The Computer-Aided Studio Critic: Gaining Control of What We Look At

This paper presents an approach to teaching that put computer resources in the hands of a studio instructor. A design professor or tutor that is expert in the use of the tool. The studio master used the computer to “study” the propositions of students. This was done as an extension of his current teaching practice. The critic used the computer as another tool additional to discussion, pencil and paper, and working models. Computer walk-throughs and visual representations of concepts were used by the professor to convey his interpretation of the work to students. In this model the students did not have to use the computer. The model recognized the years of experience and expensive equipment required to create an adequate representation of a design scheme and view it in the very short time period available during desk critiques. This approach for studio teaching has not been identified and discussed in any depth in recent literature on CAD studio teaching. The emphasis of papers presented at CAD conferences has been on how to provide students with better software and skills needed to make effective use of computers in their studio work