Abstract:

By mid-March 2020, Universities all over the world witnessed the consequences of this unprecedent pandemic situation that we are living. One day, we were all teaching face-to face and the next day we were all remote, regardless the type of subject being taught.

In addition, the sudden switch to online learning exposed the issues the students are dealing with, not just about internet access, but about things impacting their families, that were there all along and had been missed.

The social impact is immeasurable, and it should be a wake-up call for us as instructors, but we also must deal with the academic consequences of this force conversion to the online modality of certain types of learning.

It is well known that the Studio classes in Architecture have a strong practical component and the class system generates certain dynamics that are almost impossible to replicate online. One of the most important ones is the fact that the students fundamentally learn from experience, their own and their peers. It is not a unidirectional system; it is a multidirectional scheme based on multiple interactions that it is very hard to simulate in a virtual environment. It also has a physical component, based on the materiality of the model, the paper, and even the physical presence and interaction.

The second half of last semester we all did our best to translate the program into something doable online but, given the fact that this virus seems to be here to stay, it may be the time to rethink the architectural teaching (and learning) in its entirety. If we embrace the challenge as an opportunity to provide our students with a better education and prepare them to the actual and diverse work of an architect nowadays, it would not be a lost opportunity.

This text pretends to undertake a comprehensive review of the whole system, from the teaching strategies to the relationship with the students, the Studio’s dynamics, the review system and the overall understanding of the architectural environment nowadays.

Keywords:

Architecture, experience, pandemic, virtual, review.