Social and Environmental Impact Academy for Architects! Impacting the Everyday Life Through Architectural Investigations

The Social and Environmental Impact Academy for Architects (SEIAA) is a collective project that includes research and teaching activities of four architectural schools across Europe: University of Liechtenstein (LI), Hasselt University (BE), Bergen School of Architecture (NO), and the Royal Danish Academy (DK). Based on shared research objectives focusing on the sustainable development goals (SDGs), four investigating workshops were held at each location between spring 2022 and summer 2023. Knowledge about rammed earth, biogenic materials and architecture of reuse was combined with local cultural practices, creative design processes, and full-scale testing. The workshops were planned according to specific local needs and in collaboration with various actors such as manufacturers, craftspeople, and NGOs. The workshops involved teachers, researchers, and students from each university. They were centered around an interdisciplinary exchange examining the architect’s role, testing social interaction through live projects, and studying how architectural projects can benefit the needs present in the everyday life of local communities. The processes included in the project, the results, and reflections will be presented and critically discussed in this paper for further use.