Skip to main content

Simon Beeson

Glasgow School of Art, Highlands and Islands Campus, Faculty Member

Followers

49

Following

40

Co-authors

16

Mentions

35

Public Views

Simon Beeson studied architecture at Manchester and Hull, became a registered architect 1989, and since then has practiced as architect, public artist and teacher. Between 1990 and 1995 he studied and taught at the University of Minnesota, while working as assistant to artist Siah Armajani. He has taught in several architecture schools, including leading first year architecture studies at Edinburgh College of Art. In 2002-3 he was a Research Fellow at the Henry Moore Institute. From 2007 to 2020 he was Course Leader to establish the BA(Hons)Architecture course at Arts University Bournemouth. In 2023 he joined the Highlands and Islands Campus of Glasgow School of Art as Subject Lead for MDes Design Innovation & Environmental Design.
Address: Forres

less

University of California, Santa Barbara

University of British Columbia

Douglas H Clements

University of Denver

Kansas State University

Leonard R Bachman

University of Houston

Indiana University

Petra Christian University

Nangkula Utaberta

UCSI University

Dimitris P. Drakoulis

Aristotle University of Thessaloniki

Vassilis GANIATSAS

National Technical University of Athens

Interests

Uploads

Papers by Simon Beeson

The Chair Project

Place, Pedagogy and Play, 2020

Extramural but not Extracurricular: Revealing Hidden Learning through the Personal Development Portfolio (PDP) in Architectural Education.

The Hidden Studio, EAAE Annual Conference Proceedings, Zagreb 2019, 2019

This paper considers the introduction of a Personal Development Portfolio into our assessment for... more This paper considers the introduction of a Personal Development Portfolio into our assessment for architectural education. When revising out undergraduate course structure we moved to a fully integrated model, where assessment was based on a portfolio or ‘body of work’ produced during a ten-week studio project. These projects introduce, develop and integrate understanding and ability of the key knowledge and skills of the curriculum; design, communication, realisation (technology) and contextual studies. Each year of study also includes one unit where professional knowledge is also assessed. Alongside these ‘learning outcomes’ we introduced a PDP: a separate report documenting and reflecting on everything that falls outside the predicted aims of the project.

Material Thought: Siah Armajani and the Half-Open Door

Architecture and Culture

The RIBA Research Medal: an artist and architect collaboration

The Medal no.70, 2017

The Architects Table: a laboratory for making/thinking

NCBDS 29 , 2014

Make Re_Make: A Temporary 1:1 Workshop for Architectural Education

NCBDS 32 1:1, 2016

2013 ENSEA (Brazil): AUB curso international de verão

Pretende--se, neste artigo, apresentar a primeira experiência de Curso de Verão em Arquitetura da... more Pretende--se, neste artigo, apresentar a primeira experiência de Curso de Verão em Arquitetura da Arts University Bournemouth, na cidade de Bournemouth, Inglaterra, durante o mês de julho de 2013. Reconhecendo--se que os estudantes precisam conectar o visual, o material e o experimental e que a construção de modelos físicos (maquetes) provê esse caminho, o curso com duração de 3 semanas caracterizou--se como uma oportunidade de conhecer e testar outras formas de pensar através da construção direta, desenho lúdico com modelos e visitas técnicas.

Seeing Process: understanding reflective practice through the things we make.

Verbeke, Johan (ed), 2009, Communicating by Design, Brussels; Sint-Lucas School of Architecture, 2009

In researching the architectural design process, what should we be looking at? How can researchin... more In researching the architectural design process, what should we be looking at? How can researching through design address the issues of design process? One way of thinking of architecture is as the manipulation of things to create place for inhabitation. This definition places the material nature of architecture central to the discipline. In this context, reference is made to Richard Sennett’s examination of craftsmanship (Sennett 2008). Research into the production of things during design can inform our understanding of the design process, both that of the student and the practicing architect, and enable us to “see process” through the physical things of thinking. The practice-based research implicit in this observation is the documentation of the design process and forensic investigation of the physical traces of design.

