Drs. Māra Liepa-Zemeša, Uģis Bratuškins, Sandra Treija, and Andra Ulme
Institute of Architecture and Design, Riga Technical University, Latvia
Wednesday, April 29, 2026 | 12:30 – 2:00 p.m. (PST) | Hybrid | Scarfe, Room 1328
* Note: this seminar is Hybrid (attend via Zoom, or join us in Scarfe 1328). For zoom details, please email edcp.educ@ubc.ca
View the Seminar Poster
Host | Dr. Anita Sinner
Abstract:
Architectural education is continuously evolving in response to changing social, environmental, and technological conditions. Contemporary challenges such as climate change, digital transformation, and increasingly complex urban processes require architects to develop competencies that extend beyond traditional design skills. In this context, architectural pedagogy must reconsider its teaching methods, learning environments, and thematic priorities to prepare students for the realities of present-day practice.
Architectural education in Latvia has been continuously developing since 1869, when the Department of Architecture was opened at Riga Polytechnic, now Riga Technical University. 2,788 graduates have obtained architectural education in 156 years. Nowadays, international perspectives, academic mobility, and broader theoretical and experimental approaches are integrated into architectural education.
Drawing on historical background, the seminar will emphasise contemporary pedagogical approaches that respond to current professional and societal challenges. Special attention will be paid to group work, which reflects the collaborative nature of architectural practice and promotes collective problem-solving and shared responsibility in the design process. The role of physical and digital modelling as a critical research tool that supports iterative design thinking, experimentation, and testing of spatial and environmental ideas will also be emphasised.
Equally important is interdisciplinarity, which allows architecture students to draw on knowledge from engineering, environmental sciences, social studies, and digital technologies. In addition, the seminar will focus on the growing role of hybrid educational formats that combine formal academic structures with experimental and informal studies. These include seminars, summer schools and international initiatives such as blended intensive programmes (BIPs), which create opportunities for short-term intensive collaboration, international exchange and project-based learning.
By viewing these developments in the broader historical context of architectural education in Latvia, the seminar will emphasise how modern pedagogical approaches and technological capabilities can promote the creation of an educational environment focused on collaboration, experimentation, and internationally integrated studies that can address complex contemporary challenges while respecting and preserving the uniqueness of each local cultural environment.
Short Bio(s):
Director of Institute of Architecture and Design, dr. Arch. Māra Liepa-Zemeša. Dr. Arch. Māra Liepa-Zemeša is the Director of the RTU Institute of Architecture and Design and is also active in research and pedagogy there. Since 2025, she has been a member of the Council of the European Association for Architectural Education (EAAE). She has experience in both academic work and architectural practice, with a significant part of her professional career devoted to urban planning within the municipality of the city of Riga. She studied architecture at RTU, including periods of international study, and has also pursued studies in law.
Prof. Dr. Arch. Uģis Bratuškins is an academic and expert in the field of sustainable urban regeneration, urban landscape and spatial analysis. He actively contributes to the development of architectural education in Latvia by supporting academic excellence on both individual and institutional levels. His active involvement in international research initiatives has fostered academic and research cooperation within the European architectural education sector.
Dr. Arch. Sandra Treija is a professor at Institute of Architecture and Design, Riga Technical University. Her specialisation relates to urban regeneration process within the framework of inclusive planning and urban sustainability. She is coordinator of National Team in DOCOMOMO (International Committee for Documentation and Conservation of Buildings, Sites and Neighbourhoods of the Modern Movement). She is a Member of Editorial Boards of the scientific journals Architecture and Urban Planning (RTU), Landscape Architecture and Art (LLU), as well as a member of the Latvian Union of Architects.
Dr. Arch. Andra Ulme, is a professor with more than 20 years of experience in the arts and design education field, and currently actively works with IAD international mobility projects and manages pedagogical work for 14 study courses at different levels of higher education and lifelong learning. Dr. Ulme is the author of more than 50 scientific articles.
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