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A CAPSTONE DESIGN EXPERIENCE IN ARCHITECTURAL ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY

Daniel Davis University of Hartford

Abstract

At the University of Hartford, we have developed a “Capstone Design Experience” in an effort to improve our Architectural Engineering Technology curriculum. By increasing the awareness of the interrelationships between different areas of study, we are attempting to strike a new balance. We have integrated the following into a single yearlong design project: research, programming, planning, history and theory, design, model making, drawing, CAD, structures, environmental systems, presentations and writing. Our capstone program provides opportunities for exploration, questioning, testing, and criticism. It requires the students to use experience and knowledge gained in other courses and forces them to play an active role in their own learning. It demands personal accountability for decisions, and commitment to ideas and proposals that are scrutinized publicly. We believe that we have developed a model that other disciplines on campus could well profit from observing.

Introduction

The Carnegie report "Building Community: A New Future for Architecture Education and Practice" by Ernest Boyer and Lee Mitgang criticized architecture programs for lack of integration of the curriculum. At the University of Hartford’s (U of H) Architectural Engineering Technology (AET) Program we have been challenged by this criticism and have redeveloped our capstone program in response. The uniqueness of a rchitectural education lies in its combination of theory and technology courses in the lecture/seminar format within the design studio.

The “Capstone Design Experience” includes AET 470 Architectural Programming and AET 489 Senior Design Thesis. In these two courses, taken in sequence, students prepare and present their solutions and are periodically critiqued by their peers, faculty, local professionals and invited guests. Although reviews may be stressful, they are an opportunity to experience ‘real life’ and integrate knowledge learned in a variety of other courses. They demand personal accountability for decisions and commitment to ideas and proposals that will be subject to public scrutiny.[1] Students are also required to prepare a portfolio of the work created in these two courses.

Educational Reform

“Proceedings of the 2002 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conferen ce & Exposition Copyright Ó 2002, American Society for Engineering Education”

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Davis, D. (2002, June), A Capstone Design Experience In Architectural Engineering Technology Paper presented at 2002 Annual Conference, Montreal, Canada. 10.18260/1-2--10544