2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Board 2B: WIP: What architects should learn according to the industry in seismic countries

Presented at Architectural Engineering Division (ARCHE) Poster Session

Seismic events take more lives than any other natural hazard. Also, earthquakes have financial consequences that can even destroy a country´s economy. While earthquakes are part of the natural evolution of our planet and we cannot predict them nor stop them, we can include them into our planning and design. For this reason, construction professionals play a key role in designing our built environment in seismic countries and regions. One of the ways knowledge about seismicity grows is from lessons learned from previous events; were both, academia and industry, have their own role. The purpose of this study is to learn what architects should learn during their college years, regarding to earthquakes, architecture, and construction, according to academics and the industry. For this, this pilot study uses a survey as the instrument to collect data. The survey was administered to 8 academics and 18 professionals who were part of a professional development program. Particularly, the main areas the survey covered were seismic theory, architecture program structuring, and soil-structure behavior and theory. The results provide insight into the curriculum design of architectural programs in countries with high seismicity. We discuss the differences in the responses coming from the academia, industry and the current curriculum. Implications for research and practice are provided.

Authors

Diego Eduardo Torres Viteri
Dr. Miguel Andres Guerra http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7496-3753 Universidad San Francisco de Quito USFQ [biography]

MiguelAndrés is an Assistant Professor in the Polytechnic College of Science and Engineering at Universidad San Francisco de Quito USFQ. He holds a BS in Civil Engineering from USFQ, an M.Sc. in Construction Engineering and Project Management from Iowa State University as a Fulbright Scholar, a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from Virginia Tech, and two Graduate Certificates from Virginia Tech in Engineering Education and Future Professoriate. MiguelAndrés's research includes sustainable infrastructure design and planning, smart and resilient cities, and the development of engineers who not only have strong technical and practical knowledge but the social awareness and agency to address global humanitarian, environmental, and social justice challenges. For him, social justice is a concept that should always be involved in discussions on infrastructure. Related to STEM education, Miguel Andrés is in developing and applying contemporary pedagogies for STEM courses, teaching empathy studies in engineering as a tool for innovation, and assessing engineering students' agency to address climate change. Currently, MiguelAndrés is validating his framework of a Blended & Flexible Learning approach that focusses on STEM courses and its practical adaptation to overcome barriers brought up by the COVID-19 pandemic.
victor R viteri
Fabricio Yepez

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