A Focus on Pedagogy
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to publish a practical method to guide the architectural design process. This practical method or process was taught verbally, lecturer to student, by the Head of Department, the late Errol Pieters, of the then Department of Architecture at the Tshwane University of Technology. There is extraordinarily little record of the teachings of Errol Pieters. This enigmatic mentor and great craftsman in architectural drawing, thinking, and pedagogy, had a profound impact on thousands of students over a period of three decades. This publication will make available for future architectural students and designers alike, some of his theories and arguments on method, with the aim *of demystifying* the architectural design process. For this paper, research data was collected from a memoir written by Errol Pieters in 2018. The memoir include a discussion Errol had with one of the authors of this paper in 2010, and the consequent ruminating on the architectural design process that followed. The architectural design process conceptualised theoretically in the memoir is tested on a hypothetical housing project and presented as further research data within the paper. The findings are new and significant as such research has not been published before. Therefore, the paper will contribute to the body of existing research on the architectural design process, as well as a method to effectively guide this process. The findings are useful and important as generations of future architectural students and designers may benefit posthumously from the teachings of Errol Pieters as published in this paper.
Francine van Tonder is a qualified architect, lecturer, and specification consultant. She holds an MTech Architecture Professional from the Tshwane University of Technology and a Master of Business Leadership from the University of South Africa. She is currently reading towards a Doctor of Architecture. Francine is a Sessional Lecturer at the University of the Witwatersrand department of architecture and planning, and she is a self-proclaimed lifelong student, researcher, and aspiring author. Francine is happiest living her purpose working with architecture students and consulting with architects.
Mel Stander is a professional architect and pedagogue. He is specifically interested in architectural sketching and creativity as stimulus for design thinking. He currently holds an architecture masters as well as a PhD in architecture from the University of Pretoria. He is the director of the foundation course at Tshwane University of Technology, Department of Architecture and Industrial Design, as well as a supervisor for students in the Master’s program.
9:30 pm - 11:00 pm
Wednesday 20th April, 2022