The Federal Office for Building and Regional Planning

Research Project: Baukultur Education: Current State, Requirements, Effectiveness

Project briefing

  • Status Completed
  • Project duration December 2020 – July 2022
  • Programme ExWoSt

Background

Compared to other European nations, a general awareness in Germany of the concept of ‘Baukultur’ is relatively undeveloped. Architecture and urban development are rarely viewed in this country as an integral part of everyday life but rather as specialised academic disciplines that are removed from people’s personal concerns. The most effective and democratic pathway to a long-term anchoring of Baukultur education in society leads through the school system. The preconditions that this involves in Germany, compared to other European countries are promising, because Baukultur-related topics have already been introduced into the arts curricula of the federal states nationwide and there are a host of reference points that connect to other school subjects.

The fact that Baukultur education rarely attains the status in actual school practice that it should have according to curriculum guidelines is because teaching experts are being inadequately prepared – or not being prepared at all – for the task during their studies at universities, art academies or teaching colleges. There exists neither a specialist discipline nor an independent system of didactics, such that only a very few educators are aware of Baukultur education’s potential when it comes to interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary pedagogy and cross-cutting issues.

To remedy this situation, among others the individual chambers of architects in some federal states, as well as various monument preservation associations, have taken on this educational responsibility. Because there has so far been no systematic and scientifically based fundamental research into the field of Baukultur education, and there is still a lack of reliable content, criteria and evaluation regarding these externally offered courses.

Objective

The study aims to generate a comprehensive overview of the Baukultur education landscape in the German school system as well as to identify requirements and possible approaches to embedding the topic in schools – and consequently within society – more systematically than has previously been done. This does not necessarily entail supplementing curricula with additional content but rather making full use of what is already being provided, either directly or indirectly.

The contractor of the research project was Dr. Turit Fröbe, DIE STADTDENKEREI, Berlin.

Contact us

  • Christoph Vennemann
    Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development
    Division RS 7 "Baukultur and Urban Architectural Conservation"
    Phone: +49 228 99401-1246
    Email: christoph.vennemann@bbr.bund.de

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