Emerging Knowledge: Students as Intermediate Agents in Construction and Transformation Processes

Even if it is not widespread enough, learning by doing is generally acknowledged as a didactic practice. This paper analyses the direct involvement of architecture students in construction and transformation processes. On the basis of examples from the last thirty years and the illustration of an experiment, a workshop method is theorized, which seems to be a viable approach not only for teaching, but for certain aspects of practice especially with respect to technological innovation.While design practice is often constrained by best practices or unquestioned conventions, a direct involvement of students and other non-experts can bring valid inputs to spatial transformation processes. This opens new opportunities for the spreading of architectural know-how in contexts that are generally difficult to attain with innovative approaches. If well managed, this can be a starting point for a greater performance of the built environment and hence for a more sustainable design.The building site itself becomes the central hub for the transfer of knowledge, from which new specifically tailored solutions can emerge.