Abstract:

Developing a cross-disciplinary, active and experimental approach in teaching the theoretical courses in Architecture is essential to develop the students’ intellectual skills, draw them into theoretical courses, and raise their cultural heritage awareness especially when teaching the history of architecture.

The paper includes an analytical tool that is designed by the author, this tool helps the students for a further understanding of the relation between the building, the community and environment through the history and the life cycle of the building.

This paper evaluate the cross-disciplinary learning approach, the analytical tool and the series of in-campus and out-campus activities used in teaching history in the architecture, in the higher public education system in Egypt, specifically the Faculty of Fine Arts, Helwan University. The study is applied in the History of Architecture level two that covers the period from Early Christian, Medieval period, Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo, and the Architectural movements after the industrial revolution till the early 20th century. The research discussed in this paper is taking part during the first semester of academic years (2015-2016), and is taught by the author.

The paper discusses and analyzes an analytical tool that is designed by the author, and is applied by the students in their research projects. The analytical tool provides questions that help the students to recognize the type, the context, the visual attribute, and the social and political context of the building. The in-campus and out-campus activities includes fieldworks and research projects in the Christian sites in Egypt, and the neoclassical and liberal age sites in Egypt. The discussion exceed to include the obstacles that are faced by the students in using the analytical tool and the methods used in overcoming them.

The paper evaluates the cross-disciplinary approach adapted in the course by the students through a designed questioner. The students are asked to evaluate the analytical tool, the after course change in their intellectual skills, the link they make between the course and other disciplinary, the role of the course in perceiving the Egyptian cultural heritage through late 19th century and early 20th century buildings, and the raise of their cultural heritage awareness. And finally, the students are asked to define the obstacles of the course and to suggest improvements to the analytical tool and the different exercises. The paper also discusses also the author evaluation of the students’ intellectual skills development and concludes with learned lessons, findings and recommendations.

Keywords:

Architecture, Analytical tool, Cross-disciplinary, History of architecture.