AVOCAAD - A First Step Towards Distance Learning

In the industrial world knowledge is developed very fast. As most countries are depending on employees with a high level of knowledge and skills the term "Life Long Learning" has been formulated and the concept is more and more accepted. Institutions of higher education are more and more involved in creating supplementary education more independent of time and place. Distance learning was originally carried out by ordinary mail, which was slow but might then have been the only solution for people in remote places. With the Internet and e-mail the distance-learning concept has got a far better tool, for instance better interaction facilities. Architects and engineers in practise are deeply involved in solving the problems of the present projects. Education which is independent of time and place must be of great interest to both parties. The AVOCAAD project has created an education model for students to meet the possibilities of CAAD. The education model can be used in a curriculum at a school as well as for distance learning. Among the possible experiences from it, the one concerning distance learning might be the most important future application of the system in architectural education. This paper sketches the pedagogical background and gives examples from other areas of knowledge, where distance learning is already in use. We will put the question how the AVOCAAD concept meets the experiences from distance learning

AVOCAAD - a First Step Towards Distance Learning?

In the industrial world knowledge is developed very fast. As most countries are depending on employees with a high level of knowledge and skills the term “Life Long Learning” has been formulated and the concept is more and more accepted. Institutions of higher education are more and more involved in creating supplementary education more independent of time and place. Distance learning was originally carried out by ordinary mail, which was slow but might then have been the only solution for people in remote places. With the Internet and e-mail the distance-learning concept has got a far better tool, for instance better interaction facilities. Architects and engineers in practise are deeply involved in solving the problems of the present projects. Education which is independent of time and place must be of great interest to both parties. The AVOCAAD project has created an education model for students to meet the possibilities of CAAD. The education model can be used in a curriculum at a school as well as for distance learning. Among the possible experiences from it, the one concerning distance learning might be the most important future application of the system in architectural education. This paper sketches the pedagogical background and gives examples from other areas of knowledge, where distance learning is already in use. We will put the question how the AVOCAAD concept meets the experiences from distance learning

Teaching Advanced Architectural Issues Through Principles of CAAD

The paper disrusses the differences between teaching CAAD by using standard sofware ("off-theshelf"-sofware) and teaching the principles of CAAD ("principles-teaching "). The paper distinguishes four kinds of application for design systems in education: social systems, professiond systems, educational systems, and innovative systems. The paper furthermore proposes to distinguish between computational issues and architectural issues relative to design systems. It appears that there is not a principled distinction between sofware-teaching and principles-teaching when it comes to computational issues of design systems. However, when the architectural content of CAAD systems is concerned, then principles of CAAD systems seem to be more appropriate for teaching. The paper presents work on generic representations as a specific case Generic representations can be used to teach one particular kind of architectural content of design systems. The paper ends with condusions

AVOCAAD - A First Step Towards Distance Learning

In the industrial world knowledge is developed very fast. As most countries are depending on employees with a high level of knowledge and skills the term "Life Long Learning" has been formulated and the concept is more and more accepted. Institutions of higher education are more and more involved in creating supplementary education more independent of time and place. Distance learning was originally carried out by ordinary mail, which was slow but might then have been the only solution for people in remote places. With the Internet and e-mail the distance-learning concept has got a far better tool, for instance better interaction facilities. Architects and engineers in practise are deeply involved in solving the problems of the present projects. Education which is independent of time and place must be of great interest to both parties. The AVOCAAD project has created an education model for students to meet the possibilities of CAAD. The education model can be used in a curriculum at a school as well as for distance learning. Among the possible experiences from it, the one concerning distance learning might be the most important future application of the system in architectural education. This paper sketches the pedagogical background and gives examples from other areas of knowledge, where distance learning is already in use. We will put the question how the AVOCAAD concept meets the experiences from distance learning

AVOCAAD, the Experience

The Leonardo da Vinci project AVOCAAD (Added Value of Computer Aided Architectural Design) aims at stimulating creative and experimental use of computers in the field of Architecture and Construction by the use of new technologies. For this purpose, a large set of exercises and exercise materials was developed and is now available through an interactive web-site. This allows regular students as well as architects in practice to continuously seek for a more interesting and inspiring use of computers and IC-technology, adding value in their own field of interest and work. The interactive web-site generates a virtual forum for exchange of ideas. The AVOCAAD partners as well as the newly joined partners are currently using and testing the available teaching materials (exercises, foreground and background information) with students. Moreover a small design exercise in the context of the project has been the theme of a workshop held at the AVOCAAD 1999 conference. Students and architects were asked to create a design in a predefined space based on experimental architectural music. This paper intends to report on the experiences we gained in using the interactive web-site, the exercises and also doing the workshop. We will address the pedagogical implications of issues like learning environment, continuous and distance learning, and focus on their impact towards CAAD curricula. Examples and results will illustrate the general framework

AVOCAAD

The Leonardo da Vinci pilot project AVOCAAD (Added Value of Computer Aided Architectural Design) aims to innovate the use of computers in architecture. Hereto, new course materials and structures are developed. Focus is on new unusual ways to use software in Architecture. In this paper, we first describe the context using the general AVOCAAD statement. In order to give structure to the developed materials, a scheme was developed. This AVOCAAD scheme is given and described. In order to innovate in the architectural curriculum as well as in design offices, exercise materials will be available through the Internet. Hereto, a web- structure for the exercises was developed

AVOCAAD - a Framework and Website for Teaching CAAD

This paper presents an overview of a framework for online teaching of the creative use of CAAD in the early stages of design that has been developed in the AVOCAAD project.