Technical English Architecture

Different types of classrooms in an

Architecture Faculty

Members:
Hillary Delgado
Lisseth Granda
Karla Peralta
José Zúñiga

Teacher:
Arq. Catherine Cabanilla

Course A

24/11/2020
Abstract
The correct design of an educational building helps in the personal formation and

educational development of the alumnus. The Architecture and Design Faculty of the

“Universidad Católica de Santiago de Guayaquil” was built in the 70s by the architect René

Bravo with the architect Gonzalo Robalino. It was finished by 1979, and it is considered his

most significant work. Even though the recognition, not everything transcends time. Every

matter need updating because of changes or evolution. There are factors that the career has

developed in matter of technology, that were not considered in its original design, that have

made several changes during the past years. Although some spaces can be quickly adapted,

there are others that might not even fit in the program the career and the installations provide.

It will be evaluated which architecture schools have its most up-to-date classrooms spaces, so

that in that way, there is an evaluation on the Architecture and Design Faculty of UCSG, and

provide these spaces, to make it a more complete and thriving place to study this profession.
Table of contents

Introduction ...................................................................................................................................4
Purpose of the study ......................................................................................................................4
Problem statement ........................................................................................................................4
Scope of the Study .........................................................................................................................5
Objectives ......................................................................................................................................6
General Objectives .....................................................................................................................6
Specific Objectives ......................................................................................................................6
INTERVIEW TEMPLATE ...................................................................................................................6
SURVEY TEMPLATE ........................................................................................................................7
List of tables ...................................................................................................................................8
Literature review .........................................................................................................................13
Methods .......................................................................................................................................17
Results ..........................................................................................................................................17
Conclusions ..................................................................................................................................18
References ...................................................................................................................................20
Appendices ..................................................................................................................................20
Introduction

In all universities there are different types of careers and faculties. Some specific

careers require that some of their classrooms have a certain characteristic in their design and

some special equipment that provide the student the facility to develop many skills in a proper

way. Some examples can be the special labs for medicine or a computer lab for informatic

and technology careers.

In this essay the different types of classrooms for students of architecture will be

identified and analyzed, as well as the necessary equipment for each type of classroom. The

design according to the needs of the students will be described. This investigation is

important for the universities to have the knowledge of the requirements that present the

students of architecture to develop their career skills in a proper way to achieve their goal of

being a good professional.

Purpose of the study

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the different types of rooms needed for

architecture students to receive classes. This information is very important for the universities

to know how they need to distribute the infrastructure to provide these special rooms to their

students. These special rooms can help the students of architecture to develop some skills in a

better way with all the facilities they need and all the necessary equipment.

Problem statement

For an optimal development of education, it is necessary to design the facilities

according to the needs of each career. This will enhance both the methods of teaching and
learning. Architecture requires specialized classrooms such as workshops, labs for each

department with-in the career, etc.

By making a comparison with different architecture schools and their installations, we

will analyze which are the types of classrooms an architecture school needs. This will help us

forecast if any architecture school, might be missing a necessary space in order to achieve

excellence, like the Architecture and Design Faculty of UCSG.

Scope of the Study

Currently, technology is exponential, which has encompassed the entire internet

system, in a technological transformation that requires a change in the educational system of

the School of Architecture, considering that it is necessary to innovate the physical systems of

teaching infrastructure for students who use the school. Thanks to the events of the pandemic

in 2020, the common teaching standards are in a modality transition, since it is known that the

facilities of educational institutions are not used, and the online study modality was more

accepted.

Thanks to information technologies, study plans are being generated in which it must

be considered that certain subjects pass to certain forms of carrying out activities that

consequently require face-to-face practice.

For several decades it has been recorded that technology has influenced architecture,

from hand drawings, through computer drawing to the Building Information Model (BIM),

which is currently the largest market, so plans of the study must have the necessary equipment

that allows the use of the new design tools.

 Today there are still architecture salons with conservative modalities from the last

century, when in fact we must update the methods of the learning guides to optimize time and

personnel in the career.

Certainly, there are spaces that still need to carry out their conventional practice, such

as the free line, thus considering a practical workshop, where the student is taught the project

methodology of the architectural design of a project.

Objectives

General Objectives
• Analyze the types of classrooms the Architecture and Design Faculty of UCSG needs.

Specific Objectives
1. Research typologies of architecture school and their installations.

2. Analyze what are the FODA of the Architecture and Design Faculty of UCSG.

3. Understand what are the needs and wants of the Architecture and Design Faculty of

UCSG.

INTERVIEW TEMPLATE

1. What percentage of English do you require for your job?

2. What did you like the most about your studies at the University, in relation to your

work?

