and principles that underlie curricula. The Thesis proposes that an eclectic approach to design of architecture curricula is ideal for the multicultural society of South Africa that seeks to balance the demands of the local and global context in its education. This study revealed that most architecture programmes retain their traditional programmes because the university is the largely the locus of learning, experiential learning is minimal as well as little flexibility as most of the learning course- modules are required modules. The Thesis proposes a curriculum model for architecture based on the Post-Modern philosophy, which can effectively accommodate the needs of a changing South Africa in the educational programmes for architects. Such a model defines with clarity the pedagogic or epistemological reasons for directing change in architecture programmes in an increasingly complex and dynamic South African society.