Stefano Converso Facoltà di Architettura, Università degli Studi Roma Tre, Italy 109
Fig. 2
The home page of the
class' portal. It features
an instant overview of
the dynamic elements of
the system such as the
last updates from stu-
dents' forum, a “who's
online” box, articles
and events published
by both teachers and
students. The graphic
grid is limited to the
minimum required.
We started a research in 2001 by installing in the building dedicated by the faculty
entrirely to the laboratories a Linux webserver, where we wanted to “mirror” the lab
activity. The research was part of a wider university network called UniET (Università
Emittente Telematica – University as Telematic Emitting source), that is now hosted
by C.A.S.P.U.R. Consortium (Inter-University Consortium for the Application of Super-
Computing for Universities and Research ), which is one of Rome main net hubs and
took part to the network since the beginning.^1
The group made an overview of existing software at the time, deciding to experi-
ment the use of a Content Management System software platform called “php-Nuke”.^2
From the first moment, the focus of the research was to set up a system based on
the direct work of the participants. We were looking for no mediation between web
technique and work. We basically wanted to fight the specialism, and subtract the
net from the hands of webengineers. In that sense the UniET research project was
intended to open up the technical panorama to as many “untechnical” people as
possible.
The experience of a student in our laboratories starts from his personal design
which then becomes part of a collective thinking. This evolutionary process enhances
a shared research around the topics of the course and it avoids at the same time to
flatten from the beginning all the different points of view. In the on-line architec-
tural design labs whatever the student produces for his project becomes instantly
and permanently a resource for the collectivity. Suggestions, thoughts, examples, the
all teaching materials usually given in a one-to-one relationship teacher-student are
automatically available to everybody, thanks to their publication in the forums.
This way doubts, errors, but also intuitions and solutions proposed by a single
student potentially become elements that increase knowledge of the whole lab group.
Therefore, as in a team work, there is not a single author of the published web pages,
we can in a truly sense mention the collective authorship. There is not a single, or
maybe a very small editorial staff, performing in the system a selection of the materi-
als produced by the students. We built an instrument allowing shared working.
As noticed very clearly by Derrick De Kerchove in many occasions^3 , sharing knowl-