their own practice working independently through a broadly prescribed path of research. The research methodology is constructed around a range of ideas or notions that have evolved and continue to evolve over the course of the twenty-five years during which the programme has developed. These ideas have been most recently identified as: • • • • •
Case studies Communities of practice Transformative triggers Public behaviours Tacit knowledge
Richard Blythe and Marcelo Stamm provide expanded explanations of these terms in their essay in Practice-Based Design Research (Blythe and Stamm, 2017, 55-60). These notions do not constitute a curriculum or prescriptive methodology, but collectively constitute what is referred to as ‘scaffolding’ for the research. The research methodology has evolved to map and align the protocols and conventions of traditional academic research. It is a model that advances an entirely new mode of architectural education and research, and affords practitioners a uniquely structured, uncloistered and supportive community facilitating the development of new, practice-based knowledge. My experience has been gained from the pursuit of a PhD with RMIT, through the Barcelona campus. Consequently, this is the model with which I am directly engaged and acquainted. The model was originated in the 1980s and developed by Leon Van Schaik at RMIT, and further developed and expanded by Richard Blythe and Marcelo Stamm. While this process began with architecture, it has subsequently expanded to embrace a diverse range of creative disciplines. It is a reflective process that requires the practitioner, while still fully engaged in practice, to broadly reflect on their practice through past and current work, on the context in which they operate (the community of practice), to identify themes and motivations driving the work and finally, with this new knowledge, to speculate on how the practice might now evolve or position itself. The work is developed and presented at Practice Research Symposia (PRS), events held over four to five days at which candidates present their work to peers and invited guests in a similar setting to an architectural school jury. The PRS also serves as a nexus for the interaction of the community and is built around a range of activities, including guest lectures, book launches and social events. It is an intense event and candidates are typically required to present at six of these biannual PRSs before the final exposition of their work in the form of a public exhibit and presentation to external examiners and the PRS community. Throughout the process, candidates work with primary and secondary supervisors. The supervisors function as guides or supporters rather than in the conventional instructive role of design tutors, and the candidates operate largely independently in their research. The durable record of the research is typically captured through an extensive
RADICAL DISCIPLINE FOLIO 175