Archinect - Features

Present Realities: Teaching Design Studio Online

2021-05-05T08:00:00-04:00

Since my university moved all of its coursework online in March of 2020, like most professors, I have taught my class on Zoom. Forced to adopt new tools and methods, teaching design studio online has allowed the (relatively) seamless flow between different media in a way that would never be possible in person. With a few clicks of my mouse, I can annotate a PDF of my student’s floor plan, post a link to a precedent on Divisare.com, and drop it into Google Streetview. That is, while we’ve lost face-to-face interactions, physical models, and trace paper, I can still easily provide verbal and graphic feedback to my students’ designs and expose them to new ideas.

Discussing the role of jargon and difficulty with Harvard GSD's K. Michael Hays + Lisa Haber-Thomson

2017-06-09T10:30:00-04:00

Why are introductory architecture courses often packed with dense, off-putting jargon? It’s a question I didn't anticipate asking an esteemed architectural historian and current Harvard GSD professor, yet after I unintentionally offended K. Michael Hays by publicly airing my annoyances with jargon and difficulty as part of a recap of a review of his new online course, I realized that I needed to ask it. In fact, I owed it to the Professor; it’s unfair to criticize someone’s teaching style if one hasn’t thoroughly experienced it, although I've taken courses taught by others that used a similar approach.

Does Teaching Architecture Enhance Architectural Practice?

2016-10-24T12:08:00-04:00

As if running a practice wasn’t challenging enough, numerous architects and designers also engage regularly in teaching, whether it’s giving one-off lectures around the world or teaching full studios and courses at universities. So how does teaching influence the practice of architecture, and vice versa?