August 15, 2021
Preparing students for a career in architecture is fun, intuitive, AND flexible, thanks to Archicad.
In this article, Emily Wilson (AIA LEED) discusses the Architecture Signature Academic Program (ASAP) at Gulliver Prep, Florida.
For the past three years, Emily Wilson, AIA LEED has worked to prepare students for a career in architecture at the Gulliver Prep school’s Architecture Signature Academic Program (ASAP). During that period, her students have consistently excelled – becoming proficient in Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Computer Aided Design and Drafting systems. Several of the students took top honors in multiple national and regional design competitions – all the submissions were created in Archicad. Take a look here.
Archicad lies at the center of a curriculum, created by Wilson, that teaches how Archicad can be a useful tool to design and build, create renderings, and animations.
I teach hand drafting, physical model building, with Archicad throughout my career as an educator. I teach this software to this age group because it is very intuitive, making it easy for high school students to learn.
Emily Wilson, AIA LEED
Wilson will be saying farewell to Gulliver this year – completing her seventh year of teaching architecture at the high school level. Prior to her years at Gulliver Prep, Wilson ran the architecture program at the Dalton School in New York. She leaves behind a robust ASAP program at Gulliver which teaches more than 70 students who take the class as an elective.
When classrooms closed, a new way of delivering the ASAP program emerged
Educators, faced with challenging and unusual circumstances during 2020 worked around safety restrictions imposed because of COVID.
Physical distancing guidelines meant that students had to temporarily leave behind a very large classroom, where every student would sit at his or her own drafting table. The program’s computer lab, architecture library, and model-building space also remained empty during lockdown measures.
Because of COVID, Wilson had to abandon physical model building and hand drafting and teach remotely. Yet Wilson says even though the in-person learning experiences had to be suspended, she and her students managed well through it all, thanks in part to having Archicad be intrinsic to the curriculum.
“I switched from hand drafting exercises and physical model building exercises to solely building in Archicad. It was seamless. Screen sharing made the transition to online teaching simple. Obviously, there were some challenges but for teaching software and 3D virtual model building just lends itself to teaching on Zoom.”
Global access even during COVID lock-down
With help from the education team at Graphisoft, Wilson arranged workshops and trainings with Archicad experts. Authorized Archicad reseller, Jon Sage of 3DCADCO (pictured below) has provided training and led several workshops at Gulliver. Sage takes an active role in recommending local firms so that students can apply for summer internships.
Unfettered by location; architects from around the world gave lectures to the ASAP students this past year via virtual meetings. This element of learning is something Wilson says serves to inspire young people as they consider their future careers.
“Exposing the students to experts from different parts of the world, different methodologies and ideas sets a good foundation. Learning varied styles, opinions, and values is super important. I focus on giving my students familiarity with tools like Archicad so they can use that tool to express their individuality and personal design style.”
I focus on giving my students familiarity with tools like Archicad so they can use that tool to express their individuality and personal design style.
Emily Wilson, AIA LEED
The importance of foundational information and an understanding of structures cannot be understated.
Wilson makes sure the students understand hand drawing, sketching, thinking in three dimensions, having spatial skills, understanding all the drawings that are needed to express a project, and understanding all the elements of building and materials. She says it all adds up to giving students confidence.
“Being able to feel comfortable in the medium and express themselves and to gain a sense of confidence is something that I as an educator, cannot teach per se. However, I see ways for educators to encourage and help students to reach their full potential. Because Archicad is so intuitive – it gives the user an on-ramp to success. I try to inspire and to help them feel like anything is possible. The flexibility in Archicad allows me to do that – whether I’m teaching in person or remotely.”
Based on how the Gulliver Prep cohort’s work is received in competitions as well as feedback from those students who have spent their year learning and working in Archicad – the lessons were received well.
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About Gulliver Prep
Gulliver Prep’s Architecture Signature Academic Program (ASAP) prepares students for successful careers in architecture, urban planning, and industrial design. Take a look at the work of four recent ASAP Graduates in our ‘Getting into The Flow is Easy‘ article here.
For more information visit the Gulliver Prep website here.