3. Does your career meet the expectations you had in relation to your current job?

4. What do you recommend for high school students who want to study that career?

5. How long does it take to get into the job field of the career I study?

6. What characteristics must a person have to perform that position?

7. How do you currently perceive the job offer of your career?

 8. What do you take into account to choose your career?

9. With that profession, what are the positions that can be performed?

10. Any recommendation for anyone who wants to study that career?

SURVEY TEMPLATE

Name:

Age:

Sex:

For each of the following questions,

circle the number that reflects your opinion on the subject of each question.
5 is the Best and 1 is the worst.

Question: In your faculty… Scale

Are there spaces for each activity you need? 1 2 3 4 5

Does the classrooms count with all the furniture

and equipment you need? 1 2 3 4 5

Are the furniture and equipment on a good

state? 1 2 3 4 5

Are you satisfied with the furniture in the

workshop classrooms? 1 2 3 4 5

Do you think the faculty and support staff at the

university where helpful? 1 2 3 4 5

How likely are you to continue attending this

college next year? 1 2 3 4 5

What about your general experience with this

university? 1 2 3 4 5

Are you satisfied with the teachers and their

pedagogical practices? 1 2 3 4 5
Table 1 Survey Template: Questions
List of tables
Interviewed people: 15

1) Are there spaces for Frequency %

each activity you need?
1 - 0%
2 - 0%
3 7 47%
4 5 33%
5 3 20%
TOTAL 15 100%
Table 2 Question 1

Graphic 1

Ilustration 1 Grafic 1
2) Does the classrooms Frequency %
count with all the furniture
and equipment you need?
1 - 0%
2 - 0%
3 7 47%
4 5 33%
5 3 20%
TOTAL 15 100%
Table 3 Question 2
 Graphic 2

Ilustration 2 Grafic 2

3) Are the furniture and Frequency %

equipment on a good
state?
1 - 0%
2 4 27%
3 4 27%
4 5 33%
5 2 13%
TOTAL 15 100%
Table 4 Question 3

Graphic 3

Ilustration 3 Grafic 3
 4) Are you satisfied with Frequency %
the furniture in the
workshop classrooms?
1 - 0%
2 3 20%
3 5 33%
4 4 27%
5 3 20%
TOTAL 15 100%
Table 5 Question 4

Graphic 4

Ilustration 4 Grafic 4
Frequency %
5) Do you think the faculty
and support staff at the
university where helpful?
1 - 0%
2 3 20%
3 6 40%
4 5 33%
5 1 7%
TOTAL 15 100%
Table 6 Question 5
 Graphic 5

Ilustration 5 Grafic 5
6) How likely are you to Frequency %
continue attending this
college next year?
1 - 0%
2 1 7%
3 5 33%
4 6 40%
5 3 20%
TOTAL 15 100%
Table 7 Question 6

Graphic 6

Ilustration 6 Grafic 6
 7) What about your Frequency %
general experience with
this university?
1 - 0%
2 2 13%
3 6 40%
4 4 27%
5 3 20%
TOTAL 15 100%
Table 8 Question 7

Graphic 7

Ilustration 7 Grafic 7

8) Are you satisfied with Frequency %

the teachers and their
pedagogical practices?
1 - 0%
2 3 20%
3 7 47%
4 3 20%
5 2 13%
TOTAL 15 100%
Table 9 Question 8
 Graphic 8

Ilustration 8 Grafic 8

Literature review

In a research focused on investigating how the environment of new high-technological

classrooms impact on pupils. The results have shown that these environments have a positive

effect on the learning process. The stimulation increases in pupils which is developed by the

new technology and the allure of the classroom space. Even interactions increased.

Technology is a key element which must be considered in the developments of designing a

classroom. In order to meet the demands of teachers, pupils or the whole community, the

classroom space needs to be understood, breaking down its complex parts, with this in mind,

it can be well planned and designed. To design a classroom, the design team needs to be

aware of the technological advances, and acquire knowledge on the field, by getting to know

the users and their needs. Pupils are no longer end-users but are seen as the client as well.

“Sorrell (2005) sustains that pupils are the consumers of education. It is necessary to

understand this new context we live in, to understand the new technology and to understand
the new learning environment it is creating. It is not a matter of inserting computer equipment

in the classroom. The current challenge is to investigate how this new information technology

can be used for the enhancement of teaching and learning.” (Tibúrcio)

One of the major challenges for educators, planners and architects is to recognize the

magnitude of changes that are likely to occur over the next 25 years. A classroom faces what

is known as a learning environment, “where learners may work together and support each other

as they use a variety of tools and information resources in their pursuit of learning goals and

problem-solving activities” Wilson (1995). (Tibúrcio)

As an example of classrooms for architecture we can take into account the Southern

