TACK — Communities of Tacit Knowledge: Architecture and its Ways of Knowing

Results in brief

Communities of Tacit Knowledge: Architecture and its Ways of Knowing

Architectural design projects commonly stem from a collaboration between designers, clients and a variety of experts. In spite of its relevance, the tacit knowledge has not been studied methodically in the field of architecture. Recent developments in the field, including the wide-spread adoption of digital technology in the design process entail a major change in the way in which information is produced and shared. Tacit knowledge is embodied not only in the practices of architects, but also in the tangible artefacts that they design with, from written documents and drawings to models and buildings. The ITN explored how architectural tacit knowledge holds an essential capacity to manage societal challenges and changing conditions – conflicting programmatic demands from various clients, altering building codes and standards, changing political conditions during the design period, restricted or inflexible methods of financing schemes, etc. The ITN contributed to the development of design knowledge, and clarified the potential of architectural design to address fundamental and urgent questions, including those of sustainable development, the impact of cultural diversity, the benefits and pitfalls of digital design technologies, etc. Apart from ten doctoral dissertations, the ITN has produced an interactive website, publications, exhibitions and public events about the impact of tacit knowledge on architectural practice. It developed online training modules on ‘tacit knowledge’ (downloadable worldwide) which can be used in architectural education.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union

Project objective

The 'Communities of Tacit Knowledge' (TACK) ITN will focus on the concept of ‘tacit knowledge’ in architecture. Tacit knowledge is a specific type of knowledge that architects employ when designing, which is also embodied in the material vectors that they design with; from treatises and drawings to models and buildings. This ITN will train young researchers in the development of advanced theoretical frameworks and specialized methods for the analysis of the specific knowledge used by architects while designing buildings and cities. It focuses on the characteristics, the dissemination and the heuristic potential of this knowledge that is particular to architectural design practice. Structured around three training axes: (1) Approaching Tacit Knowledge: Identifying Methods and Histories, (2) Probing Tacit Knowledge: Concrete Cases and Approaches and (3) Situating Tacit Knowledge: Concepts and Theories, the TACK ITN for the first time combines the expertise on tacit knowledge that has been developed at ten different research centres in Europe. Together with three cultural and three practice-based partners, these ten research centres will train a group of scholars to explore and conceptualize the very character of tacit knowledge to better understand its possible roles in addressing new and pressing issues in the built environment from alternative vantage points. This powerful combination of expertise from industry and academia, will introduce these ESRs to new heuristic methods and add to their inter-sectoral employability. Implementation of the TACK ITN will result in ten PhDs, three online training modules, an international colloquium, a major exhibition, a lecture- and debate series, a synthetic reader, a book, and a website providing public access to research results and events.

Original text from CORDIS.

Participants

EIDGENOESSISCHE TECHNISCHE HOCHSCHULE ZUERICH · ZuerichCoordinatorSwitzerland
AKADEMIE DER BILDENDEN KUNSTE WIEN · WienAustria
ARKITEKTUR OG DESIGNHOGSKOLEN I OSLO · OsloNorway
BERGISCHE UNIVERSITAET WUPPERTAL · WuppertalGermany
GOTTFRIED WILHELM LEIBNIZ UNIVERSITAET HANNOVER · HannoverGermany
KUNGLIGA TEKNISKA HOEGSKOLAN · StockholmSweden
POLITECNICO DI MILANO · MilanoItaly
TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITEIT DELFT · DelftNetherlands
UNIVERSITEIT ANTWERPEN · AntwerpenBelgium
UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON · LondonUnited Kingdom

TACK · Communities of Tacit Knowledge: Architecture and its Ways of Knowing

Results in brief

Communities of Tacit Knowledge: Architecture and its Ways of Knowing

Project objective

Participants

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