Design and Construction 2
The module 'Design and Construction 2' is offered in the summer semester and consists of lecture with integrated exercise. The essential content of the module is the application of physical and cross-material functional principles in a project as well as the teaching of the design process in general and of buildings in particular.
The module provides an overview of the design process. The goal is to introduce the student to the process of planning, designing and constructing and to apply it in the context of project work. Students will apply the necessary fundamentals from the previous semester (Design and Construction 1) such as the engineering method of modeling and the essential functional principles of a design. In addition, the students learn different ways of correctly representing technical objects and their spatial imagination is trained. It is shown how spatial objects can be represented in the plane and how spatial geometric tasks can be solved with respect to the represented objects. In addition, it is demonstrated how additions (e.g. text, dimensioning) and modifications (e.g. scales, line types) can be used to create a technical drawing (plan) from a pure projection. Various drawing techniques (freehand, bound, computer-aided) will be introduced. In addition, students will understand how to arrive at a constructive solution and go through this process themselves using a simple example. The focus is on teaching essential skills such as:
- Spatial imagination
- Representation skills, drawing communication skills (freehand drawings, sketches, drawing, representation in plans and 3D models)
- Linguistic and content-related communication skills (presentation, argumentation of own ideas, preparation of a technical report)
- Historical and thematic contextual reference (analysis of existing and own constructions with regard to essential functional principles)
- Development of a principal solution
- Development of a simple building structure
The focus in teaching the content is on acquiring critical competencies and the knowledge "that there is never the objectively correct or even the single best solution, but countless subjective ones, because designing in particular can also be defined as a mixed deductive and inductive process, i.e. a logical scientific "out of the head" and intuitive / creative "out of the gut"." (Jörg Schleich in Moro et al. 2019, Baukonstruktion Band 1, Vorwort)
Learning Outcomes
The aim of the construction design course is based on the fact that the students have the ability to evaluate, develop and argue holistic construction solutions in civil engineering.
After the course, students are able to transfer essential (protection) goals and requirements to a concrete task and clarify a problem definition. Students have the ability to communicate in a team and in the form of sketches, plans, presentations and technical reports and to express their ideas and thought processes. They are able to analyze constructive problems in a team as well as to go through the process of designing on the basis of a simplified example, to analyze essential functional principles of a construction and to develop a real solution. As a result of working on the project, students will be able to develop a principled solution to a design problem and will be able to develop and execute this to a finished design in a simple context. Through presentation, students learn to argue for their solution and, based on the variety of solutions, that there is no objective best solution. In addition, students learn time management, abstraction skills, diligence, and teamwork skills as part of the project.