Thirteenth International Conference on Design Principles & Practices

Abstract

Architecture disciplines border between the applied and social sciences. Architects are expected to have the theoretical sophistication to understand and respond to the challenges of urbanization and to also be equipped with the technical means that allows them to apply their solutions into the built environment. This, however, is not necessarily reflected in the way architecture is being taught at design schools. There is an ever-existing gap between what the market needs and what students are learning in school, which eventually hinders the progression of urban development at the national level and the implementation of good solutions to the built environment. Research has been calling for a new paradigm in architectural education; however, little empirical evidence supported such a shift locally. This research examines this gap between architectural education and its practices in Bahrain and attempts to re-design the architectural curriculum at the University of Bahrain to respond to this separation between knowledge and practice.