Implications for architectural education

Many academic programs still produce students who expect they will spend their careers working as heroic, solitary designers. But integrated practice is sure to stimulate a rethinking of that notion. Pedagogy must focus on teaching not only how to design and detail, but also how to engage with and lead others, and how to collaborate with the professionals they are likely to work with later. Renee Cheng, AIA, associate professor and head of the School of Architecture at the University of Minnesota, says, “While design remains central, critically important for studio and other courses are the ability to work successfully in interdisciplinary creative teams, write and speak effectively on professional topics, and be skilled in the arts of negotiation and facilitation.” There are also questions of how to integrate BIM into curricula that are already packed. Cheng warns that “the careless introduction of BIM with all of its prerequisite skills could overwhelm the subtleties inherent in nurturing design thinking—displacing it from its central role in the architectural curriculum.” How can virtual modeling software, then, be thoughtfully integrated into a curriculum without taking precious time away from learning basic design? Cheng describes a multivalent approach at her school, which incorporates BIM in a range of formats and levels, often complementing it with drafting and hand drawing.