"Design Thinking / Elevator Pitch" applied in the teaching of Architecture.
For the DIX subject, which is a great challenge because it is the last design to then work on the degree project, at the School of Architecture of the PUCMM @EAD_PUCMM, I apply the methodology "DESIGN THINKING" Creative Thinking, as an activity to determine which architectural project, define the typology and possible location of sites, to develop it throughout the course of matter, satisfying needs and providing answers to contextual problems in an innovative way and as a way of working in a group, maximizing collective creativity.
Seeing the students I always remember myself sitting down and paying attention to the assignments in order to obtain the necessary skills to be able to practice as an Architect and the time I had been investing just when I was in the final stretch. For this reason, seeing myself in the central axis of the classroom, adjacent to the blackboard and in front of the seats, I wanted to implement cutting-edge methodologies, not necessarily focused on architecture, but rather on design thinking in general to achieve resolutions architecture and to be able to develop a critical analysis beyond the point of view that our profession can offer.
The first objective of the activity is to be able to determine a typology related to the topic to be developed, in this case the topic is: Health and Well-being. To achieve this we use two methodologies:
A. Design Thinking: A way of working in a group that maximizes collective creativity. It is having a design thought to analyze something, a problem, just as a designer would do it, obviously in order to find a solution, which in this case, what typology will we design.
: Linked with the previous phase in which we had created possible typologies, now together we analyze the reality of something that was ethereal. Once obtaining the "feedback" we incorporate the conclusions to improve the solution (typology)....
- Empathize: We begin with an understanding of the current health situation in the Dominican Republic. Understand what is happening and how it is developing, through practices delivered online.
After this, we carry out a face-to-face workshop that through an activity assigned by times of 15 minutes in order to optimize the learning flow in a time period of 45 minutes, we carry out the following three (3) phases:
2. Define: We filter the information collected during the empathy phase and we keep what really adds value and leads us to reach new perspectives to propose the typology.
3. Ideas: Without limiting thought, that is to say that no idea is bad, on the contrary, quantity over quality we brainstorm, expansive thinking where anything can go and sometimes the rarest ideas are the ones that generate innovative solutions, we translate the definition into architectural language .
4. Prototype: We build possible models of typologies that will help us give shape to what until now was an idea or concept. From now on, there is already a possible project, something that we can visualize.
With this activity, the entire section divided into groups, we were already on the same page to be able to carry out the last phase.
5. Evaluate: Linked with the previous phase in which we had created possible typologies, now together we analyze the reality of something that was ethereal. Once obtaining the "feedback" we incorporate the conclusions to improve the solution (typology).
In this last step, we were able to identify which prototypes were similar or had common elements in order to unite or separate the use, thus obtaining five (5) defined typologies, one (1) for each group of three.
As a last step, the way of presenting, the result of the entire previous process, the typology to be designed, was implementing the methodology or rather the presentation technique:
B. Elevator Pitch: It is a short and concise speech, which aims to present a project, in this case that we are going to design, persuading the audience.
Using this technique, a presentation paragraph was written to define each typology as if it were real life where the client to catch is in an elevator and you only have the travel time in it to be able to hook him.
Looking back on everything that has been done, the student not only develops the necessary competence to be an architect, but also, as a professional problem-identifier, a critical analyst for the solution of approaches, presentation, graphic and verbal techniques, as well as being able to to hook a potential client or investors.
Addendum: See the final result in the shared ISSUU post.
Sarah Tió | Professor of Architecture and Design