Text & Photographs by: Ayesha Agha Shah
Recently, an interesting event coming within the broader theme of “Pedagogies of the cities” took place at the University of Bahrain sponsored by Mawane. Mawane is an independent, non-profit initiative, which mounts thought-provoking exhibitions, talks, and workshops, in an attempt to engage different audiences interested in cities in general and architecture in particular. Promoting collaboration and discussion, it was proactively founded as a platform for collaborative experimental architecture and urban research.” With many other initiatives of Mawane, “Pedagogy of the cities” is one of the enlightening talk series.
Pedagogies of the City explores the role of education in the formation of architects and consequentlly the design scene that emerges from different schools. The series aims to situate the schools in the wider socio-political environments from where they emerged to shed light on the school’s mandate, the curriculum, the founders, the design studio exercises, influences on the school, the impact of the school on the practice of architecture, and the evolution of the school, amongst other factors.
One interesting contribution of the series on pedagogies of the city is this online discussion related to the evolution of the architecture program at the University of Bahrain and its impact on the professional practice of the country. It was held on June 27th, 2022 and the discussion was hosted by Ms. Hala Barakat. The presenters were Mrs. Layla Karajica, & Dr. Ranjith Dayratne from the University of Bahrain, and Dr. Souheil El Masri from the Gulf House Engineering. Dr. Hanna Makhlouf, a former Faculty and senior academic of the University of Bahrain, now retired, and who was instrumental in the launching of architectural education in Bahrain provided an introduction.
The discussion broke down the main theme into four subtopics that covered the brief history of the program, the journey and the factors that shaped the way architecture was taught, the shift of focus from just a technical and engineering definition of architecture to a more holistic and theory-driven, philosophically rooted form of education. It finally concluded with the discussion on the transition of students from the academic world into the real-world setting as practitioners in the country, where the impact is seen. Dr. Souheil El Masri from the Gulf House Engineering articulated these perspectives.
The discussion began with the references to the humble beginnings of the architecture program, which was recalled by Dr. Hanna Makhlouf, He elaborated on the struggles the team faced when they proposed an engineering-oriented diploma program in architecture titled Bachelor of Science in Architectural Engineering. After receiving the approval of the board and with an adequate budget, they were able to recruit the Faculty that included Mrs. Layla and Dr Soheil who were among the speakers in the discussion. The heartfelt motivational talk shared by Dr. Makhlouf concluded with an emphasis on the continuous efforts of everyone on the team to get where we are today.
Mrs. Layla offered insights into the timeline that summarized and walked us through each milestone of the program. Starting from 1990, when the program was launched as a ‘Diploma in Architectural Engineering’ that was offered for 10 years. It was later revised in 2000 as a Bachelor of Science in Architecture; a 5-year program. Then in the year 2013 due to the increasing popularity and demand for diversity in the courses provided within architecture, Interior design was introduced as a separate course. In 2015, UOB invited the first NAAB (National Architecture Accrediting Board of USA) visit for international recognistion which it secured successfully with a ‘substantial equivalency status’. In 2016, the local authority of Quality Assurance, BQA (Bahrain Quality Authority) visited and recognized the program with a status known as “Full Confidence”. In 2021, NAAB paid its second visit offering a ew status known as “International Certification”. In 2023, The University is preparing to launch its PhD program in architecture. This shows that the progress has not slowed down and on the contrary it has picked up momentum and more enthusiasm as the years went by.
Dr. Ranjith elaborated on the shift that occurred in the curriculum from its initial technical nature to a more philosophically grounded program. Many electives known as “Liberal Arets” from a broader spectrum and from different colleges in the university was added as per requirements of the NAAB to satisfy the NAAB criteria to be on par with the American system of architectural education. This provided opportunities for students to pursue more diverse career paths within the field. A balance between the local quality assurance team and the NAAB meant a clear direction and guidance in the way the pedagogy was developed and integrated. Students were encouraged to understand each course’s intended learning outcome to deepen their knowledge and understand the purpose of why they are being taught what they are taught. A more concise Learning Rubric breakdown was developed and implemented to remove the ambiguity in grading that helped students understand the distribution and weightage of their scores.
Finally, Dr. Souheil El Masri discussed his experience of teaching architecture to students to hiring the graduates now in his firm, Gulf House Engineering, once they graduated. He explained the important characteristics that reputable firms look for in young architects such as the capability to work in a team, negotiate, discuss their ideas, and communicate in an efficient manner. In a practical setting, a student must have the quality to understand which niche they can fit into and contribute the most and develop and grow upon joining a firm. He explained how Architecture is a language with its own rules and order becoming fluent and trying claimed that ‘to improve’ is the key. Furthermore, he stated how the competition is fierce now than ever before.
Bahrain is trying to compete in the international market so the standards and expectations are growing at an exponential rate. Understanding the sophisticated and complex workings of this field and its inter-dependence with other practices is very crucial to position oneself as an architect and understand one’s dynamic role in the system. Dr. Souheil described how in the university, what he had noticed was the student’s journey of exploration with a project ending with renders and a final jury whereas in practice it is only the beginning of an elaborate process where you must divide and prioritize where your attention is required. He also explained the value of sketches and clarity of drawings that makes communication easier in the old days whereas now a digital gap or barrier can be noticed which should be addressed by students as most rely heavily on the digital medium. However, it is only a tool meant as an aid to one’s process. He concluded by saying how the future is indeed bright and in his firsthand experience he had the opportunity to see the promising results that showed the obvious impact of the improvements and large strides made in the architectural education system of Bahrain. The discussion ended on a positive note that showed that architectural pedagogy is a dynamic process that is constantly improving with the continued efforts of each generation of concerned professionals who receive the baton from the previous ones and pass it on to the coming generation. Needless to say, architecture education in Bahrain is now well founded and is progressing well in the hands of qualified and enthusiastic educators.
Really impressive Zohaib,