Despite the short-term character of this visit, teaching daylight simulations for architecture students in Phuentsholing’s College of Science and Technology in Bhutan made me reflect on valuable aspects pertaining to international teaching practicum: Meeting with the eager-to-learn Bhutanese students exceeded all my expectations from a class of undergraduates, has made me aware of different cultures and studying styles, and increased my interest in more cross-cultural encounters. I believe the effect to be bidirectional, as the students in Bhutan came to experience a totally different teaching style than the one they are accustomed to in their everyday academic life. The scientific field of daylight simulations utilizes computer tools and technological resources that are not as commonly used in Bhutan as they are in Sweden today. This provided the Bhutanese undergraduate architects with a view of what is possible in terms of daylight prediction for built spaces, a practice long-lived by Bhutanese architects, who by sheer intuition have utilized fenestration and façade orientation in past designs. Daylight utilization is certainly not a priority for a country that has such an abundance of daylight, compared to Sweden. But the high interest and motivation expressed by the architecture students in Bhutan proved to me that there is a common perspective among architects between the two countries, and gives me hope that this field will be developed further by our colleagues in Bhutan. Meeting with our colleagues made it clear to me that they were not interested in a one-time teaching procedure, but rather in a sharing process to develop their own courses for the years to come. I believe this process to be a valuable asset for both Lund University and Phuentsholing’s College of Science and Technology, as our own courses development may also be inspired by the practices of the Bhutanese teaching staff.
Iason Bournas
Henrik Davidsson and Jason Bournas