IMPORTANCE OF RESEARCH IN THE FORMATION OF TEACHERS: THE CASE OF "INFORMATICS APPLIED TO ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM"

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to present a scope of the undergoing researches developed by the group “Contemporary theories and technologies applied to architectural design”, at the School of Civil Engineering, Architecture and Urban Design (FEC), at the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP). One of the main objectives of the group is to form faculty prepared to act in the field of “Information technology applied to Architecture and Urban Design”, by means of FEC´s graduate program. The group is funded by several Brazilian governmental agencies such as SAE-UNICAMP, CAPES, CNPq and FAPESP, which made it possible to set up a rapid prototyping laboratory (LAPAC) in 2007. It also has plans to acquire a rapid fabrication equipment (a large-format CNC router) in the near future. The theories and techniques developed by the group have been applied to the undergraduate and graduate courses at FEC, as well as in extension school, which have provided an excellent opportunity for experimenting with the new applications of information technology in architectural education.