Volume V Number 2 Fall 1996

A Forum for Teachers of Technology in Schools of Architecture

Teaching Masonry in Minnesota

Dear Colleagues Arch 5525 Design in Masonry is a spinoff from three years of masonry exercises called brick builds that took place within the reshyquired introductory courses in construcshytion materials and methods in architecshyture at the University of Minnesota The Minnesota Masonry Institute (MMI) membership provided materials tools and masons to demonstrate basic skills and assist students in building small designs of their own The first classes averaging 60 students built fullshyscale wall fragments of prominent local buildings The second year students worked in companies of three to design and construct a short portion of a 15 course high by 24 foot continuous length of wall that was segmented into masonry cavity double wythe and garden wall of four different materials and four different openings and joint conditions

By the thi rd year approvals were obtained to create a permanent but always under construction demonstrashytion space in a loading zone on the edge of the Architecture and Landscape Architecture building The intention was to create an area that over time would accrete demonstrations that would by themselves educate about masonry design and construction

In the first constructions in the yard the student companies developed and slowly rising walls while new walls cluding detailing specifying and cost constructed their own details of masonshy replaced older failed segments estimating (65) There is no final ry elements such as precast lintels for a The Design in Masonry course funcshy exam Each phase is evaluated on its cavity wall cavity wall corners expanshy tions as a seminar to allow students to initiative clarity of intent thoroughness sion joints a window in a brick veneer expand on their previous understanding and reasoning wall a pair of flanking segmented archshy of masonry construction Each student The seminars point of departure is a es a rammed earth wall and a garden completes three overlapping projects-a two part brief with the first part conshywall that later could receive cast conshy research phase (15) a design fabricashy taining sample product literature an crete wall tiles and carved brick sculpshy tion and installation phase (30) and a essay technical note indexes CSI Masshytures In Spring of 1996 several precast design phase in which a new design is terformat Masonry specification guideshywall panels were incorporated in the prepared for an existing building in- lines a copy of Masonry Construction

Connector Fall 1996 Page 2

magazine and a bibliography Students are asked to choose additional theoretishycal texts and to select two or more precedents one of which may be a local building that further emphasize their attitudes toward masonry design

The second part of the brief contains drawings and photographs of three existing buildings from which each student picks one to redesign for a different site located just east of the University campus Since several stushydents prepare redesigns for each buildshying they are coupled in reviews and presentations to develop a critical diashylogue about each others work Each project must incorporate either an ornashymental brick that is fabricated from a wooden mold of the students own design or a carved brick sculpture which can be installed in the building yard collage wall

Regional masonry educational reshysource and marketing groups are exshytremely supportive of this course The MMI has provided additional funding support for a TA ($3000) in addition to $1000 prize money as well as helping find producers who donate sand ceshyment tools and skilled craftsmen for demonstrations MMI has also funded my or a TAs attendance at each annual Masonry Educators conference Withshyout this cash technical and volunteer support (estimated at $10000 including in-kind) would be a lot more difficult to have started or sustained

This combination of hands-on mason-

University ofMinnesota students install a carved brick panel Students carved the wet clay bricks just after they were molded at the brick plant The plant then dried the bricks fired them and delivered them to the School

jects has worked well for us Give it a try Not all integrated efforts should be expected to occur in the design studio ] Stephen Weeks 110 Architecshyture Building University of Minnesota 89 Church St SE Minneapolis MN 55455 (612624-7866 FAX (612624-5743 Edishytors note This account was condensed from a much longer and more detailed essay by Steve Weeks Contact him directshyly if you would like to obtain a copy of the full text For a cornucopia of inforshymation on masonry construction and design exercises at many schools of archishytecture see the illustrated article Masonry in the University Curriculum in Masonshyry Construction April 1996 pp 163shyIn

Earth Architecture

Dear Colleagues Just a note to inform you of our activities Earth in its various forms (adobe rammed earth cob) is the worlds oldest made buildshying material Unfortunately in spite of its history most current professionals have no exposure to this unusual mateshyrial and consequently do not take us seriously We feel it can have a serious impact on the energy shortage that we are all faced with and established the EARTH ARCHITECTURE CENTER INTERNATIONAL two years ago with a large bibliography and other information resources We are anxious to share with whoever might make use of them

