STRUCTURAL GLASS FACADES - USC School of Architecture

The AIA/CES strongly recommends interactive content as opposed to a pure lecture format.
The sample problems are included for this purpose as indicated in Figure 8.10 above. The
intent is that the information presented in the program be applied to some conceptual design
problems. The problems are presented in a purely descriptive manner. It would be far better
to develop some simple graphics to communicate the problems. The more difficult issue is
time. The program is already pushing a 60-minute timeframe with virtually no time for
questions. The inclusion of these problems could easily add 15 to 30 minutes to the program
length. In fact, in the three instances of presentation, not once was there adequate time
remaining to even consider a superficial presentation of these problems. A better venue for
this program would definitely be a 2-hour combination lecture workshop. Such a program is
definitely worth doing, although it has less functionality than a more streamlined program.
The presentation is good at getting the viewers excited about the technology. The material in
the presentation is so dense and delivered in such a concentrated timeframe, that any
significant retention of the information is questionable. A good question is just how important
retention is. The objective is to get the designers motivated to use the technology in their
projects. Perhaps the most important function of the presentation is an introduction of the
broad issues, and assurance that the technical information they need is readily accessible.
An opportunity in this regard for strengthening the Exposed Structures program is the
development of a handout that documents the program content. The handout could be
derived from the presentation with additional explanatory text added. This in fact has been
done, albeit in a rudimentary form (essentially a modified Adobe Acrobat printout of the
presentation with two slide images to a page) and used as part of the testing program in the
following Chapter. Ultimately, the handout is easily envisioned as a visually exciting
document in something resembling book-form.
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