Date of Award

2024

Degree Name

Master of Philosophy (School of Arts and Sciences)

Schools and Centres

Arts & Sciences

First Supervisor

Lara Mackintosh

Second Supervisor

Anne Coffey

Abstract

Design-build projects involve guiding a group of participants through the collaborative process of designing and constructing an architectural outcome while offering relevant learning opportunities. Guidance is often delivered intuitively through discussions between coordinators and participants, which integrate learning opportunities with activities that advance the development of the outcome. This study explores the discussion-based guidance practices of experienced coordinators, to address a gap in the literature on coordination practices.

As a step towards providing a more diverse range and detailed accounts of designbuild coordination practices, this study examines how experienced coordinators make sense of the design-build process and share their understanding with participants. The accounts of three experienced design-build coordinators from Australia and Brazil were collected using a narrative inquiry methodology and semi-structured interviews. To support an active interpretation of the similarities and differences among coordinators’ accounts the findings are presented in an instrumental case study using accounts from coordinators. Key findings are organised under five key themes: Describing the design-build process, thinking like a designer, thinking like a builder, resourcefulness, and accompanying explorations.

The findings offer detailed and practical insights into recurrent topics in design-build education. In contrast to existing literature that predominantly focuses on educational concerns, coordinators described design-build from an architectural perspective and in practical terms. Importantly, the responses highlight how learning opportunities are developed to be complementary to the design and construction process. Additionally, the findings revealed rich explorations that took place through discussions, which most often would remain unrecorded.

This study has implications for understanding and sharing the tacit practices developed within design-build education projects. Furthermore, the study provides valuable insights for a broader audience of emerging coordinators, educators, and designers.

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