Notes on Digital Architectural Design in the Undergraduate Teaching in Brazil (original) (raw)
Related papers
Architectural design teaching in Brazil – experiences in the midst of school's multiplication
In the last decade, the number of architecture and urban planning schools in Brazil increased tremendously, especially in São Paulo State. For this reason, we should expect that architects and urban planners are being prepared as teachers for higher education, at least in postgraduate programmes. In face of this reality, an investigation was made in those programmes from São Paulo State, to analyse how architects and urban planners were being prepared as future higher education teachers. Some programmes offered disciplines on higher education teaching, as well as a probationary internship. Regarding that, this article aims to present an experience that took place in the third semester of the architecture design subject in the undergraduate course of University of Campinas, São Paulo State. The experience's objective was to instruct postgraduate students as higher education teachers, through probationary internship. During the semester, they participated teaching and developing knowledge about pedagogical strategies. In this period, postgraduate students were supervised by the main teachers and worked together with undergraduate students. The experience highlights the need to train architects and urban planners as teachers, so we can ensure a prosperous future for new professionals.
Architectural education in the digital age
Alexandria Engineering Journal, 2019
Architecture is a technology-intensive discipline. It uses technology, both in the process of design and also in production. It is believed that digital computer technology has a strong impact on architectural design, architectural teaching as well as in practice. Image architecture, digital simulation and virtual scene among other applications have gradually become progressive architectural design phrases. There exists a necessity that architectural teaching should adapt to such transformations. With the rapid development of computer applications in the architectural profession, the need to find a framework to integrate the computer applications with architectural curriculum has increased. Hence, it became mandatory to examine the computer integration's impact on architectural schools, at the same time explore the architecture profession's needs in order to help find an efficient framework for architectural education. This paper studies the integration of computer applications in the top 20 international architecture schools as well as in eight architectural departments in Egyptian universities, with the aim of understanding the current educational status nationally and internationally. A survey was conducted on a sample of architects in order to investigate the profession needs in various architectural fields. The study is carried out to bridge the gap between architectural education and architectural profession.
2007
Each time architecture tried to provide solutions to problems within the city with deterministic means, the result was definite and rigid without taking into account the dynamics that characterize an urban environment. These formalistic approaches studied the existing environment and tried to 'tame' it with concepts and master-plans that followed a particular line of thought. The prevailing belief at the time was that those approaches, which were theoretically valid, would balance and rationalize the existing conditions. They did not take into consideration, though, the 'invisible city,' the forces that act within it, and the overall complexity of the urban environment which cannot be dealt with a singular formalistic proposal. This paper refers to a university research project which was inspired by the wish of contemporary design interventions to re-define the city following new readings and using digital design tools. Our academic interest lies in the new dialectics formed between analyzing and developing the city under the conditions that the emergent design media have brought into the contemporary architectural education. Our intention is to examine the relationship between these tools, digital design techniques and a new urbanity. Initially our research project involved the critical analysis and comparison of 51 design courses, based in various schools of architecture around the world (Europe, United States and Australia). This analysis was further reinforced by interviews with people from the academia, widely recognized for their significant role in the development of the new approach. The key parameter for selecting and documenting these variations of advanced design studios was their focus in spatial dynamics and their interest in the use of mapping techniques and digital design tools. We were interested in exploring how these courses read the city and how they deal with the augmented complexity of contemporary urban space, its perpetual transformations, the ubiquity of information, and the consequent blurring of limits within such a spatial system. The objective of this comparative study was to find the common threads that run along the examined design courses. The research team concluded in critical factors that act as common denominators and moreover pinpoint a great shift in the traditional architectural education as we know it. The shift refers to the adaptation of flexible strategic approaches that guide the development of urban design proposals and coordinate the relation between the designer and the field of reference. These urban strategies are put forward in the place of master-plans. Strategies are manifested as a series of small judgments, confined actions, and local decisions which are articulated in response to field information. There is no intention to deal with the complexity of a problem in its entirety. Instead, the sequence of continuous interventions brings eventually the dynamic balance of the urban system. The success of a strategic approach depends heavily on complex controls and continuous feedback, both properties of the emergent digital design tools. The new mediums, and the design techniques that surface along with them, constitute the most important factor of this research study. All of the examined design courses have a computational infrastructure based on hardware and software systems that support a variety of visualization, simulation, modeling and rapid prototyping techniques. The study concludes with a proposal for an upgraded type of an architectural design studio. The proposal promotes the combination of research, experimentation and design attuned with computational media. It is rooted into the assumption that design is a cognitive process which progresses as a sequence of actions triggered by the information of the surrounding environment. This new type of studio is build up as a network of small individual but interrelated courses that inform the initiatives within a single design project. Above all, it encourages the direct contact of the students with the information of the examined field. The proposal was tailored so as to be applicable to any school that wishes to explore in its curriculum the contemporary city field with the tools and the techniques of the digital era.
