Experiential Learning of Structural Systems - Comparison of design-based and experiment-based pedagogies

Abstract

This research aims to compare two experiential learning methods' effectiveness for (1) a deeper understanding of structural behaviour, and (2) skills to design architectural forms that are structurally informed. A course was planned to investigate the effect of the type and order of the two teaching units: (1) guided experiments on a parametric design model, and ( 2) parametric design of a tower and custom experiments using Grasshopper and Karamba. Results indicate that the group that started with the experiments learned to ask the relevant questions by experimenting with the appropriate parameters that helped them to find the structural principles and apply them during their design phase. The group that started with the design were lost in the structural concepts and in identifying the meaningful parameters to test for. However, after the experiment was completed, this group could make a knowledge transfer. Acquisition of structures knowledge may require the experience of multiple situations while the application of this knowledge may involve selecting the relevant structural experience with the architectural form-finding process. In the future, a proposed experiential learning method will be compared with an instructive learning approach of structural systems for architecture students.