2010 Limited Edition REVIEW Thu, March 04

Studio: a precedent from practice, a method for the mind.

Delivered 22 July 2008 The Oxford Conference 2008; 50 years on, Resetting the Agenda for Architectural Education

The current debate on studio culture and its the place in architectural education (and indeed oth... more The current debate on studio culture and its the place in architectural education (and indeed other creative education) challenges us to understand whether the studio is an essential environment for learning. The author proposes that rather than viewing the studio as a spatial luxury in an increasingly digitised virtual learning environment, there are alternative views that might help us to re-evaluate the role and value of the studio. The first of these explores the role and origin of the studio as a professional context for creative practice, re-configured for education. This practice based model explores the inherent qualities of studio as a shared, open, working context, particularly as applied in contemporary architectural practice. The potential and limits of studio are examined as precedents for practice. The author goes on to speculate that there are characteristics of studio culture that may give insight into possible methodologies of design and ways of thinking. This paper strives to add evidence and substance to these ideas. Drawing on an examination of contemporary working environments and on experience from the application of these ideas in a new architectural course, the author considers the potential of studio for the education and practice of collaborative, constructive, reflective, divergent, creative thinking; characterised as “making/thinking”. From a comparison of educational and practice-based studio the author speculates that studio provides not only a metaphor, but an embodiment of the creative mind.

2007 INTRODUCING DESIGN STUDIO LEARNING IN ARCHITECTURE TO NEW STUDENTS

The design studio is central to architectural education. It is the forum in which students can ap... more The design studio is central to architectural education. It is the forum in which students can apply and test their developing architectural knowledge-base and staff can evaluate the students understanding and competence in formulating an architectural proposition. The studio also has a direct relationship to the professional working environment of the architect and therefore simulates the creative workplace environment that

Books by Simon Beeson

PhD by Design - Instant Journal #4 - Idea of self in practice-based research (2017)

by Maria Portugal, Aya Musmar, Alison Thomson, Cagri Sanliturk, Søren Rosenbak, Amro AA Yaghi, Eleni Pashia, Akash Angral, chiara Remondino, Eleni Katrini, Karolina Szynalska McAleavey, Katharina Moebus, Nantia Koulidou, Paolo Franzo, Reem Sultan, Simon Beeson, and Lakshmi Srinivasan

This year, we are thrilled to collaborate with six doctoral students –Amro Yaghi, Aya Musmar, Cag... more This year, we are thrilled to collaborate with six doctoral students –Amro Yaghi, Aya Musmar, Cagri Sanliturk, Eleni Pashia, John Jeong and Maha Al-Ugaily – from the Sheffield School of Architecture, who through their engagement and energy transformed the conference experience and actively contributed to the PhD by Design platform.

The Chair Project

Place, Pedagogy and Play, 2020

Extramural but not Extracurricular: Revealing Hidden Learning through the Personal Development Portfolio (PDP) in Architectural Education.

The Hidden Studio, EAAE Annual Conference Proceedings, Zagreb 2019, 2019

This paper considers the introduction of a Personal Development Portfolio into our assessment for... more This paper considers the introduction of a Personal Development Portfolio into our assessment for architectural education. When revising out undergraduate course structure we moved to a fully integrated model, where assessment was based on a portfolio or ‘body of work’ produced during a ten-week studio project. These projects introduce, develop and integrate understanding and ability of the key knowledge and skills of the curriculum; design, communication, realisation (technology) and contextual studies. Each year of study also includes one unit where professional knowledge is also assessed. Alongside these ‘learning outcomes’ we introduced a PDP: a separate report documenting and reflecting on everything that falls outside the predicted aims of the project.

