NEW TECHNOLOGIES IN THE STUDY OF ARCHITECTURE: LEARNING BY MAKING VIRTUAL MODELS AND DIGITAL FABRICATION

New technologies are expanding and collaborating with quality and reliability in the process of academic education. The ease to obtain the results of the projects by using graphics from Build Information Modeling's (BIM) software plataform (for example, Revit/ArchCAD) and generative modeling software (such as Rhinoceros / Grasshooper), have shown positive changes in student's project activities of the couse of architecture and urbanism at Mackenzie Presbiterian University. A positive aspect of the course, beyond the simulation at the virtual environment, is offering the tangibility of the virtual models with rapid prototyping. The research aims to report the importance of experimentation in the learning process through new technologies. The experiment consists on researching hollow elements used in brazilian architectural walls, just as the existent "cobogós" (hollow elements) in the projects of the architect Oswaldo Bratke (1907-1997), identifying it's historical and cultural process. By means of the 2D and 3D graphics software, students will analyze the existing geometry on components and propose new models of "cobogós", thus understanding the structure of the models surveyed. Finally, the new "cobogós" will be prototyped by 3D printers and laser cutters. As a reflective learning process for the students, there shall be held a comparative analysis using parameters and criteria of the results obtained through digital modeling and manufacturing of new "cobogós" built by laser cutter and 3D printer.