A three-stranded approach to teaching and learning construction technology: exploration and synthesis

Architectural Technology has always been a controversial subject to teach in architecture schools; every scholar approaches this subject from different point of view or research background: e.g. mathematical, engineering, theoretical, design-oriented, etc. The lack of an agreed and comprehensive approach to teaching the subject has resulted in a particular weakness in architecture graduates’ understanding of construction practice and management which consequently led the RIBA to seek the introduction of new area of teaching in Higher Education which prominently focuses on Architectural Technology (RIBA, 1962); some employers also started to recruit more architectural technologists to address the knowledge gap (Emmitt, 2001).

With this context in mind, this chapter presents a new learning and teaching strategy designed to teach construction technology to second year architecture students at the University of Portsmouth, and to investigate how they learn. The three-stranded approach includes the formal analysis of case study project using reading and writing, drawing, and model-making and a process of reflection and review. The following section discusses the theoretical thread that supports the combination of these three strands in order to better the students’ learning experience and achievements.