Material Thought: Siah Armajani and the Half-Open Door

Architecture and Culture

The RIBA Research Medal: an artist and architect collaboration

The Medal no.70, 2017

The Architects Table: a laboratory for making/thinking

NCBDS 29 , 2014

Make Re_Make: A Temporary 1:1 Workshop for Architectural Education

NCBDS 32 1:1, 2016

2013 ENSEA (Brazil): AUB curso international de verão

Pretende--se, neste artigo, apresentar a primeira experiência de Curso de Verão em Arquitetura da... more Pretende--se, neste artigo, apresentar a primeira experiência de Curso de Verão em Arquitetura da Arts University Bournemouth, na cidade de Bournemouth, Inglaterra, durante o mês de julho de 2013. Reconhecendo--se que os estudantes precisam conectar o visual, o material e o experimental e que a construção de modelos físicos (maquetes) provê esse caminho, o curso com duração de 3 semanas caracterizou--se como uma oportunidade de conhecer e testar outras formas de pensar através da construção direta, desenho lúdico com modelos e visitas técnicas.

Seeing Process: understanding reflective practice through the things we make.

Verbeke, Johan (ed), 2009, Communicating by Design, Brussels; Sint-Lucas School of Architecture, 2009

In researching the architectural design process, what should we be looking at? How can researchin... more In researching the architectural design process, what should we be looking at? How can researching through design address the issues of design process? One way of thinking of architecture is as the manipulation of things to create place for inhabitation. This definition places the material nature of architecture central to the discipline. In this context, reference is made to Richard Sennett’s examination of craftsmanship (Sennett 2008). Research into the production of things during design can inform our understanding of the design process, both that of the student and the practicing architect, and enable us to “see process” through the physical things of thinking. The practice-based research implicit in this observation is the documentation of the design process and forensic investigation of the physical traces of design.

2010 Limited Edition REVIEW Thu, March 04

Studio: a precedent from practice, a method for the mind.

Delivered 22 July 2008 The Oxford Conference 2008; 50 years on, Resetting the Agenda for Architectural Education

The current debate on studio culture and its the place in architectural education (and indeed oth... more The current debate on studio culture and its the place in architectural education (and indeed other creative education) challenges us to understand whether the studio is an essential environment for learning. The author proposes that rather than viewing the studio as a spatial luxury in an increasingly digitised virtual learning environment, there are alternative views that might help us to re-evaluate the role and value of the studio. The first of these explores the role and origin of the studio as a professional context for creative practice, re-configured for education. This practice based model explores the inherent qualities of studio as a shared, open, working context, particularly as applied in contemporary architectural practice. The potential and limits of studio are examined as precedents for practice. The author goes on to speculate that there are characteristics of studio culture that may give insight into possible methodologies of design and ways of thinking. This paper strives to add evidence and substance to these ideas. Drawing on an examination of contemporary working environments and on experience from the application of these ideas in a new architectural course, the author considers the potential of studio for the education and practice of collaborative, constructive, reflective, divergent, creative thinking; characterised as “making/thinking”. From a comparison of educational and practice-based studio the author speculates that studio provides not only a metaphor, but an embodiment of the creative mind.

2007 INTRODUCING DESIGN STUDIO LEARNING IN ARCHITECTURE TO NEW STUDENTS

The design studio is central to architectural education. It is the forum in which students can ap... more The design studio is central to architectural education. It is the forum in which students can apply and test their developing architectural knowledge-base and staff can evaluate the students understanding and competence in formulating an architectural proposition. The studio also has a direct relationship to the professional working environment of the architect and therefore simulates the creative workplace environment that

PhD by Design - Instant Journal #4 - Idea of self in practice-based research (2017)

by Maria Portugal, Aya Musmar, Alison Thomson, Cagri Sanliturk, Søren Rosenbak, Amro AA Yaghi, Eleni Pashia, Akash Angral, chiara Remondino, Eleni Katrini, Karolina Szynalska McAleavey, Katharina Moebus, Nantia Koulidou, Paolo Franzo, Reem Sultan, Simon Beeson, and Lakshmi Srinivasan

This year, we are thrilled to collaborate with six doctoral students –Amro Yaghi, Aya Musmar, Cag... more This year, we are thrilled to collaborate with six doctoral students –Amro Yaghi, Aya Musmar, Cagri Sanliturk, Eleni Pashia, John Jeong and Maha Al-Ugaily – from the Sheffield School of Architecture, who through their engagement and energy transformed the conference experience and actively contributed to the PhD by Design platform.