California Institute of Architecture. It has facilities such as: a 24-hour workshop, a laser

cutting classroom, a large format printing classroom, a classroom of carpentry, a 3d printing

classroom, a metalshop, a cnc milling classroom, a manufacturing laboratory and a robotics

laboratory. These classrooms previously named are of vital importance for a first class

teaching for students, they also allow the teacher to use different ways of learning for their

students. (SCI-Arc, 2019)

At the American University of Sharjah (AUS) the Bachelor of Architecture program

of the Faculty of Architecture, Art and Design, is immersed in processes of iterative creation

and exploration to realize the transformative potential of design, through the CAAD

laboratories Here students and faculty are offered the opportunity to explore and experiment

in their interdisciplinary design practice and facilitate the production of large-scale designs

right here on the university campus. Facilities include three main laboratory groups:

Materials Laboratories (Woodworking, Metal Shop, Ceramic Studio, Foundry Laboratory),

Manufacturing Laboratories (Laser Cutting, 3D Printing, CNC Cutting, Industrial Robotics),

Media Labs (Center for audio / video production, photography, engraving and media

equipment). (AUS, 2020)

With a wide range of high-end equipment and tools, CAAD Labs has attracted

professors from some of the most prestigious institutions around the world. CAAD Labs are

open to students from all CAAD programs, and many of our award-winning student projects

occur within our facilities under the supervision of our dedicated full-time support staff.

When visiting our labs, you will find CAAD students welding, printing, creating

ceramics, working with wood and experimenting with a wide range of materials and

techniques while bringing their designs to life. (AUS, 2020)

Figure 1 Laboratorios CAAD

At the University of Miami School of Architecture, their studios are the heart of every

architecture school and a strong magnet for prospective students. Fully stocked with digital

fabrication facilities, exhibitions areas, and ample room for social and public functions, the

design of the studio spaces synthesizes every aspect of twenty-first-century pedagogy into a

cogent whole, packing them into a deceptively simple envelope of thin concrete. The open
plan studio space is based on a twenty-five-foot square workstation module that can

accommodate a variety of desk configurations ranging from 90 to 130 workstations. The

main entrance leads into an informal lobby that continues as a nave-like space running

through the studios. The east and west walls of the central volume are clad in felt for students

to pin up their work and the nave has movable boards for informal critiques and exhibitions.

The studios on the south side of the circulation passage are intended for design-build courses

and have direct access to the outdoor work area. Scattered cubes of different materials signify

different uses within the open studio space: curtains for the jury areas, glass, and panels for

seminar and meeting spaces, concrete for the fabrication lab. Two glazed freestanding

pavilions serve as faculty and visiting professor offices that can be redesigned and rebuilt by

students each year, providing a setting for creativity and collaboration. (Castro, 2020)

Figure 2 Studios at University of Miami School of Architecture

The environment of architecture classrooms is characterized by incorporating technology and

flexibility. The flexibility that we can perceive in the workshops before, facilitate many
interactions to occur in one place, this helps groups and independent students to learn. In these

types of classes, the teacher becomes the facilitator in the process of learning, which will

encourage to have more interactions, and consequently higher achievements might be reached.

Methods

This research is based on cases studies constituted in typological analysis of

educational buildings, where we qualify how these buildings are constructed and organized,

to demonstrate the functional distribution and the technology application. Also, by using

space mapping based through user experience, this method approach is used when the

situation of character allows it. It’s important to focus on user sensations, not to mention that

through empirical investigation, we as students, can tell the existing classrooms in America

Latina have the same distribution, equipment and technology as 20 years ago and this needs a

change.

With this intention, the observations were mapped on floor plans of the classroom,

annotating layout, teacher’s movement, interactions among users (pupils and teacher) and

with the environment, record of activities and their duration. The use of questionnaire at the

end of the observation process allowed the validation of the data.

With this in mind, the focus of questionaries was the view of the users on their

experiences in the environment where they used to study. The information was collected by

internet to architecture student from UCSG University and Guayaquil University to give their

point of perspective of place where about the infrastructure and the use or lack of use of

spaces in the faculty before the pandemic.

Results
 Surveys were conducted for students of the Faculty of Architecture and Design of the

Santiago de Guayaquil Catholic University. The number of respondents were 15 students. The

survey was developed using the Likert scale to measure the appreciation of certain things

perceived by the students. The Likert scale used in the surveys has 5 levels, 1 being

unhappiness and 5 being happiness.