A brief note on my background I am a licensed architect and adobe builder for more than 30 years I am the aushythor of several published books and am considered an international authority I teach part time at University of New Mexico I agree heartily that there needs to be a stronger link between architecture and the building process I have taught earth architecture two courses per year architecture and technology to both undergrads and grads in the same course for more than ten years

Please VISIt our home page httpwwwunmedu - mchenry

Masonry redesign project by Travis Pedersen University ofMinnesota Paul (Buzz) McHenry

Connector Fall 1996 Page 2

magazine and a bibliography Students are asked to choose additional theoretishycal texts and to select two or more precedents one of which may be a local building that further emphasize their attitudes toward masonry design

The second part of the brief contains drawings and photographs of three existing buildings from which each student picks one to redesign for a different site located just east of the University campus Since several stushydents prepare redesigns for each buildshying they are coupled in reviews and presentations to develop a critical diashylogue about each others work Each project must incorporate either an ornashymental brick that is fabricated from a wooden mold of the students own design or a carved brick sculpture which can be installed in the building yard collage wall

Regional masonry educational reshysource and marketing groups are exshytremely supportive of this course The MMI has provided additional funding support for a TA ($3000) in addition to $1000 prize money as well as helping find producers who donate sand ceshyment tools and skilled craftsmen for demonstrations MMI has also funded my or a TAs attendance at each annual Masonry Educators conference Withshyout this cash technical and volunteer support (estimated at $10000 including in-kind) would be a lot more difficult to have started or sustained

This combination of hands-on mason-

University ofMinnesota students install a carved brick panel Students carved the wet clay bricks just after they were molded at the brick plant The plant then dried the bricks fired them and delivered them to the School

jects has worked well for us Give it a try Not all integrated efforts should be expected to occur in the design studio ] Stephen Weeks 110 Architecshyture Building University of Minnesota 89 Church St SE Minneapolis MN 55455 (612624-7866 FAX (612624-5743 Edishytors note This account was condensed from a much longer and more detailed essay by Steve Weeks Contact him directshyly if you would like to obtain a copy of the full text For a cornucopia of inforshymation on masonry construction and design exercises at many schools of archishytecture see the illustrated article Masonry in the University Curriculum in Masonshyry Construction April 1996 pp 163shyIn

Earth Architecture

Dear Colleagues Just a note to inform you of our activities Earth in its various forms (adobe rammed earth cob) is the worlds oldest made buildshying material Unfortunately in spite of its history most current professionals have no exposure to this unusual mateshyrial and consequently do not take us seriously We feel it can have a serious impact on the energy shortage that we are all faced with and established the EARTH ARCHITECTURE CENTER INTERNATIONAL two years ago with a large bibliography and other information resources We are anxious to share with whoever might make use of them

A brief note on my background I am a licensed architect and adobe builder for more than 30 years I am the aushythor of several published books and am considered an international authority I teach part time at University of New Mexico I agree heartily that there needs to be a stronger link between architecture and the building process I have taught earth architecture two courses per year architecture and technology to both undergrads and grads in the same course for more than ten years

Please VISIt our home page httpwwwunmedu - mchenry

Masonry redesign project by Travis Pedersen University ofMinnesota Paul (Buzz) McHenry

Connector Fall 1996 Page 3Teaching Structural Creativity Teaching Structural Creativity the

ACSA-sponsored summer conference held August 2-4 at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee was organized by Linda Sanders Edward Allen Richard Kellogg and Gil Snyder with adminisshytrative support by Mary Beth OQuinn and John Edwards of ACSA Although the setting the new home of the School of Architecture and Urban Planning at UWM was described in the August issue of Architecture as chilly and an unnecessarily severe exercise in contexshytualism the building was an accommoshydating and gracious backdrop to the activities of the conference Four sesshysions of informal paper presentations were interspersed with three workshops during the three day meeting

