Bringing the building site to the lecture hall

New online platform Bouwflix will bring the building site to the lecture hall, clearly linking theory and practice. In this way, the new generation of architects and structural engineers starts with the right knowledge to hold their own on the building site. Petra Diesfeldt (AE+T) has received a research grant of € 50.000,- as Comenius Teaching Fellow to further develop this initiative.

Teachers, students, and building practice experience a gap between the architect at the office and the craftsman/woman on the building site. The role of the architect has changed in recent years and has been extensively researched in the 'FuturA' project. Although the architect has a leading role in the design, the control in the architectural elaboration is lost. An important cause of this is a lack of insight into the practice of building. Certainly the novice structural engineer has a large distance to the building site, and can therefore find it difficult to maintain contact with contractors and contractors. 

With Bouwflix the practice is brought to the student by means of timelapse videos of building projects and videos of production processes in factories. These materials are offered on the online platform Bouwflix. The material will be implemented in the Technology apprenticeship of the bachelor of Architecture. This means that every first and second year student can start using Bouwflix during lectures, making analyses and learning for exams. The videos are linked to construction drawings and lectures so that theory and practice are clearly linked. With Bouwflix students can relate better to the professionals on the construction site, because they have more insight in the practical implementation. 

The platform is made adaptive and accessible because new material can be added. Bouwflix also offers a platform for the work of master's students in construction technology, allowing a broad reach to students, teachers and the construction practice itself.

Research on education innovation

This project is part of the faculty-wide research programme on education innovation.