Teaching architecture students to code: Thrills and spills

This paper will present the introduction of computer programming for design to students at the Leicester School of Architecture (LSA). It will describe the course and teachings, explain the trials and tribulations, and illustrate the results. An important weight on students of architecture, when it comes to the inclusion of coding into their architectural education, is the pressure of meeting certain professional criteria. The MArch Architecure course results in a professional level award that is prescribed by the ARB, and accredited by the RIBA for Part II exemption from their examinations. Consequently, students are required to articulate through their design work that they have met the learning outcomes associated with the stipulated professional criteria. Given the task of meeting the learning outcomes is challenging enough, the pressure of then learning to code, and to apply that skill to the design process in the course of the traditional process is a pressure few students of architecture seem willing to take on. The paper will conclude with a discussion as to the merits of coding and reason why students of architecture should learn to code.