In keeping with the conference title presentations by teachers illustrated many successful attempts at directing the teaching of structures toward the integration of structural concept and design Thomas Bible and Anton Harfshymann of the University of Cincinnati presented an experimental studio involvshying the two of them as an architectshyengineer team providing the design student with two points of view during the genesis and development of a design Several presentations described ways in which design problems might be given consideration in a classroom structures

course At University of WisconsinshyMilwaukee Michael Utzingers series of small design exercises highlighting speshycific structural concepts (the cantilever principle in a masonry tower design for example) struck many as a feasible alternative to replicating studio design projects in a technology lecture course Where the opportunity to teach a full design studio exists several faculty described studio projects that encourage structural thinking throughout the process Paul Donnelly for example includes precedent analysis computer analysis and structural modeling as tools to attain impressive results in design studios at Roger Williams and Washington Universities that seek to engage contemporary technology in the implementation of (students) archishytectural ideas

The subject of tools and their adopshytion in structural teaching was a second prominent issue in both papers and workshops It wasnt by coincidence that the debate over the adoption of finite element analysis touched off by Gary Blacks JAE article of summer 94 should reappear as a heated topic for discussion in this conference Interestshying throughout were the different takes on how best to make use of structural computer applications From modeling a real intuitively-generated tabletop

structure capable of supporting a block of wood in space (a lab design project in Chris Luebkemans course at the University of Oregon) to using idealshyized structural diagrams that are disshyplayed on screen in the deflected mode from which students must deductively hypothesize the load condItion (an exercise in Gary Blacks course at UC Berkeley and presented in his confershyence workshop) the variety of creative uses of computing was apparent

At the low-tech end of useful design tools for teaching structural creativity a workshop in graphic statics led by Edward Allen provided a hands-on session demonstrating the elegance and efficiency of applying a traditional analytical tool to the finding of forms and forces for arch truss and cable structures Equipped with plastic rollshying rulers and pencils conferees conshystructed graphical solutions for a truss and a Maillart deck-stiffened arch bridge Low-tech and versatile might also describe the polystyrene foam models developed by Richard Kellogg (University of Arkansas) for demonshystrating structural concepts In his workshop Richard hot-wired numerous foam models covering several table tops with foam teaching models that effecshytively illustrated the full spectrum of structural behavior including dynamic seIsmIc responses

There were several other types of physical models defined in the sessions Ron Shaeffer (Florida AampM) Dennis Tanczos (RPI) and Fuller Moore (Mishyami of Ohio) each described models built to demonstrate and in some cases actually measure load and response Another type of structural model represhysenting the form of a structural system most often rendered in basswood apshypeared in presentations by Mark Cruvellier (Cornell) Torgeir Norheim (Kansas State) Jacob Feldman (Cal Poly SLO) and others The issue was raised of the amount of time that is spent by students building such elegant models While some argued that these hours required might be better applied to alternative methods of research the case was made that the process of constructshy

Masonry redesign project by Weizhong Ma University ofMnmesota ing such a refined and accurate represenshy

Connector Fall 1996 Page 4 tational model is a memorable and educating labor of love worthy of the time and energy (and money) required

Conceptual models analogous to the conceptual sketch were adopted by Shahin Vassighs students at SUNY Buffalo as a means of deriving expresshysive design forms from nature That the design concept as typically pursued in studio design work should be reinshyforced through the selection of structurshyal system and form is central to Vasshysighs approach

Hermann Gruenwald of the Universishyty of Oklahoma presented campus sculpture and community service design-

build housing projects done by his students Full scale constructed projects of this type have long been recognized as an ideal opportunity for students to build test and observe the results of design decisions made in the studio They serve as a kind of practicum not unlike a medical interns residency though certainly more limited in scope

The conference ended with a closing discussion that attempted to identify group consensus on a number of issues Many participants shared the belief that we are teaching the wrong stuff What are the essentials University of Miamis Denis Hector put it like this 1) We should teach students to recogshy

nize the importance of configuration and intuitively understand the behavior of systems 2) We should emphasize load path and its implications for the prevention of primary failure during natural disasters and 3) We should foster a sensitivity to scale not just in form but in mass and load as well

