Informal learning in architectural education through sociomaterial approaches: Towards a network-based pedagogy in design education

Most ethnographic research on architectural education focuses on formal teaching events. It mainly analyses meetings between students and teachers in tutorial sessions, design reviews, and formal presentations. Architectural knowledge, however, is also acquired informally between formal academic sessions. This study focuses on informal design-learning processes within formal architecture academic courses. Our data were collected during eight months of ethnographic study in an immersive masters-level architecture programme. We analysed our data using a macro-level inductive methodology and interpreted our findings using a sociomaterial theoretical approach. This paper offers two types of contributions. Theoretically, it contributes to our understating of informal learning processes in architectural education by demonstrating how different actor network compositions and dynamics affect informal learning. Pedagogically, it re-evaluates the role of the design instructor within a broader context of actors working together to produce knowledge and develops a network approach to design education.