Dunn, N., 2009.

Models in Architecture Education: an ecological approach

Models are a designer’s currency and so common in the exchange and development of ideas as to feature without attention and are used often without question. For architectural educators models are effective communication tools but for their students they are also the means by which architecture itself, its processes, concepts, and strategies are learned. For the educator understanding the role played by such tools is important and implies both a user and an environment. If we refocus our attention away from the model to the environment then a fuller understanding of the use of models in architectural education can be achieved. The ultimate benefits of this are clear since as educators it is the environment around a model’s use that we provide and control.

This paper seeks to explain the ecological approach developed to describe and understand the environment of models in an educational context. The research adopts an approach based on the work of James J. Gibson (1986), which whilst it does not constrain the research by setting out a predefined methodology, it provides a conceptual overview and a language. In this sense the paper discusses the notion of design, pedagogy, representation, and human behaviours within architectural education.

Related Research:   Nick Dunn