Professor Paul Sanders

Teaching rationale and philosophy Architectural education is problem-based, and therefore the enquiry needs to be student centred. Professor Sanders approaches teaching as providing learners the opportunity to acquire knowledge through discovery. There are multiple solutions to a given problem in architecture. Louis Kahn once spoke about seeking the good question rather than the most brilliant answer, and as such it is the process itself that leads to a tangible point of clarity that underpins his teaching philosophy.

Ownership of learning requires teaching to be framed coherently, whereby the student feels able to commit to the engagement, particularly when the unit content is challenging. Paul's approach to teaching over recent years introduces a notion of ‘logical thinking’, which he uses as foil to the form and functional thinking stasis, validating the recognition of building science as a integral domain of architectural design. Paul is always seeking to develop and respond to opportunities to improve unit content in a process of ongoing reflection. He has demonstrated on a number of occasions how unique opportunities can be embedded into curriculum content, and has accepted the invitation from community organizations to form the brief for studio design projects; each engagement has had enormous benefit for students, community and QUT’s reputation as a University that engages in authentic ‘real world’ experiences for students.