Tectonics interactions in teaching architecture design

Abstract

Considering the interdisciplinarity of teaching architecture in a design studio, one of the challenging themes for faculty and students is tectonics in the teaching and learning of architectural design. This study aims to understand the needs, expectations, and demands of tectonics for an architecture design studio of an undergraduate course in Architecture and Urban Design, with a solution proposal to exposed demands, through a design thinking approach. For data collection, we opted for participant observations, guided interviews, and the application of empathy mapping. Analysis of data was documental, characterizing qualitative research. The results demonstrate that structural design, understanding of structural restraints, and judgments on each project's best technical solutions are the three main demands of tectonics in an architectural design studio. As a contribution, a prototype in a virtual learning environment was created, which included content on the research's target audience's main topics. This prototype encourages students' autonomy and proactivity in searching for knowledge, reduces competitiveness, and promotes communication and knowledge sharing between students and teachers, minimizing the difficulties found in an architecture project studio concerning tectonics.