Systems of representation: A pedagogical model for design education in the information age

The course SDR: Sistemas de Representación (Systems of Representation), is the last stage of a line of work which has the objective of integrating information technologies in the education of architecture in a meaningful way. A distinctive mark of this pedagogic approach has been to look upon computer technology as an opportunity to rethink the methods, contents and goals of architectural education, in the light of contemporary culture. The course is structured in six themes, each one standing for a 'system of representation': 'text', 'figure', 'object', 'image', 'space' and 'light'. Within every system, a variety of issues dealing with the concept of 'representation' are addressed in an interdisciplinary manner. It is a compulsory course lasting three semesters, in the second and third year of a five-year architectural program. It has been offered since the academic year 1999/2000.