Rethinking the Human in Technology Drive Architecture - ENHSA International Conference Proceedings, 2011
In his magnum opus, " Truth and Method " , published in 1960, the German philosopher Hans Georg Gadamer (1900 – 2002) argued that since the enlightenment, scientific research method in general has become increasingly interrelated with the methods and norms of the so called natural sciences. As a result, humanistic fields of research have suffered as they were forced to adopt the methodology, the tools and eventually, the philosophy of natural sciences. Accordingly, for architecture this trend meant nothing less than a " process that reduced all that is worth knowing about the making of architecture to transparent productive knowledge " (Vesely, D. 2004). It can be argued that this reduction remains one of the central issues that confront the so called " digital " or " IT driven " architectures of today. This is outlined by the problems arising from the integration of a medium, digital tools in this case, that deals primarily with quantifiable elements in an environment (architectural design) that must take into consideration elements that are impossible to reduce to quantifiable variables. The roots, as well as the repercussions of this inherent dichotomy in contemporary architecture is a matter that merits serious discussion, and can be traced to the gap that has appeared between architectural praxis and architectural theory (Hays, M. 2000). Faced with the present digital revolution it is useful to recall Mies Van der Rohe's observations, when faced with the " new time " imposed by the industrial/technological revolution. Mies stated that we must set new values and point out ultimate goals in order to gain new criteria. For the meaning and justification of each epoch, even the new one, lies only in providing conditions under which the spirit can exist (Neumeyer, F. 1994). The issues outlined by Mies, remain in many ways, the issues with which contemporary architecture, facing the challenges of the digital revolution of present times, has to deal with. Ultimately, the question of digital (or IT) architectures is not only a matter of " what we design and how we design it " as illustrated by various digital architecture theorists (Kolarevic B.2000, Lynn, G., 1999, Mitchell, W. 1990, etc) but also a matter of WHY we design (Martin, R. 2005). It can be theorized that the WHY can stem from the process of architectural education and the architectural culture it cultivates. As a result, it is crucial to examine the reaction of the architectural educational system vis a vis the introduction of the digital in architectural design. Kastoriadis, in his essay " Psychoanalysis and the demand of autonomy " (Kastoriadis, K. 1989) layed out the following principles that he considered of paramount importance to any educational system: a) An educational system that cannot logically answer the question of those subjected to its education " why are we learning this? " remains incomplete, and b) an educational system that does not afford the maximum possible independence to those educated, is bad. In this regard, if we take for granted the changes of the digital revolution in the field of architecture, we must ask ourselves if the processes of architectural education that are emerging in the wake of the digital are incomplete, or even bad. This line of thought is further discussed in the paper while emphasis is placed on issues related to architectural education in the digital era (Ascanowicz, A. 2007). The discussion in the paper poses questions regarding the integration of digital media in the design process and highlights the need for a re-evaluation of both the role of Information Technologies in architecture as well as the educational framework that supports it.
Journal of Civil Engineering and Architecture, 2017
The aim of this work is to illuminate how the architectural publication in Brazil is influenced by the location of its economic poles. Although the main specialized journals are nationwide read and the published projects are frequently used as design references by students at architecture schools all over Brazil, it appears to be a favor for those projects located at the southeast region. In order to investigate this initial assumption, we selected two of the most influential architectural journals, AU and Project Design magazines, focusing on visitable projects that are, therefore, capable of offering an experience for learning about architectural project. The analysis covered three years of publications in which four states in Brazil were distinguished: São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais and Federal District. The collected data show that the published visitable projects coincide with the economic poles around centered cities in Brazil, as well as the location of architecture schools and specialized media, becomes evident; not only because of the greater number of projects in the São Paulo area, but mainly because most of the published projects are located in the capitals of the analyzed poles.
