Daniel Hapton
Assistant Professor
Daniel Hapton is a teaching-focused Assistant Professor at SAPL and the founder of AITCH Design, a Calgary-based studio that specializes in creative renovations. His entrepreneurial spirit and love for expressive design are also reflected in his restoration of musical instruments and passion for improvisational music. Daniel’s innovative approach to design is guided by the values of humor, history, multiplicity, disciplinarity, and projectivity, which also shape his work as an educator. He is committed to refining pedagogy, strengthening curricula, and enhancing course coordination. Through collaboration, hands-on studio experience, and value-informed innovation, Daniel bridges the gap between architectural practice and education, inspiring students to rethink and transform the field of architecture.
Hapton’s value-informed approach to teaching is rooted in his training at the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc), an avant-garde school that emphasizes the relationship between practice and experimentation within an academic context. He strives to integrate theoretical knowledge with practical application, often blurring the lines between the two.
Looking ahead, Daniel envisions further exploration of student-directed learning and experimental studios. He is currently collaborating with Matthew Parker on a pilot project that grants students greater autonomy in their projects, aiming to study and potentially reshape the pedagogy within the architecture department. “We’re hoping to basically start to get students working on research projects that are focused on the way we teach courses and where this comes from.” He sees this initiative as a way to foster a more responsive and dynamic learning environment.
Contact Info
Education
B.ENDS (University of British Columbia)
M.ARCH (Southern California Institute of Architecture, SCI-Arc)
Keywords
- Humour
- History
- Multiplicity
- Discipline
- Projection
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