ABSTRACT
Designbuild education is a strategy to balance theoretical underpinning with technical aptitude, not to favor one over the other. In Process is a critical survey of the design/buildLAB, a two-semester studio in which third-year undergraduate architecture students collaborate with community leaders and industry experts to conceive and realize built works of architecture that are both educational and charitable in nature. The single most important premise of designbuild education is that student competence and confidence will advance exponentially by building themselves what they have conceived in abstraction. At the design/buildLAB, the tenable impact on the common good is a vital project selection metric. The design/buildLAB is one of two teaching initiatives of onSITE, a designbuild architecture practice. The design/buildLAB is a learning environment where students lead projects and faculty are advisors who set the tone, bring resources to the discussion, and refocus or encourage as needed.
