The influence of learning methodologies on the understanding of Architectural Technologies

This work began as some kind of assessment of how construction should be learned
and why. Thus, the exercise described is directly related to this assessment, and its relevance
should be understood only within it. We think construction should be integrated
in architectural studies as part of a whole, and therefore we played with the idea
of using a particular material to convey the student’s volumetric intentions. The focus
was put not simply on using the student’s knowledge on a material and its assembly
to express a conceptual intention, but mainly on the tools used to explore and convey
this intention. Our main concern was the relationship between a learning tool and the
understanding of technologies, more accurately, the understanding of assembly.
Over the course of two weeks during the academic year 2008/09, two groups of
students in the technology studio explored the same theme through the same short
exercise. In each school, half of the students explored this theme by means of modelmaking
only, and the other half of the students explored it through graphic-expression
only. Timber was chosen as the material to use and explore: this material being
easy to work with, timber allows the students to sense materiality and establish a
close relationship with it. In order to draw valid conclusions from the study, the students
completed a multiple-choice test prior to commencing the workshop [Table 1].
Answers to this questionnaire helped in determining knowledge or awareness of the
student on the material, experience of the student of different means of expression,
etc. The students were also asked to complete a second multiple-choice test after finishing
the workshop [Table 2]. This questionnaire offered information on the students’
responses to the exercise.