Abstract:

The creation of models or prototypes has ever been an integral part of structural design and calculation. However, the development of structural analysis and structural analysis software has made it easier to mathematically model a structure. The consequence has been that analysis has dominated the way of understanding structural behavior and in many cases its teaching. But the use of analysis is not adequate at all stages of structural learning, and in fact, in the phases corresponding to conceiving and designing structures it is not directly useful, since in order to be able to perform an analysis of a structure it has to be completely defined, and for this it must first be designed. At this stage it can be very useful to use real 3D models, which can help to better understand the structural behavior.
An initiative is presented that aims to incorporate the possibility of making 3D models in the learning process for building structure projects, with the objective that the realization of these models and the interaction with them will allow reflection on the behavior of the elements that make up a structure in the different structural types according to the actions they have to support. The results of this initiative, which is currently in progress, are presented and possible future developments are described.
The experience described has been carried out in the subject "Structures Project", corresponding to the last term of the degree in Fundamentals of Architecture, which has a total of 10 semesters and is taught at the School of Architecture of the Polytechnic University of Madrid (ETSAM-UPM), and is the last part of the learning and practice process related to building structures in the degree

Keywords:

Experiential learning, physical models.