Abstract
Architecture, architectural structures and construction practice cannot be taught by discussion or explanation alone. Practical experience is needed to temper the theory expounded in lectures and to illustrate the design ideas formulated in studios. Students learn best by doing, and in the case of undergraduate architects, by building. They benefit from making a decision about aesthetics or structure and then seeing its success or failure in a completed artifact. It allows them to build a repertoire of successful experience and solutions that they can carry into later practice.
At the Department of Architecture and Urban Design at the University of Tasmania, this process of education through decision making and construction has been incorporated into the design and construction Studios and Building Technology streams. Timber is the medium of choice for this construction. It is a local material and easy to use, making it approachable for students who have little constructional experience or skill. For the studio program, small timber buildings are constructed and put on public display, used, and allowed to weather. For the Building Technology stream, timber elements are assessed for strength and serviceability before being tested to destruction.
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