Upgrades to architecture’s advanced building lab supports tradition of hands-on learning

Take a walk through the School of Architecture’s work spaces and you’ll find students crafting models of their designs. By hand. Using specialized equipment and all manner of materials – wood, paper, resins, metals, concrete – they discover architecture as an applied art, one that connects them creatively and intellectually with a final product.

This focus on the craft, on the art of making, is part of what makes Dal’s program unique.

“Our students learn to work by hand before moving into design software,” says James Forren, Assistant Professor in the School of Architecture.  “When you saw wood, screw in a nail or cast concrete, you get an appreciation for what the material does and how it works.”

“We start with handcrafting, because it teaches you how to relate concepts to reality and understand how the process – not just the idea – informs the design,” adds Forren.

“But in order to work through the process, you need the right tools.”

New digital fabrication equipment ensures a competitive edge

At the heart of the school’s design-build teaching philosophy is the Advanced Building Lab and its range of digital fabrication equipment.

By using specialized digital tools to design and build their models, students develop what Professor Forren refers to as “computational thinking” skills: understanding how the underlying principles of materials and design can be adapted to different situations, using different technologies.

Yet, in many cases, the students are working with technologies more than 10 years old. “Not only are these digital tools slower than newer models, but there’s often a backlog of students, waiting to use the machines we have.”

For the School of Architecture, ensuring the students enjoy ready access to the most up-to-date digital technology and fabrication processes is essential. That’s why funds raised from this year’s annual campaign will go directly to upgrading current and acquiring new leading edge equipment, including a 3D printer, vacuum former and a specialized CNC mill.

School of Architecture to match annual fund gifts

So important is this initiative that the school plans to match all funds raised for the Advanced Building Lab, to a maximum of $20,000.

For Forren, “…upgrading our Advanced Building Lab will make our students more attractive as work-term candidates, our graduates more desirable as future employees, and Dalhousie a more attractive option for future architects.”

“Our students aren’t being trained to simply push buttons, but to use technology to think critically and creatively about the decisions they’re making in the workplace,” says Forren. “In the process, we’re training them to take their place as leaders in the profession.”

“And the better the tools, the better the results. It’s that simple – and it’s our competitive edge.”

If you would like to support enhancements to the Advanced Building Lab, please make a gift.