As a profession, architecture is experiencing the “marginalization and invasion of architects’ role” resulting in an ever-decreasing value within the global context they shape and respond to. Flora Samuel suggests this is due to architect’s inability to clearly articulate their role and the importance thereof, an incapacity which begins with architectural education. As a response, this study uses the co-design process of architecture live projects to test and better understand the role of architects. The undertaking of live projects within architecture education breaks the binary relationship between student and tutor through the introduction of an external collaborator and subsequent creation of situated learning environments. The tripartite relationship between tutor, student and external collaborator is documented elsewhere, as are the beneficial values attributed to student learning, but the knowledge gained by external collaborators is currently overlooked. Comprehending what external collaborators may learn offers live project educator’s fresh opportunities to redress both the gap between architectural pedagogy and practice, and architects’ receding status and influence. Such comprehension is established via a literature review appraising UK architectural education. The analysis enables a narrative structure to emerge by ascertaining the potential principles of architectural pedagogy an external collaborator might reflect upon when considering their participation in a live project. The findings create a Framework for External Collaborator Empowerment. Presented as a table, the framework identifies twelve principles of architectural education that external collaborators might learn through their engagement with a live project, cross-referenced against Freire’s four components of pedagogy to form a matrix which identify a range of opportunities for how any potential learning might take place. The Framework for External Collaborator Empowerment is an important tool in the development of architectural pedagogy as, for the first time, it allows the potentially positive outcomes for non-students engaged in architecture live projects to not only be considered, but actively questioned and sought for. The framework acts as a guide for live project educators to reflect on their praxis, thus helping close the gap between architectural pedagogy and practice.
ORCID: 
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)