VIRTUAL MADRID FOCUS ON PEDAGOGY

Abstract

Inspired by the basic mechanics of the game Bingo—though purposefully devoid of chance—this six-week-long assignment’s primary objective was to cultivate students’ skills in observing, researching, and methodically communicating a variety of building connections or details. By studying built details, students gain practical knowledge necessary for designing and executing their own ideas of construction assemblies. The exercise required that each student submit a substantially completed “bingo card” by the end of the academic term. The “card” had its familiar two-axis matrix, though the categories were not numbers and letters. This matrix defined the intersection between the “What to Communicate” (i.e., specific construction assemblies, material connections, hardware implementation, etc.) and the “How to Communicate” (i.e., communication through axon, perspective, plan, section, etc.) The matrix flexibility of 25 intersecting options—where only five were required- mandated that students make decisions regarding communication strategy and content focus, encouraging broad exploration across both technical drawing methods and construction typologies. This pedagogical approach, while framed with the motivational structure of a “game,” fundamentally tracked a rigorous process of learning over outcome. The necessity of methodically re-projecting the detail pushed students beyond surface observation. On-site observation was an integral component, and subsequently, the drawing process demanded additional (off-site) research and educated guesswork to accurately represent hidden assemblies, connections, and internal components to the best of their abilities. The resulting journals demonstrated a rich synthesis of initial observation and analytical drawing, promoting an innovative, self-directed, multi-week assignment designed for lessons in construction technologies.