KUŠAR Domen

Descriptive geometry in Slovenia, decline or oportunity

Invited lecture:
Descriptive geometry is a science that has been indispensable in all areas of technical education for many years.In addition to the way of representing spatial elements and their relationships on a two-dimensional medium, it also developed a spatial representation.We have been following the downward trend of spatial ability among students of the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Ljubljana since 1999.
With the advent of computers, especially computer graphics, the attitude towards descriptive geometry also changed.Since computers took over the presentation of space, it was no longer necessary. Therefore, the number of hours was reduced, and in many faculties, it was simply abolished or combined with other similar subjects.In Slovenia, this happened at many technical faculties.Part of the blame is also on the side of educators who did not understand the situation and the role that descriptive geometry can play and adapted the material to current needs or even upgraded it.
At the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Ljubljana, beside classical knowledge we included into the course computer programs and new teaching methods.Flexibility helped us to carry out the subject remotely without major problems during Covid.With the project of pilot updating the course using information and communication technology, we wanted to bring the course even closer to students and make it accessible at any time.However, it turned out that digitization also has its limitations, as pedagogical work also requires a personal approach and communication between the pedagogue/assistant and students.This means finding a balance between the use of modern techniques and "classical" pedagogical approaches with the aim of achieving the best possible knowledge and the greatest possible spatial representation that future architects will need in their work.