Self study for portfolio building: some MOOCs to consider

The most common skills built and knowledge gained in architectural practice are related to professional practice, project management, documentation, specification and conflict resolution. It's significantly more difficult to develop theoretical, conceptual and design skills in an architectural office or local government department, especially if you are employed at the level of professional draughtsperson or professional architectural technologist, unless you have an extremely dedicated and committed mentor.

The absence of adequate evidence of these skills and competencies often presents  the biggest threat to mature students' entry into Higher Education through the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) process, even after many years of practice in the architectural industry.

When applying to enter Higher Education either straight from school or after some years in practice, you will be required to demonstrate basic design skills, conceptual and critical thinking and design theory. There are very few opportunities available in practice and by means of short courses or CPD offerings, to build these skills - especially for practitioners based in remote areas. 

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCS) offer free online tuition that can be upgraded (paid for) to earn a certificate if needed. Evidence of learning gathered through a MOOC can be added to your design and theory portfolio. Engagement with the material and interaction with other participants through dialogue, can offer valuable learning experience. Through MOOCs you have access to some of the best Universities and experts globally.

Below I collated a number of MOOCs that offer learning opportunities for portfolio building in the field of design and theory of architecture, i.e. Futurelearn, EdX and Coursera. Some of these courses are self-paced which means that they are not linked to start and end dates, some are due to start soon and others have just recently started and you can still join. In some cases courses are archived and you will get access to some material. If you prefer not to go for the paid version, you may have limited access to material. Most courses are completely free and you only pay for the certificate*.

FUTURELEARN

Designing the Future

available on request - register your interest

Re-enacting the city - designing the human habitat

available on request - register your interest

EDX

The architectural imagination

self-paced

A global history of Architecture

archived

Models in Architecture

starting 2 May 2017

Future cities

self-paced

Quality of life: livability of Future Cities

self-paced

COURSERA

Making Architecture

starting 8 May 2017

Design Thinking for Innovation

starting date 24 April 2017 - audit only version is free

Designing Cities

starting date 17 April 2017

*You may ask how these courses can be offered for free. Without going into a lengthy explanation it would suffice to say that 'nothing in life is free'. Through MOOCs Universities gain valuable data on learning behaviour and they get exposure through marketing. If you're not sure what you're letting yourself in for, I suggest you read the conditions when signing up.

For more information on portfolio building, read blogpost of 17 March 2017.

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Building a design portfolio...

Entering Higher Education after having practiced for a while, can be a rather daunting experience. It is even worse if you do not comply with the minimum academic requirements for entry and decide to apply via the process of Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL).

Architectural practitioners are often skilled at the formulation of contract documentation, specification, construction detailing, schedules, site supervision and managing clients and the building contract, whilst lacking conceptual design competence.

Although each University/ Architectural Learning Site (ALS) will have their own specific requirements, what Universities mainly look for in their selection process, is evidence of conceptual and theoretical architectural understanding, reflective and critical mindsets, evidence of design process, graphic communication skills (both on computer and freehand), spatial understanding, academic literacy and writing skills, and good architectural vocabulary, for example.

Your design portfolio could include the following: 

- a sample of drawings, preferably computer-generated and freehand, that shows a range of technical and design process documentation

- a demonstration of knowledge of architectural history and theory       

- 3D drawing, preferably both computer-generated and freehand, and working models if possible 

- a sample of best student work in the case of prior studies 

- reading list of non-technical books read, with summaries, sketches, and/or notes if available

- list of all recent CPD courses completed sketchbooks, travel journals or any other reflective work

and can be developed through sketching, subscribing to free online courses

and extensive reading - see suggested reading list elsewhere in this blog.

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