Digital Computation on Architectural Design Process in Universitas Multimedia Nusantara
Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, 2022
In the digital era, BIM (Building Information Modelling) has enriched and transformed Architectural pedagogy, particularly in the architectural design studio. It has challenged students during design activity, either it helps or limits their design. We review students’ achievements that employ BIM as part of the architectural design process. In this case, BIM parameters based on The International Union of Architects (UIA) revised edition 2017 include creative process, analyses and strategies for the design process, technical knowledge, and ability to communicate ideas such as drawing, modelling and documentation. This research focuses on the architectural design studio of the fourth semester of undergraduate study in Universitas Multimedia Nusantara (UMN). We use the correlational method to comprehend students’ performance in the digital design process. First, we observed and followed students’ design processes. Second, we collected final grade data from two applied BIM courses, Architecture Design 3 and Digital Computation 2. This research aims to assess the influence of BIM utilization on students’ performance and achievement in the design process. The results will improve learning methods and their effectiveness in architectural design and digital computing.
The information age has changed our way of thinking about society and it is not far from the urban context and reality. The contemporary city presents a wide range of problems and to solve them or try to soften them, it is necessary to generate new solutions through new technologies and ways of thinking. The traditional approach to architectural education has not proven itself as a possibility to help solve increasingly complex urban problems. The ancient methods of teaching like the pre-set hierarchy of disciplines or the conventional classroom environment is no longer enough to supply the needs of our present day. For that, it is believed that the experimental teaching would respond more effectively and quickly to the contemporary urban questions. Their methodological fundament presents a multidisciplinary approach that requires a flexible and permeable learning environment which responds to the new technological demands of society. In Brazil, despite the evolution of architectural education in the last 30 years, the teaching methods remain on the traditional way, with rare exceptions, in a universe of nearly 300 schools. This article aims to propose the discussion between the two methodological approaches of education making a counter point between traditional and experimental which will make us face a virtual reality in Brazilian architectural culture.
Role of Internet in Contemporary Architectural Pedagogy
International Journal of Advance Research, Ideas and Innovations in Technology, 2017
The growth of technology has advanced each and every scenario in the field of the profession as well as in education. Innovation took place with the growth of the economy and another governing factor. Our basic approach in this research would be practically defining some prospects in the field of pedagogy related to architecture and how architectural education evolved in many ways. Pedagogical skills improvised from one generation to another which brings changes to the education. It has been developed in a way scope of innovation with the help of innovation and technology is possible. This dissertation will be related to the architecture. How the pedagogy is changing day by day, what is its impact on students does it a process of learning and experience the share of the teaching and learning environment. I would be able to express my views about architectural pedagogy should be done and what innovations it needs. To enhance the teaching and learning environment huge exercise to be done. Means the proper set up of curriculum and management because without that the improvisation will not be as well as executed in an efficient manner. Architecture is the study that covers practical and theoretical aspects of teaching. Pedagogy covers many topics which are related or studied via internet, not by any other means. Internet incorporates many things, related to architecture in the form of art, design, and interior. Architecture doesn't exist in isolation. It exists in the context of people, place, period and philosophy. They are very distinctive on their own.
The introduction of Information Technologies (IT) in the field of Architecture has brought about revolutionary developments regarding pedagogical frameworks. This paper examines the influence of IT on educational strategies and presents an innovative educational approach for their use in teaching design. Furthermore, it argues that IT cannot be considered in isolation, as mere tools, but rather as part of a comprehensive educational strategy. Such a strategy should take into account the context, method and the subject of architectural pedagogy while answering questions regarding the time, form and content of design teaching. Firstly, the authors present salient historical points that identify the main circumstances under which IT were inserted in the field of architecture. Secondly, through a critical reflection on the latest research in the field, the authors aim to reveal the impact of introducing IT in architectural education. These observations are then juxtaposed with the challenges of innovative education approaches today. Finally, the authors develop an implementation strategy for renovating the architectural education framework where IT are involved, based on three axes: (a) the cultivation of craftsmanship, (b) the conceptualization of IT as a technique and, (c) the teaching of a computation logic in architecture.
Emergent digital design strategies in architecture: tools and methodologies
2015
The emergence of digital tools in architecture since the beginning of the XXI century is deeply transforming the protocols, the design methodologies, and the conceptualization of the discipline. Traditional architectural education has remained at the periphery of these developments, whereas certain “advanced” architectural schools are deploying tremendous efforts to embrace these tools. However, their embedment into pedagogical practice is not devoid of problems and inconsistencies. This paper explores how several digital tools are being actively incorporated into the curriculum at the Institute for Advanced Architecture (Iaac) in Barcelona. It features relevant examples of urban design projects developed during three distinctive architectural design studios: two at the undergraduate level and one masters degree program. Several digital tools currently available for architectural analysis, design, and representation are explored, with an objective to identify and propose their suita...