With respect to collaboration there was general agreement on the imporshytance not only of structuresdesign studio and architectureengineering partnerships but also of the value in sharing knowledge and teaching experishyence amongst ourselves and our fellow faculty In this regard several possibilishyties for continued communication and dialogue were suggested Kirk Martini offered his e-mail list server as an easy way for teachers to communicate the instructions for enrolling in this free service are repeated elsewhere in this issue of Connector Web sites for local or distant communication offer the potential of unrestricted publication both between you and your students and with an international audience A proceedings publication for this confershyence is in preparation and will be publicized when it becomes available Fuller Moore of Miami University initiated an archive of everybodyS favorite teaching materials and 35 mm slides that was heavily used during the Conference Look for an announceshyment of the general availability of copshyies of these materials in a future issue Bruce Lonnman College ofArchitecture Georgia Institute of Technology

CONNECTOR on the Web

Thanks to Russ Stephenson of North Carolina State University Connector is now available on the World Wide Web The issue before this one is already in place with the current issue to follow as soon as Russs time permits For best results set your browser default font to Times 12 point but if you dont have this option it will come through in readable fashion anyway complete with graphics The address is httpwwwwebbuildcoml- russteph

Masonry redesign project by Jeff Hall University ofMinnesota

Connector Fall 1996 Page 4 tational model is a memorable and educating labor of love worthy of the time and energy (and money) required

Conceptual models analogous to the conceptual sketch were adopted by Shahin Vassighs students at SUNY Buffalo as a means of deriving expresshysive design forms from nature That the design concept as typically pursued in studio design work should be reinshyforced through the selection of structurshyal system and form is central to Vasshysighs approach

Hermann Gruenwald of the Universishyty of Oklahoma presented campus sculpture and community service design-

build housing projects done by his students Full scale constructed projects of this type have long been recognized as an ideal opportunity for students to build test and observe the results of design decisions made in the studio They serve as a kind of practicum not unlike a medical interns residency though certainly more limited in scope

The conference ended with a closing discussion that attempted to identify group consensus on a number of issues Many participants shared the belief that we are teaching the wrong stuff What are the essentials University of Miamis Denis Hector put it like this 1) We should teach students to recogshy

nize the importance of configuration and intuitively understand the behavior of systems 2) We should emphasize load path and its implications for the prevention of primary failure during natural disasters and 3) We should foster a sensitivity to scale not just in form but in mass and load as well

With respect to collaboration there was general agreement on the imporshytance not only of structuresdesign studio and architectureengineering partnerships but also of the value in sharing knowledge and teaching experishyence amongst ourselves and our fellow faculty In this regard several possibilishyties for continued communication and dialogue were suggested Kirk Martini offered his e-mail list server as an easy way for teachers to communicate the instructions for enrolling in this free service are repeated elsewhere in this issue of Connector Web sites for local or distant communication offer the potential of unrestricted publication both between you and your students and with an international audience A proceedings publication for this confershyence is in preparation and will be publicized when it becomes available Fuller Moore of Miami University initiated an archive of everybodyS favorite teaching materials and 35 mm slides that was heavily used during the Conference Look for an announceshyment of the general availability of copshyies of these materials in a future issue Bruce Lonnman College ofArchitecture Georgia Institute of Technology

CONNECTOR on the Web

Thanks to Russ Stephenson of North Carolina State University Connector is now available on the World Wide Web The issue before this one is already in place with the current issue to follow as soon as Russs time permits For best results set your browser default font to Times 12 point but if you dont have this option it will come through in readable fashion anyway complete with graphics The address is httpwwwwebbuildcoml- russteph

Masonry redesign project by Jeff Hall University ofMinnesota

Help Form an Organization of Structures Teachers

Dear Colleagues The euphoria of the Milwaukee conference Teaching Structural Creativity has abated only a small fraction since my return to Hong Kong This note is in response to the call for the creation ofan interest group ofeducators who teach structures in schools ofarchitecture around the country (Considering the fact that we are in the midst of the digital age I would like to extend this to around the world) A small group of interested individuals spent some oftheir last fleeting moments in Wisconshysin discussing this possibility We decided to take the Society ofBuilding Science Educators (SBSE) as a model I have since written to Bruce Haglund its Secretary and have received from him the articles that they used to found their organization It all looks very do-able from a legal standpoint I also asked him if it would be possible to become a part of the extant structure of SBSE He did not rule it out but noted that much of the groups success has stemmed from its being very small and very focused He further suggested that we should try to make a go of it on our own

