Abstract:

Although in Architectural education sometimes students experiment reactions of resistance towards architectural technologies, overcoming this first reaction can be achieved by means of various learning methods. A commonly used approach involves building construction exercises that run parallel but independently to the studio project. A different approach, tested in this work, forces students to apply technology to the development of a still unfinished studio project. In other words, it forces students to use technology as a ‘space generator’. Thus, the present research looks at teaching and learning methodologies for Architectural Technologies, based on the studio outcome after using an Architectural Design Project with a view to engage Year 3 students of Architecture with timber technology during a 3-day workshop. This exercise was carried out in the Department of Architecture in CESUGA (University College Dublin) as an experimental workshop, with the guest collaboration of Prof. Hilti, from Institut für Architektur und Raumentwicklung (Liechtenstein), where this type of workshop has been carried out before although with a slightly different methodology.

The main aim of this paper is sharing and discussing a particular methodology for that purpose and assessing its impact on the students’ work and on their own position with respects to integrated building technologies.

Keywords:

teaching methodology in architecture, integrated architectural technologies, understanding of architectural technologies.