HYBRID WAYS OFDOING: A MODEL FORTEACHING PUBLIC SPACE Gabrielle Bendiner- Viani and Elliott Maltby Arc hne t-IJAR, Inte rna tio na l Jo urna l o f Arc hite c tura l Re se a rc h C o p yrig ht © 2010 Arc hne t-IJAR, Vo lume 4 - Issue s 2-3 - July and No ve mbe r 2010 - (407-418) 407 Abstract This pa pe ra ddre sse s a n e xplo ra to ry pra c tic e unde rta ke n b y the a utho rs in a c o -ta ug ht c la ss to hyb ridize the o ry, re se a rc h a nd pra c tic e . This e xpe rime nt in c ritic a l tra nsdisc iplina ry de sig n e duc a tio n to o k the fo rm o f a “c ritic a l studio + pra c tic e -b a se d se mina r o n pub lic spa c e ”, two inte rlinke d c la sse s c o -ta ug ht b y la ndsc a pe a rc hite c t Ellio tt Ma ltb y a nd e nviro nme nta l psyc ho lo g ist Ga b rie lle Be ndine r-Via ni a t the Pa rso ns, The Ne w Sc ho o l fo r De sig n. This de sig n pro c e ss wa s g ro unde d in the po litic a l a nd so c ia l c o nte xt o f the c o nte ste d Ea st Rive r wa te rfro nt o f Ne w Yo rk City a nd va lue d b o th inte nsive study (using a ra ng e o f so c ia l sc ie nc e a nd de sig n me tho ds) a nd a pa rtne rship with a lo c a l c o mmunity o rg a niza tio n, e ng a g ing with the po litic s, issue s a nd huma n ne e ds o f a c o mple x site . The pa pe r c o nside rsho w we e nc o ura g e d inte rdisc iplina ry c o lla b o ra tio n a nd dia lo g ue b e twe e n te a c he rs a s we ll a s b e twe e n lib e ra l a rts a nd de sig n stude nts a nd de ve lo pe d stra te g ie s to o ve rc o me pre c o nc e ive d no tio ns o f tra ditio na l “studio ” a nd “se mina r” wo rk. By e xplo ring the c ha lle ng e s a nd a djustme nts ma de during the se me ste r a nd the pro c e ss o f te a c hing this c la ss, this paper addresses how we moved from a model of inte rtwining the o ry, re se a rc h a nd pra c tic e , to a hyb rid mo de l o f multiple wa ys o f do ing , a mo de l pa rtic ula rly a pt fo rte a c hing pub lic spa c e . Thro ug h e xa mple s de ve lo pe d fo r a nd during o ur c o urse , the pa pe r sug g e sts pra c tic a l wa ys o f suppo rting this tra nsdisc iplina ry hyb rid mo de l. Keywords Tra nsd isc ip lina ry, hyb rid , p ub lic sp a c e , c o lla b o ra tio n, urb a n d e sig n, urb a n re se a rc h, se mina r, d e sig n stud io . Introduction One a fte rno o n, the c o nve rsa tio n in o urc la ss to o k a surp rising turn. “ Id o n’ t wa nt to d e sig n a nything . It just ruins p la c e s tha t a re b e st le ft the wa y the y a re ,” o ne stud e nt b urst o ut. A stud e nt a c ro ss the ro o m re to rte d , “ We ll, if yo u d o n’ t wa nt to d e sig n a nything , why a re yo u in this c la ss, a nywa y? ” The c la ss jo ine d in, d e b a ting the ro le s o f d e sig n a nd re se a rc h, the a c tive ma king o f p la c e b y d e sig ne rs a nd the a c c re tio n o f p la c e -ma king b y use rs o f a p ub lic sp a c e . Wha t b e g a n a s a te nse exchange between two students developed into the me s tha t we wo uld e nc o unte rthro ug ho ut the semester, and became a touchstone for thinking a b o ut the hyb rid mo d e l we we re trying to c re a te . Wha t we re we trying to d o in this c la ss, anyway? The c la ss in q ue stio n wa s the “ Urb a n Pub lic Sp a c e c ritic a l stud io + p ra c tic a l se mina r” , o ne o f the first d o ub le -c la ss se nio r se mina r/ c ritic a l stud io s Special Volume: De sign Educ ation: Explorations and Prospe c ts for a Be tte r Built Environme nt Ashraf M. Salama and Mic hae l J. Crosbie (e ditors) Prac tic es