Dr Laura Novo De Azevedo

Undergraduate Teaching

• Urban Labs 2: Sustainable Urban Form (Lead) — Live Projects
• Urban Transformations
• Research Project for Urban Design and Planning

Postgraduate Teaching

• Masterplanning to Public Realm
• Guest teaching on Sustentabilidade Social: O Impacto do Desenho Urbano na Qualidade do Espaço Público na Habitação de Interesse Social, Master’s in Architecture (PROARQ), UFRJ (ongoing)
• Guest teaching in Urban Design at CYCU (Taiwan) as part of the OBU–CYCU Dual Award (ongoing)

Supervision

• Undergraduate research projects
• Postgraduate dissertations (Urban Design, Architecture, Education)
• PhDs in Urban Design (supervision)

I actively supervise PhD students in Urban design and welcome new applications.

Laura’s research focuses on urban design, transdisciplinary pedagogy and learning innovation, with particular interests in:

• Experiential and live-project learning
• Student experience, belonging and academic transitions
• Creative and practice-led methodologies
• Curriculum design, induction and student wellbeing
• Employability development embedded within design education

She co-led research on the BEE Timeline with Lindsey Harrison, sponsored by Dr Mary Kitchener (OCAED), with research assistance from Blanca Rodríguez Beltrán. She is also part of the ongoing research-pedagogic project on Transdisciplinary Learning with Esra Kurul, Emma Skippings and Lucy Turner.

Current Research Projects

• BEE Timeline: Integrating Academic Advising with Employability (Co-Lead)
• Transdisciplinary Learning in the Built Environment (Team Member)
• AI for Experiential Urban Design Education (funding proposal in development)
• Semester Induction Week: Curriculum Design and Student Wellbeing (funding proposal)

Research Centres and Institutes

• Co-Director, REAL-HE (Research About Learning in Higher Education)

https://www.brookes.ac.uk/research/units/hls/centres/real-he

• Architect and urban designer with international experience in the UK, Brazil and Taiwan
• Visual artist with an active practice
• Member of the Brookes Coaching Pool (Level 5 accredited coaching and mentoring)
• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA)
• Chair / Former Co-Chair, OVADA (Oxford Visual Arts Development Agency)
• Regular contributor to professional and pedagogic conferences
• Published on urban design pedagogy and experiential learning

• Lim, R., Azevedo, L. N. & Cooper, J. Embracing the conceptual shift on new ways of experiencing the city and learning urban design: pedagogical methods and digital technologies, AESOP Conference, Lisbon, July 2017.
• Azevedo, L, N., Rocha, E. (2016a) BrookesBUDS: impacting student learning and the development of international professional skills with real-life urban design experience in Brazil. World Planning Schools Congress 2016. 3 rd -8 th June. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
• Azevedo, L, N. (2016b) The experience of the city as transformative knowledge: an evaluation of the use of a mobile approach for enhancing learning and teaching in urban design. World Planning Schools Congress 2016. 3 rd -8 th June. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
• Azevedo, L. N.; Kurul, E.; Lim, R.; Sames, Wragg, E. (2016) Developing the ‘model office’ as an approach to interdisciplinary practice-based learning. Oxford Brookes Learning and Teaching Conference. June 2016. Oxford Brookes University, Oxford.
• Azevedo, L, N. (2015) The Power of Experiential and Cross Cultural Learning for a more Responsive Practice in Urban Design. Public Lecture Series 2015-16. School of Planning and Geography at Cardiff University. 1 st December 2015. Oxford Brookes University, Oxford.
• Azevedo, L, N. (2015). Experiencing Professional Practice in Academia: a proposal for a student-lecturer partnership in the School of the Built Environment. Minerva Series. 15 th December 2015. Oxford Brookes University, Oxford.
• Azevedo, L. N. et al. (2015) BrookesBUDS Public Exhibition. 5 th -10 th September 2015. Inquiry Centre, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford.
• Azevedo, L. N. et al. (2015). Cross-cultural Urban Design: a comparison between Oxford, UK and Pelotas, Brazil. Internationalisation of the Curriculum. April 2015. Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism, Federal University of Pelotas, Brazil.
• Azevedo, L. N., de, Kiddle, R., Reeve, A. & Cooper, J. (2012, Unpublished) Sustainable housing design: understanding consumers’ preferences and market provision. A scoping research using a Q-methodology on the relationship between environmentally sustainable housing design, market expectations and consumers’ preferences in the contemporary UK context.

Degrees & Qualifications:
BA (Hons) Architecture and Urbanism
MA Urban and Regional Planning
PhD in Urban Design
Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching in Higher Education (PGCTHE)
Level 5 Certificate in Coaching and Mentoring
Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA)