Computer Aided Architectural Design 1

Code:

30306B3

Acronym:

30306B3

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
OFICIAL	Drawing

Instance: 2024/2025 - 1S

Active?	Yes
Responsible unit:	Desenho (D)
Course/CS Responsible:	Integrated Master Degree in Architecture

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
MIARQ	39	MIARQ	3	-	3	-	81

Teaching language

Suitable for English-speaking students

Objectives

The objective of the course of Computer-Aided Architectural Design 1 (CAAD 1) is to provide the student with a space for experimentation with the computer in the act of drawing, projecting and representing architecture.
In close continuity with the learning in the disciplines of Project 1 and 2, and Drawing 2, this course aims to allow the exploration of digital tools in processes both analogous to hand drawing and natively computational for the development and representation of architecture.

Learning outcomes and competences

By attending CAAD 1, it is intended that the student is able to:

• Understand and apply geometric concepts in architectural design through the mechanisms and processes of Computer-Aided Design (CAD) programs.
• Use CAD tools for the design, research and representation of the architectural project.
• Master the lexicon of technical and graphic representation, including the composition and production of digital formats and paper prints.
• Develop a critical awareness of the relationship between digital technologies and traditional processes of representation, evaluating their limitations and potentialities applicable to architecture.

Working method

Presencial

Program

1. Theoretical Foundations
   
   
   
   • Brief history of drawing, digital geometry, and CAD
   
   
   • Vector or pixel-based drawing
   
   
   • Export, collaboration, and presentation formats
   
   
   
   


2. Two-dimensional technical drawing
   
   
   
   • Point, line, polygon
   
   
   • Techniques for geometric and dimensional control of the design
   
   
   • Drawing annotation: quotations, legends, auxiliary charts
   
   
   
   


3. Presentation techniques
   
   
   
   • Composition of a sheet of drawings
   
   
   • Control of colors, line weights and line types
   
   
   • Complementary vector design and image editing techniques
   
   
   
   

Mandatory literature

Branko Kolarevic; Architecture in the digital age. ISBN: 0-415-38141-X
João Pedro Xavier; Perspectiva, perspectiva acelerada e contraperspectiva. ISBN: 972-9483-25-6
Fernando Manuel Cortes Lisboa Oliveira; Desenho de arquitectura assistido por computador. ISBN: 972-9483-27-2
William J. Mitchell; Computer-aided architectural design
Williams, Kim, and Michael J. Ostwald; Architecture and Mathematics from Antiquity to the Future: Volume II: The 1500s to the Future, Springer International Publishing, 2015 (https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-00143-2)
Graphisoft; Archicad 27 Manual, 2024 (https://help.graphisoft.com/AC/27/INT/index.htm)
GIMP; GNU Image Manipulation Program, GIMP, 2024 (https://docs.gimp.org/2.10/en/)
Alex Hogrefe; All Tutorials | Visualising Architecture, 2024 (https://visualizingarchitecture.com/tutorials/)

Teaching methods and learning activities

The program will be developed by combining theoretical and practical teaching processes into weekly 2-hour classes.

The first two classes will be dedicated to the theoretical foundation, and the following ones will be occupied in the development of specific tasks that will allow modular and systematic learning. The beginning of the class will be demonstrative, followed by a tutorial orientation of individual work, ending with a period of discussion about the results achieved.

The semester will end with a synthesis work in which the various learnings in terms of drawing, representation and composition are evaluated on an individual poster.

Software

Gimp (or Photoshop or similar)
Archicad
Inkscape (or Illustrator or similar)

keywords

Technological sciences > Architecture > Design > Computer-aided design
Technological sciences > Architecture

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation without final exam

Assessment Components

designation	Weight (%)
Participação presencial	40,00
Trabalho laboratorial	60,00
Total:	100,00

Amount of time allocated to each course unit

designation	Time (hours)
Elaboração de projeto	16,00
Frequência das aulas	32,00
Trabalho laboratorial	28,00
Estudo autónomo	5,00
Total:	81,00

Eligibility for exams

Calculation formula of final grade

The final grade will be the weighted average of face-to-face participation (40%) and the classification of practical assignments (60%).

Face-to-face participation will be evaluated in the components of attendance (20%), class work (10%) and active participation (10%).

The practical assignments will be evaluated in the components of geometric accuracy (15%), computer adequacy (15%), control of expression (15%) and general presentation (15%).

Classification improvement

The student will have to refine and improve his / her communication project and resubmit it in person .

Observations

Optional curricular unit, where the criterion of serialization is the grade obtained in CU's of Architectural Design and Drawing.