Geometric Processing in Architectural Education

Digital technologies and New Media have brought about revolutionary changes in the field of architecture, which among other things relate to the discipline of geometry. In architectural theory, these changes, among other things, concern the defining of a new movement known as Parametricism while in the area of applied geometry, it relates to the marking out of a new research discipline named Architectural Geometry. The establishment of these two new notions, which connect architecture with the fundamental disciplines of geometry and mathematics, opens up whole new fields of basic research. Basically, the research focus of this project will fall in the area of Architectural Geometry, while it will relate to the theoretical foundations of Parametricism. Unfortunately, when it comes to architectural education, geometry study programs at technical departments have not followed suit of these innovative changes. Namely, in the last fifteen years, the position of geometry has been increasingly disregarded worldwide, leading to its failure to follow the trends and needs of the contemporary architectural practice. It is paradoxical that in the age of non-standard architecture and parametric design, the teaching of constructive geometry and applied mathematics has been considerably reduced, or is absent altogether, as it is in some cases. It has been reduced to a level where it mainly comes down to teaching the methods of descriptive geometry and presentation of simple three-dimensional structures on a two-dimensional medium. The aim of this research is to define the contents, methods and didactic approaches of the new discipline of architectural geometry, which would be intended for students of architecture studying in technical departments. We will examine the causes which led to the reduction in the amount of study dedicated to geometry, identify the outcomes and define the methods to resolve these issues. Furthermore the current needs of architects will be analyzed regarding the discipline of geometry from the perspective of non-standard architecture, based on the new theoretical concepts of parametricism and the prevalent situation in technology. The results of the analysis shall allow developing our new concepts in the right way. Also, it is necessary to define clearly the new needs of prospective architects in line with the latest advances in technology and architectural practices, and to find new approaches in functional application of geometry fundamentals in architectural design. Architects are constantly searching for new tools - digital inspiration - in other disciplines and manufacturing processes and they are seeking for a combination of analogue and digital tools in order to define an aesthetic which can reflect the new phenomena in architectural computing. Due to these rapidly growing digital possibilities, students of architecture need to know/learn the new topics and tools which are relevant in modern architectural design practice. They should be empowered rather than overwhelmed by the arsenal of digital tools available today.