Now the hard partthe energy to create our own group Before this small group of organizers goes head-over-heels on this it would be prudent to get some feedback from you the potential partners in the venture ARE you interested in getting together once a year (or every two years) to talk about issues related to teaching structures ARE you willing to send in your course outlines and ideas to help others enhance their teaching ARE you interested in having unified resources to support teaching ARE you willing to share your great successful ideas with your colleagues ARE you willing to share your miserable failures with your colleagues

If the answers to all or at least most of these questions are YES then please send me an e-mail message to let me know And submit any ideas for a name for the group at the same time Chris Luebkeman Chinese Unishyversity of Hong Kong Department of Architecture Shatin NT Hong Kong INTERNETchrislcuhkeduhk voice (852)2609-6593 Fax (852)2603-5267 (until 12196) Massachusetts Institute of Technology (after 11597)

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Connector Fall 1996 Page 5

Prof Irving Engel

Prof Irving Engel of Washington Unishyversity St Louis died of a heart attack on April 10 1996 at age 63 Connector readers will remember him fondly as Irv Engel the author of a series of lively insightful endearingly conversashytionalletters that sharpened the focus of debate about structures teaching on these pages The last of these communishycations was published last Spring at about the time of his death Irv was also the author of a text Structural Principles His colleagues confirm that he was an energetic dedicated teacher His wife Margaret F Engel asks that memorial contributions be directed to the Irving Engel Scholarship Fund Washington University School of Arshychitecture Campus Box 1210 One Brookings Drive St Louis MO 63130shy4899

Technical Issues Are Not Separated from Design

Dear Colleagues Buildings of architecshytural quality are based on clear ideas and concepts The term coIicept means a clearly defined program a guiding idea or an inspirational idea for a work Architects are familiar with concepts of space structure energy and mechanical systems It is the competent architect who should create gather and harmonize all the concepts supported by specialists as needed Architects have performed their cultural duty when they succeed in uniting all the ideas and concepts into a sensible whole and thus into an architecture of high quality For a successful integration it is necessary to be knowledgeable in both architectural design and building technology

This is the basic idea of the School of Architecture at Winterthur Polytechnic School of Engineering In our school technical issues are not separated from

Masonry redesign project by Martha

Mcquade University ofMinnesota

Connector Fall 1996 Page 6

architectural design Each students own project is the central component in the architectural education Its the job of the architects who teach design to help integrate the basic knowledge of all the technical issues into the students projects

That is possible only when the design professors have up-to-date technical background knowledge and when they are familiar with current practical isshysues This is one of the prerequisites for successful architectural teaching All of our design professors teach on a part-time basis This allows them time to work in their own architectural companies and therefore keeps them in permanent contact with current practishycal questions

Most of our architectural students have already completed a four year apprenticeship by the time they come to Winterthur Polytechnic Normally they are already professional drafters with a technical background and some practical experience Our school of architecture provides a single unified four year program in design and techshynology All students follow the same educational program although additionshyal classes in specific fields are available

An example of uniting design and technology is our book The Ecological Aspects of Building an attempt at a comprehensive view of the training of architects at the Winterthur Polytechshynic Its chapters are Site Concept Energy Building Technology Construcshytion Material Realization Operation and Maintenance and Rebuilding and

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Hansruedi Preisig Ecological Aspects ofBuilding diagram ofa ventilation scheme

Kante Wand- Oecke TiO + 1 6Smiddot C klin 022 Wm K

Keine Warmedammung auf BrOstung

Kante Wand- Oecke TiO + 170middot C klin O19WmK

Warmedammung auf BrOstung

Hansruedi Preisig Ecological Aspects ofBuilding diagram ofheat flow through uninsulated and insulated parapets

Dismantling More then 300 pictures and diagrams with short descriptions link the different chapters and guide the reader through them The book starts with the basic question Should we build at all and moves through all the different stages of the building process to the reuse of material It can be obtained by sending a bank check for

82 Swiss francs to the Swiss Society of Engineers and Architects Postfach CHshy8039 Zurich Switzerland This amount includes postage handling and an Engshylish translation of selected excerpts Hansruedi Preisig Department ofArchishytecture at Winterthur Polytechnic School ofEngineering WinterthurZurich (Switshyzerland) TWI POBox 805 CHmiddot8401 Winterthur Switzerland e-mail hansruedipreisigtwich

