Performing Community Design: The Use of 'Simulation Games' in Architectural and Planning Education

Abstract

This paper explores the use of “simulation games” in architectural and planning education and how this teaching method may help students develop insights on the social role of design professionals. In the 1960s and 1970s, educators in the fields of humanities and social sciences, including sociology, economics and political science, began to utilize role-playing exercises to enable students to appreciate the competing interests and political positions of different stakeholders in real-world situations. These exercises were also utilized in built environment disciplines, including architecture and urban planning, as a means to strengthen students’ capacity to comprehend the complex dynamics that shaped different design projects and appreciate the needs and aspirations of local communities. Building on insights from earlier works, authors of this article have designed an experimental simulation game assignment for an undergraduate course, entitled 'Environment, Community and Design' for the Bachelor of Arts in Landscape Architecture at the University of Hong Kong. The assignment, which was conceived based on a series of real world design scenarios, required students to role-play different stakeholders involved in the projects. Additionally, students were asked to analyze the issues entailed in each scenario by producing short written responses based on selective theoretical texts. This article describes the process of carrying out the exercises and provides a preliminary evaluation of its learning outcomes. Initial findings obtained from interviews with students suggest that compared with conventional teaching approaches, role-playing in simulated scenarios carry many potentials for deepening students’ capacity to confront the challenges of architectural and planning practice and better prepare themselves as responsible professionals.