Bruce Archer and Design as the Third Area of Education

Reflections for Project-based Education in Brazil

Abstract

In this paper, Bruce Archer's thinking provides support for taking design as a field concerned with material culture and as a third area of education. Taking Brazil as a territory, we believe that the complex structural problems still faced by the country today – of environmental, economic and social nature – are largely related to deficiencies in the educational system. Furthermore, a specific type of education could lead the country to a process of solving those problems: a project-based education. By affirming the importance of project activity in education in order to develop competencies and skills related to designing, building and getting things into production, we understand that such an effect could be perceived in future generations. In socio-political terms, providing people with a greater capacity to deal with complex problems – technically better-prepared professionals – can also benefit the industry economically.