Face Design Responsibilities in the Classroom Dear Colleagues Unlike the apparent concern of many of my colleague reshygarding the lack of structural emphasis in the design studio so frequently reitshyerated in Connector I am more interestshyed in bringing the structural design discussions into the structures classshyroom While the published case study

Connector Fall 1996 Page 6

architectural design Each students own project is the central component in the architectural education Its the job of the architects who teach design to help integrate the basic knowledge of all the technical issues into the students projects

That is possible only when the design professors have up-to-date technical background knowledge and when they are familiar with current practical isshysues This is one of the prerequisites for successful architectural teaching All of our design professors teach on a part-time basis This allows them time to work in their own architectural companies and therefore keeps them in permanent contact with current practishycal questions

Most of our architectural students have already completed a four year apprenticeship by the time they come to Winterthur Polytechnic Normally they are already professional drafters with a technical background and some practical experience Our school of architecture provides a single unified four year program in design and techshynology All students follow the same educational program although additionshyal classes in specific fields are available

An example of uniting design and technology is our book The Ecological Aspects of Building an attempt at a comprehensive view of the training of architects at the Winterthur Polytechshynic Its chapters are Site Concept Energy Building Technology Construcshytion Material Realization Operation and Maintenance and Rebuilding and

--n--

--_-I

2 wc e ~~ril~~~ KOche +- Wohnen~ Bad ~1---1dgt[ZlL----J

warmeaustauscher

Schema kontrollierte LOftung

Hansruedi Preisig Ecological Aspects ofBuilding diagram ofa ventilation scheme

Kante Wand- Oecke TiO + 1 6Smiddot C klin 022 Wm K

Keine Warmedammung auf BrOstung

Kante Wand- Oecke TiO + 170middot C klin O19WmK

Warmedammung auf BrOstung

Hansruedi Preisig Ecological Aspects ofBuilding diagram ofheat flow through uninsulated and insulated parapets

Dismantling More then 300 pictures and diagrams with short descriptions link the different chapters and guide the reader through them The book starts with the basic question Should we build at all and moves through all the different stages of the building process to the reuse of material It can be obtained by sending a bank check for

82 Swiss francs to the Swiss Society of Engineers and Architects Postfach CHshy8039 Zurich Switzerland This amount includes postage handling and an Engshylish translation of selected excerpts Hansruedi Preisig Department ofArchishytecture at Winterthur Polytechnic School ofEngineering WinterthurZurich (Switshyzerland) TWI POBox 805 CHmiddot8401 Winterthur Switzerland e-mail hansruedipreisigtwich

Face Design Responsibilities in the Classroom Dear Colleagues Unlike the apparent concern of many of my colleague reshygarding the lack of structural emphasis in the design studio so frequently reitshyerated in Connector I am more interestshyed in bringing the structural design discussions into the structures classshyroom While the published case study

is currently a popular vehicle for invesshytigation I am moving toward the use of student projects as case studies focusing on the difference between structural imagery and the implications of strucshytural strategy and behavior While my approach is more ad hoc than systematshyic at present I am optimistic about a positive educational outcome

After participating in this ongoing discussion about the support course link every time a new teacher comes on board I have finally arrived at the conclusion that it just aint gonna never happen in the design studio with any consistency So as a structures teacher Im willing to face my design responsibilities in the classroom and reach fifty students at a pop I hope to find colleagues who feel as I do and have developed creative links between classroom and studio with the classshyroom as the principle arena for structurshyal based design discussions Rocke Hill University oFlorida 231 Arch PO Box 115702 Gainesville FL 32611middot5702 (352)392-0205 FAX (352)392-4606

E-Mail Mailing List

Ive established a majordomo mailing list with the address

arch-tech-forumvirginiaedu A majordomo mailing list is a simple message distribution mechanism where messages sent to the list address (in this case arch-tech-forumVirginiaeduare distributed to all people who have subscribed to the list Please join up and use this list as you wish to commushynicate with your fellow technical teachshyers Here are the basic procedures

TO SUBSCRIBE send a message to the following address

majordomoVirginiaedu with the subject

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subscribe arch-tech-forum To UNSUBSCRIBE from this mailing list send mail to

