STRUCTURAL DESIGN PROCESS VERSUS CREATIVE PROCESS: AN OPEN DISCUSSION IN TERMS OF LEARNING AND TEACHING

Engineering creativity is supported, in the field of structural design, by two key aspects: the indeterminate nature of the structural problem, and the formal and compositive potential of the structure itself. This thought results in a radical change in the conceptual and project design understanding of the structure: structural elements are not only able to ensure the stability of the building, but they can also play a key role in the definition and configuration of the surrounding space, acquiring a relevant conceptual and creative dimension.

Starting from this idea, the paper addresses the issue of how to deal with learning and teaching structures design while reinforcing its formal and compositive potential, in the specific field of building structures.

At this purpose, the principles and theories which govern the creative development are reviewed, in relation to the design process of the structure, considering proposals by three well-known structural. The purpose is to establish a parallelism between creative and structural design processes.
Following this analysis, the possibilities, potential and major challenges for learning and teaching structural design is considered.

It is first targeted at this stage to identify the main parameters, design stages and characteristics of the design of a structure to be transmitted and enhanced to the students.

Secondly, an open discussion is presented in relation to the teaching techniques and experiences that may encourage and stimulate the adequate development of structural design teaching in terms of creativity and design development.