Design instructor's perspective on the role of computers in architectural education:: A case study

Abstract

This paper reports the findings of a case study aimed to explore the design instructors' opinions on the role of computers in architectural education. A qualitative research, incorporating a survey and semi-structured interviews, have been conducted. The objective of the research is to explore and identify the instructors' conceptualizations and evaluations of the relationship between design and computers in education. We aimed to understand whether there is a certain divide among the design faculty between those who see computers merely as representational tools and those who see them potentials for a different design thinking and mechanism. Specifically, we seek to understand the possible sources of the instructors' resistance to CAD. Having described the findings of the survey, the paper concludes by a discussion on the possible relations among the answers given to survey and the literature reviewed.