Commitment, motivation, and the creative process: one perspective and its application in the introduction to architecture design

Abstract

This paper presents a case study on how design is taught in a second-semester introductory course of the Architecture and Urbanism undergraduate program at the Rio de Janeiro Federal University (UFRJ), in which teacher-student interactions are utilized as fundamental strategies to accomplish the course goals. The findings are based on the author’s experience as a professor of the Architectural Form Conception (CFA 2) course in the Form Analysis and Representation Department at that school. This particular learning method represents a specific approach toward the development of the design process, an approach that is part of a larger set of discussions and experimentations to prepare architectural students to design objects of architecture. Using everyone’s commitments to the established goals, the main objective is to broaden students’ awareness, to provide a critical stance on the thought and accomplishment process, and to encourage them to go beyond stereotypes and ephemeral contemporary attitudes in which excessive information numbs motivation and dulls reflexive talent.

Keywords

• Introdução ao projeto. Método de ensino de projeto. Processo criativo. Projeto de arquitetura (estudo e ensino).