3D PRINTING AND CNC PREFABRICATION - DIDACTIC EXPERIENCE ARISING FROM THE TEACHING PROGRAM IN ARCHITECTURE AND INTERIOR DESIGN

As part of their teaching program, Architecture and Interior Design alumni must master skills connected with computer software, designed for presentations by means of raster graphics, as well as CAD programs which support the preparation of design- and construction-related documentation. The market of services rendered by architects also includes skills connected with models - mock-ups, or objects which are prototypes of functional forms offered to the client. As a result of the purchase of 3D printers as well as the launch of model workshop, called Media Lab, at the Faculty of Architecture at the Silesian University of Technology, techniques and methods of using CNC prefabrication and prototyping supported by computer assisted modelling were introduced into the designing subjects realized by the author of the article. During the course of subjects realized as part of the second year BSc architecture program, as well as first year interior design MSc program, designing groups were divided into multi-person working teams. During these classes, the teams were to execute a task consisting in documenting the process of group work leading to the making of a model. The didactic process was divided into trainings in the methods of prefabrication - 3D printing and CNC, as well as group work phase, with special focus put on the mastering of in-group communication, management of resources and task planning over time. At the end of the semester, the groups were obliged to present a ready-made prototype of the model, a multimedia presentation containing a description of group's work over time, as well as submission of general assembly documentation connected with the project in a paper version. Realized classes made it possible to recognize predispositions of members of the working teams to complete various tasks and they enabled us to practice and test the efficiency of group work among people who will have to closely cooperate with specialists coming from different trades.