Leandro Madrazo

Systems of representation: a pedagogical model for design education in the information age

Abstract The course SDR: Sistemas de Representación(Systems of Representation), is the last stage of a line of work which has the objective of integrating information technologies in the education of architecture in a meaningful way. A distinctive mark of this pedagogic approach has been to look upon computer technology as an opportunity to rethink the methods, contents and goals of architecturaleducation,in thelight of contemporary culture. The course is structured in six themes, each one standing for a ‘system of representation’: ‘text’, ‘figure’, ‘object’, ‘image’, ‘space’ and ‘light’. Within every system, a variety of issues dealing with the concept of ‘representation’ are addressed in an interdisciplinary manner. It is a compulsory course lasting three semesters, in the second and third year of a five-year architectural program. It has been offered since the academic year 1999/2000.

Design knowledge as interaction between form and shape: A pedagogic case study

Designing with a computer means to establish meaningful relationships between form and shape. It is necessary to develop computer tools that narrow the gap that still persists between the perceived form and the computer representation of a shape. We present a set of prototype tools to create two-dimensional compositions, whose purpose is to facilitate the interaction between designer and computer. The tools have been used to teach architecture students some fundamental implications in the use of computers to design.

Systems of Representation. A Space for Constructing Knowledge

Systems of Representation (in Spanish, SDR—Sistemas de Representacion) is an open learning space that fosters the creation of links between different subjects: art and architecture, graphic design and visual communication, visual studies and representation. In this space, learning is the result of building relations between the different subject-matters in multiple ways. Teachers become designers and facilitators of the learning processes which students develop according to their own skills and interests. These learning processes exemplify a design thinking by which knowledge is acquired without adhering to established methods. Teachers and students contribute to creating the learning resources through the web-based learning environment SDR: NET. The adopted blended-learning model integrates the activities that are carried out in the classroom and in the web environment.