Strengthening Architecture and the Built Environment Research

(SABRE)

Strengthening Architecture and Built Environment Research (SABRE) is an Erasmus + Strategic Partnership, co-funded by the European Union, with the aim to deeper embed Architecture and Built Environment research into higher education institution as well as outside academia. Architecture and Built Environment disciplines have been taught at European universities for over a century. Still the situation bears many of the characteristics of an emerging field of knowledge: it lacks recognition for specific research outputs; it lacks sufficient research funding; it has only recently started to gain acceptance of design as an academic activity; and the esteem of the doctorate title remains comparatively low.

Project Duration: 09/2017 – 08/2020 
Funding amount: 286.032,00 Euro

SABRE Objectives

1

Enable exchanges between those involved in education, business, policy-making and research & development in the field;

2

Establish partnerships for transnational research and innovation partnerships among higher education institutions, industry partners, professional communities, and local as well as regional authorities;

3

Raise awareness of the value of research and entrepreneurship in the field for the wider benefit of the economy, society and cultural life;

4

Extend role of research outcomes in the field within the marketplace, i.e. creative industries, construction industry, policy-making bodies, government, public and professional bodies, and make them more relevant to research funding organisations;

5

Open knowledge and information exchange between researchers in the field at various different stages of development in their careers, both in academia and in practice;

6

Expand innovation culture in the field, including improving research infrastructure (facilities, education programmes, equipment, research centres).

Workshop Impressions

Take a peek inside our event "Community Design Lab"

Expected Project Results

European PhD Core Curriculum for ABE:

This output will share existing courses among the partners, adopt high-quality courses from other European universities, and create new courses or rework existing courses into open formats (i.e. MOOCs).

Making the Knowledge Triangle Work:

This output will develop, elaborate and refine a method for collaboration on real-world problems, called ‘Design Dialogues’, by updating and adapting knowledge/methods for different societal situations across European countries.

Architectural Entrepreneurship:

This output will establish a test-bed and model for adapting fast-track educational formats from other fields (e.g. management / engineering / design / business), as well as for linking academia and construction / creative industries.

Applied Research in the Marketplace – Architectural Design Research:

This output will focus on design research going on in architectural practices, showcasing housing projects for London and Gothenburg by use of online Design Research Folios.

Impact

The project will result in stronger transnational research partnerships among higher education institutions, industry, practices, and local/regional authorities, by looking at current real-world challenges and increasing the potential for research, innovation and entrepreneurship. It will foster the exchange of information, data, knowledge and policies between researchers and practitioners in ABE at various career stages in both academia and industry. The aim is to show how research can play a larger role within European construction/creative industries, and address the needs of public policy-making and professional bodies, as well as research funding organisations.

Long-term benefits

The project outputs will provide students and staff/researchers with skill-sets that allow them to succeed in a complex, dynamic and uncertain marketplace, and to open up a more diverse range of employment opportunities. The outputs also aim to aid higher education institutions in promoting research and innovation, specifically through regional networks. All materials will be freely available on Open Access platforms.

SABRE Events

Have a look at our latest events

The creation of these resources has been (partially) funded by the ERASMUS+ grant program of the European Union under grant no. 2017-1-DE01-KA203-003574. Neither the European Commission nor the project’s national funding agency DAAD are responsible for the content or liable for any losses or damage resulting of the use of these resources.
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