systems thinking

2 February – 30 March 2025 (9 classes 3 hours each)

Students will immerse themselves in the world of architecture and develop basic skills necessary for design. They will study architectural language, contemporary architecture on examples of buildings from all over the world and from Portugal of course. They will learn the concepts of plans, facades, and sections, and explore traditional architecture from different countries. An important stage will be the study of atmosphere in architecture, including form, color, and the basics of architectural graphics.

We'll have classes about contemporary art, about the ecological aspect of architecture, about the importance of the atmosphere of architecture, and how to narrate about the project, and how building could tell a story. By the end of the course, each student will design and build a model of their dream home and, through storytelling techniques, write an explanatory note detailing their concept. We'll celebrate our fantastic results during an exhibition of the final projects which we'll organize at the end of trimester!

You will see all projects, ideas of our students, you could invite families and friends. The final event will be a great opportunity to show the success of the students in their beginning of studying architecture. The final result of the trimester — a real architectural project with model and text description.

Knowledge and skills students will gain:

• Architectural design
• Paper modeling
• Model making
• Architectural graphics
• Basics of color theory
• Introduction to contemporary architecture
• Exploration of traditional architecture
• Exposure to contemporary art
• Understanding architectural structures
• Basics of storytelling
• Development of spatial and imaginative thinking
• Teamwork
• Public presentation skills

Students will get acquainted with the art of cinematography and create their own film as a group. Students will write a script, design costumes and scenery for their film. They will get acquainted with stop-motion and shadow theater, create movie credits and a poster for the film. Real shootings will be organized where everyone can play his role as an actor, director, cameraman, etc. In the end there will be a public film screening.