Architectural Design Education and Digital Technologies: Toward a Multinational Research Observatory

Abstract

New visions that do not confine the computer to strictly technical and representation functions have appeared in schools of architecture over the past few years. The use of new information and communication technologies (NICT), in the field of design education in particular, have allowed the creation of innovative teaching tools and teaching configurations that are operational in certain European and North American schools. Unfortunately, the comparison of experiences is rare, and it would be beneficial to facilitate educational exchanges on a scientific basis. It is clear, now, that the general use of NICT will have to promote educational programs that are evaluated scientifically, that are “efficient” and that are occasionally multinational, even if the cultural differences make the task difficult. These considerations have lead us to the proposal of recommendations for the creation of a multinational observatory for the teaching of design that could benefit from the presence of researchers from European countries and from North America already implicated in activities in our laboratories. This observatory is conceived as a depository of pedagogical works serving as observation material destined for scientific research. As such, it would act as an observation site for research in didactics of design. It would allow for a new understanding of the opportunities and limitations derived from the emerging globalisation of distributed design education and offer new challenges for architectural schools. This article describes the beginnings of this observation system and underscores its potential to produce results in the future