Form Follows Parameter: Algorithmic-Thinking-Oriented Course for Early-stage Architectural Education

• Published in: Nexus network journal Vol. 24; no. 2; pp. 503 - 522
• Main Authors: Ostrowska-Wawryniuk, Karolina, Strzała, Marcin, Słyk, Jan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01.06.2022; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Algorithms; Architects; Architecture; Colleges & universities; Curricula; Design; Didactics; Education; Geometry; History; History and Philosophical Foundations of Physics; Mathematics; Mathematics and Statistics; Popular Science; Skills; Students; Teaching methods; Workflow; Geometric analysis; Felix Candela; Hyperbolic paraboloids; Parametric form-finding; Algorithmic thinking; Shell structures
• ISSN: 1590-5896; 1522-4600; 1522-4600
• DOI: 10.1007/s00004-022-00603-1

The digital paradigm requires efficient methods of teaching CAAD tools in architecture schools. With the trend of enhancing the design process with parametric methods, linking architecture with other knowledge areas, such as mathematics, is gaining in importance. Equipping future architects with skills in algorithmic thinking is yet another challenge for education. This paper describes the workflow of an early-stage course addressing this challenge, conducted at the Warsaw University of Technology’s Faculty of Architecture. The course focuses on the students’ ability to construct complex geometric forms in the digital environment by introducing an extensive analytic phase. The students study the geometric foundations of real-world architectural cases and translate them into parametric models. Later, they explore the potential of the generated solutions space. The results compare the course’s teaching efficiency with the outcomes of past courses covering similar subjects.