In question 1, evaluating the necessary spaces for each activity they need, 47% of the

students scored it with a 3, 33% with a 4 and 20% with a 5. In question 2, evaluating whether

the classrooms have the furniture and equipment necessary for their activities, 47% of the

students scored it with a 3, 33% with a 4 and 20% with a 5. In question 3, evaluating whether

the furniture and existing equipment are in good condition, 27% of the students scored it with

a 2, 27% with a 3, 33% with a 4 and 13% with a 5. In question 4, evaluating satisfaction with

the existing furniture in the classroom workshop, 20% of the students scored it with a 2, 33%

with a 3, 27% with a 4 and 20% with a 5. In question 5, evaluating whether the university's

faculty and student support has been useful, 20% of the students scored it with a 2, 40% with

a 3, 33% with a 4 and 7% with a 5. In question 6, evaluating whether they would be happy to

attend this university the following year, 7% of the students scored it with a 2, 33% with a 3,

40% with a 4 and 20% with a 5. In question 7, evaluating the general experience of the

student with the university, 13% of the students scored it with a 2, 40% with a 3, 27% with a

4 and 20% with a 5. In question 8, evaluating satisfaction with teachers and their pedagogical

practices, 20% of the students scored it with a 2, 47% with a 3, 20% with a 4 and 13% with a

5.

Conclusions
 As a matter of fact, the opinions of the students of the “Universidad Católica Santiago

de Guayaquil” referring to the wants and needs in question of the career, in the present

investigation it was found that the classrooms that are needed to improve the Faculty of

Architecture are of a technological scope. It is necessary to inform that classrooms that are

adequate for their function are needed, in the Faculty. As well as the Workshop Classrooms

must be a space flexible on which you can work, manipulate and promote teamwork,

experimental practice and the right environment to carry out work project, since it is the

classroom where most of the time is spent during the school week.

Furthermore, in the Faculty of Architecture, UCSG, adjustments of more Workshop

Classrooms are needed, because the respondents commented that it did not seem appropriate

to receive their Design classes in a Computer Room, which was previously assigned to them,

where the work area isn’t not the appropriate one for this, the faculty needs classrooms where

they can carry out joint work. However, they also think that the faculty needs more

Construction Materials Management Room, where they do experimentation with raw materials

for construction or CAAD, specific room for teaching new architecture software to develop

architectural projects and make visualizations, teaching areas of layout and assembly. In

typological analysis, it’s indicated that other countries in Europe are making these

aforementioned applications that promote a better development of projects during the

architecture career, as we could see in the University of Miami School of Architect, that the

classroom/workshop was flexible enough to manage distinct types of interactions, therefore it

improved the buildout of the class and its learning process.

Thanks to this analysis, it has allowed us to contrast our current situation with other

countries and make a reflection that the teaching method is gaining strength in the

technological and innovative area of the career. The UCSG Faculty of Architecture, is a base

canvas that transmits the functionality of the spaces over the years, and although there are
shortcomings, the experience of the user's tours in the university is a sample of how the

faculty can work, but by taking the improvements of innovative and participatory teaching

methods, to an education of high level. For this reason, it’s very important to comprehend the

involvement of students playing role as the main client in these cases, in order to respond

effectively. Given these points, we’ve managed to learn about the deficiencies about the

school by understanding the user's opinions, therefore, it has helped us to analyze what type

of classrooms we now need.

References

Castro, F. (2020). Archdaily. Retrieved from https://www.archdaily.com/906527/university-

ofmiami-school-of-architecture-
arquitectonica?ad_source=search&ad_medium=search_result_projects
SCI-Arc. (2019). SCI-Arc. Retrieved from https://studyarchitecture.com/school/southern-
californiainstitute-of-architecture/#top

Tibúrcio, T. (n.d.). THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE CLASSROOM: CHANGES AND. UK: The University of
Reading.

AUS. (2020). American University of Sharjah. Retrieved from https://www.aus.edu/

Appendices

Ilustration 1 Grafic 1 ..................................................................................................................... 8

Ilustration 2 Grafic 2 ..................................................................................................................... 9
Ilustration 3 Grafic 3 ..................................................................................................................... 9
Ilustration 4 Grafic 4 ................................................................................................................... 10
Ilustration 5 Grafic 5 ................................................................................................................... 11
Ilustration 6 Grafic 6 ................................................................................................................... 11
Ilustration 7 Grafic 7 ................................................................................................................... 12
Ilustration 8 Grafic 8 ................................................................................................................... 13
Table 1 Survey Template: Questions .............................................................................................. 7
Table 2 Question 1........................................................................................................................ 8
Table 3 Question 2........................................................................................................................ 8
Table 4 Question 3........................................................................................................................ 9
Table 5 Question 4...................................................................................................................... 10
Table 6 Question 5...................................................................................................................... 10
Table 7 Question 6...................................................................................................................... 11
Table 8 Question 7...................................................................................................................... 12
Table 9 Question 8...................................................................................................................... 12