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Generally members can obtain the information message for a list detershymine who is on a list and subscribe themselves to and unsubscribe themshyselves from a list by sending the approshypriate command to majordomovirginiaedu Kirk Martini University 0 Virginia

Structures Web Site

Dear Colleagues I was overwhelmed by the positive response at the Milwaukee conference to my web site It made the thousands of hours of work worthshywhile Now if only we can get our promotion and tenure committees to accept web publishing as a valuable scholarly activity

I would like to encourage you to consider using the Architectonics Studio (httpdarkwinguoregonedul- struct) as a resource for your structures coursshyes I know that some of your students

Connector Fall 1996 Page 7

have used the site in the past since it was being accessed over 5000 times a day in the Fall of 1995 Structures I is available in the public domain at this time and is free for all to use The course materials include lectures lab exercises and example problems Withshyin the lectures there are also links to appropriate sites a small number of movies and JAVA applets

The newest addition are the JAVA applets They are interactive exercises that allow the student to play while learning about certain principles They are really fun take a long time to proshygram and require a very up-to-date browser to utilize A page with only the applets is found at httpwww archcuhkeduhk - struct I hope that you can work with them

I would especially like to ask that if you or your students use any of the materials that a message gets sent to me if any problems or inaccuracies are found

The site has been a great challenge to produce The new authoring tools should make this kind of site much easier to produce in the near future My one piece of advice is to really make sure that the webware becomes a way to make a better course not just a new one Chris Luebkeman httpdarkwinguoregonedu- struct

the e-mail address you used to subscribe Hamruedi Preisig Ecological Aspects ofBuilding

Very Important But Least Important An Editorial A common theme seemed implicit in the thirteen inspiring innovative presentations by teachers at the recent ACSA conference Teaching Structural Creativity Structural calculations are very important but they are the least important thing to teach about structures Unless students learn to create appropriate forms ofstructure it is oflittle value to teach numerical techniques for checking member sizes What the presenters demonstrated conclusively is that students can be taught in many different ways to find good forms for structures to be structural designers This lesson can be extended to the teaching of all the branches of what is often mistakenly labeled building science Whether we realize it or not its not science that we are attempting to teach its design Design is the discipline ofcreating useful objects for human use objects such as structures illumination and HVAC systems and acoustical enclosures Scientifically-based calculations are a wonderful way ofchecking the adequacy of designs for these objects but they are analytical only Until we teach students to synthesize as well as analyze we are not doing our jobs

The Department ofArchitecture at the Chinese University of Hong Kong is looking to hire Ifyou want to stay on the mailing from one to three individuals who can teach list please write and say so The both design studio and structures The candishy subscription is free If youve alshydate should be willing to commit to a two or three year contract but shorter terms are also ready written there is a period possible The ideal starting time for one sucshy after your name on the mailing cessful candidate would be 1January 1997 the label If theres no period theres Fall of 1997 for the other two Interested no guarantee that you will continshyindividuals should contact the Department Chair Tunney Lee (tunney-leecuhkeduhk) ue to receive copies or Chris Luebkeman (chrisLcuhkeduhk)

Connector 129 Eliot Street South Natick MA 01760 USA

Connector would like to publish your thoughts on technical education in architecshyture Even a couple of lines in response to something you read could be helpful to the rest of us The less formal and more inforshymative it is the better Please keep it short The ideal submission is an informal letter that fits easily on a single typewritten page

You MUST submit your letter in elecshytronic form as well as in hard copy E-mail is best but be sure that your e-mail program does not encode the text A DOS diskette is next best preferably Word Perfect 51 or lower Append your name and address telephone and FAX numbers and e-mail and Web addresses if you wish A couple of small line drawings andor photos are welshycome large studio drawings are tough to reproduce Longer submissions will be printed only if space permits

Want-ads are free You may charge for any item you offer in an ad or letter but only at actual cost Include your name mailing address and telephone number Submit electronically as outlined above

Send all submissions and correspondence to Edward Allen Editor Connector 129 Eliot Street South Natick MA 01760 voice and FAX (508)653-3852 e-mail 760753226compuservecom Deadlines are August 15 for the Fall issue and January 15 for the Spring

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