authors |
Marx, John |
year |
2000 |
title |
A proposal for alternative methods for teaching digital design |
source |
Automation in Construction 9 (1) (2000) pp. 19-35 |
summary |
Computers have the potential to radically change the process of architectural design, and match more closely the formal aspirations of contemporary designers. What, then, should be the direction educators take in response to the opportunities created by the use of computers in the design process? There are, perhaps, two obvious methods of teaching Digital Design at a university level; a course adjunct to a design studio, or a course offered independently of a design studio.The computer is a facilitator of design ideas, but by itself, is not a creator of content. The primary responsibility of the design studio is the creation of content. It is the implementation of theory and critical analysis which should be the core concern of studio instruction. Given the limited time students are exposed to design studio it would seem appropriate, then, that the digital tools, which facilitate the design process, be taught separately, so as not to dilute the design studios importance. Likewise, this separation should allow the student to concentrate attention on Digital Design as a comprehensive process, beginning with initial massing studies and ending with high resolution presentation drawings. The burden of learning this new process is difficult as well as time consuming. Students are generally struggling to learn how to design, much less to design on the computer. In addition, the current lack of digital skills on the part of design faculty makes it difficult to create a level of consistency in teaching digital design. Compounding these problems is the cost to architectural departments of providing hardware and software resources sufficient to have a computer on every studio desk. |
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more |
http://www.elsevier.com/locate/autcon |
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last changed |
2003/05/15 21:22 |
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